Under Eye Skin. 5 Steps to Taming and Concealing.

This post explores a problematic area for many of us over 50: the under eyes and under eye skin. Topics include why and how this skin ages differently and some lifestyle prevention tips. I also share a very effective 5-step concealer technique that is great for more mature skin.  

Turning 40 including the decade following that milestone birthday was extremely difficult for me. In fact, more so than any other time of my life. In retrospect, I spent far too much time brooding and anxious about my age while also (trying to) deny the many normal physiological changes that time brings. It was an ugly vulnerable place to be. My relationship with my under eye skin was particularly fraught.

Like rings on a tree trunk, my under-eye wrinkles, dark circles, and newly formed bags exposed my age for everyone to see. How could I conceal it? The problem held urgency for 10 long years.

During that era, I transformed into an under eye “wrangler” trying countless products and techniques in an attempt to force that area of my face to submit to my will.

I am relieved that time in my life has long gone, and I am also grateful for what I learned along the way. The angst of aging served as an impetus to gain better and more knowledge of skincare. It was that knowledge that ultimately resulted in the creation of a gentler more effective approach to my under eyes.

Under Eye Genetics

It’s important not to forget those of us who are “blessed” with genetic under eye issues (think: bags and dark circles that parents may also have). The approach I describe here will most likely be less effective for that subset. Surgery or filler might be better options. But that is not the topic of this discussion.

For now and our purpose here, the truth is this: under eye skin is skin. Better under eye skin starts and ends with good health, good skincare, and if needed or wanted, some strategic makeup to compensate for what is lacking.

Let’s walk through what I mean.

How Under Eye Skin Differs

The physiology of under eye skin differs in important and significant ways from the skin on the rest of your face. The underlying reasons for this boil down to these 4 critical factors.

The above factors directly affect skin volume, elasticity, and hydration.   

Additionally, as surprising as it is, as early as the mid-twenties, we begin losing collagen, elastin and the optimal functioning of the oil glands. The effect of that loss is more evident in the under eyes due to our pre-existing deficit of those substances along with naturally thin and fragile skin.

Lifestyle Changes To Improve Under Eye Skin

While there is no way to stop the aging process or to change the physiology of the under eye area, there are simple lifestyle changes that can be made to improve or slow additional wrinkling, puffiness, dark circles, etc. Here is a list of some of them:

Sleeping Enough

Lack of sleep causes blood vessels to dilate, increasing blood flow. Increased blood flow means under eye fluid retention, dark circles & puffiness.

Sleeping Elevated

Sleeping with the head slightly raised helps with preventing fluid build-up around the eyes (and elsewhere on the face)

Minimizing Alcohol

Imbibing alcohol can cause tiny blood vessels to become leaky which then produces puffiness in the face and under the eyes. Also, sugar in alcohol produces enzymes that break down collagen resulting in wrinkles and loose skin (this process is called glycation). Drinking more water can help counteract this.

Staying Hydrated

When the body is not hydrated, it can hold onto fluid to compensate for the lack of incoming water. Dehydrated skin can also look saggy and wrinkled.

Stop Smoking

Smoking accelerates the decrease of collagen, elastin and hydration. It also constricts blood vessels. The result is thinner skin, increased dark circles, under-eye bags and wrinkles. The good news is that skin can turn around fairly quickly after quitting.

Improve Nutrition/Vitamin Intake

Vitamins K, B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin C are crucial for optimal under eye skin. They boost collagen creation hence skin thickness.

Salt Moderation

Regulate salt intake to reduce puffiness.

Use Sunscreen

A lot has been written on this topic. Just like the rest of the body and face, there’s a lot of damage to under eye skin without sun protection too. It’s a great argument for remembering to put sunscreen under your eyes and to use under eye products that have sunscreen in them.

Makeup and Skincare Tips for Under Eye Skin

There are a few skincare and makeup tricks to conceal dark circles, puffiness and to some degree, wrinkles under the eyes. What I describe will:

1. Leverage hybrid skincare/makeup products as much as possible. This type of product is makeup which is also skincare (or vice versa). It helps create a better under eye skin canvas that makes concealing that much easier. These aren’t always easy to find but I have suggested a couple of products.
2. Require avoiding drying products for best results. Drying products include setting powders, setting sprays that contain alcohol and matte concealers. I know this is contrary to popular internet opinion. The drying products may be fine for 20-year-olds but it is a rare 50+ year old who looks good all day without caking and/or wrinkling.

So….to tackle the problem, let’s shift our perspective a bit. This approach focuses on increasing hydration to the under eye area by layering skincare and hydrating makeup. To address dark circles, we will also color correct with products that are…you guessed it…hydrating.

Step 1: Focus on Hydration, Hydration, Hydration

What did we all do when hydration wasn’t as much of a “thing” as it is now? Did we walk around wrinkly and dark circled? My best guess is yes particularly if back then we were over 50.

I stress hydration because a common theme for under eye skin issues is dry skin. If you read the chart I pulled together above, dry skin appears in 3 of the 4 categories. Hydration plumps up the skin and gives it more resilience, better texture and fewer wrinkles which is what we want- even if it’s only temporary.

Aside from following the lifestyle prevention tips above, the first step is drinking enough water. This is more important than you realize. The very next step is under (and around the) eye moisturizer.

Step 2: Under Eye Moisturizer

There is a lot of controversy surrounding eye cream, what it is, how to apply it and whether an eye cream, as opposed to a face moisturizer, is better or even necessary.

Here is my stance after much exploration. You can decide for yourself and what works best for you.

1. Moisturizing under and around the eyes twice a day is essential to help minimize signs of aging. A daily skincare routine for the face includes this and under eye skin is no exception.
2. It is not necessary to use a cream that is marketed as a product for the eye. What is most important is texture and penetration.
   1. The texture should have a lot of “slip” which means that the product easily glides over the delicate skin.
   2. The product should penetrate the skin even with the “slip”. You can feel for this by the moisture level after it dries. The moisture level should be high.
3. To apply, always use the weaker third or fourth fingers so as to avoid pulling the under eye skin.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Lancome Genefique Yeux

This is a product I come back to time and again over the years. Holy Grail for me.

Click on photo above to buy from Ulta $79

Other buying options are Sephora and Macys 

Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

This has a very unique texture and is very moisturizing.

Click on photo above to buy from Sephora-$36

Other buying options include Ulta

CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

A basic workhorse cream at a good price. It contains Hyaluronic Acid that is very effective with hydration.

Click above to buy from Target – $13.49

Other buying options include Ulta and Walmart

Step 3: Continue Hydrating In Layers

There is more to hydrating the eyes than just eye cream. Think about layering different hydrating products strategically to support ongoing moisture. It sounds difficult, but it’s easy once incorporated into a routine.

Picture this:

#1 Start with the moisturizing steps outlined in Step 2 above, under and around the eyes.

#2 Pat a light layer of Aquaphor over the moisturizer. Aquaphor is great at filling in lines/wrinkles creating a smoother canvas. It also seals in moisture.

Click above to buy from Target – $6.99

#3 After applying the moisturizer and Aquaphor, if needed and before doing anything else, color correct the eye area with a hydrating color corrector.

To neutralize blue tones under and around the eye, you will need a moisturizing cream that has an orange/peach cast to it. To counteract redness, you will need a hydrating color corrector with a green cast. Why? If you look at a color wheel, orange and blue are opposite of one another and thus cancel each other out. The same happens with green and red. See below.

Here are 2 effective color-correcting, moisturizing Holy Grail products that I use.

ColoreScience Total Eye 3-in-1 Renewal

This product has a peachy cast, mineral sunscreen and is very emollient and blendable. It’s a keeper!

Click above to buy from ColoreScience – $79.00

Other buying options include Amazon

Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment

This product has a green cast, mineral sunscreen and is very blendable. It is a holy grail in my book. So much so that I wrote nearly a whole post on it here.

Click above to buy from Sephora – $52.00

Other buying options include Amazon and Dr. Jart

Other very good color correction options include:

Lancome Teint Idole Ultrawear Camouflage Corrector

NYX Color Corrector

Step #4 Blend With Hydration

Take a damp beauty sponge or beauty blender to seamlessly blend the color corrector and to continue hydrating the area. If you don’t already have one of these, I urge you to consider buying one. Take a look at my Essential Makeup Kit Tools post for more information.

Step #5 Finish with a Moisturizing Foundation

As a final step, use either a very moisturizing foundation, BB cream or emollient concealer under your eyes. Blend (again) with a damp makeup sponge. I have a whole post on foundation here with many options.

Under Eye Concealer Personal Results

I put it all to the test and documented each of the 5 steps (marked on the photos below).

For context, I suffer from darker circles (thin skin), redness and dry skin. As a result, I have a bluish tint under my eyes and also some redness on the right eye in particular.

In Step 3 top photo, I color corrected one eye with a peach color corrector because that eye has more of a blue tint to it. On the other eye in Step 3 bottom photo, I corrected with a green corrector because that eye is redder (and who says you have to match correctors).

The foundation I used under the eyes in Step 5 was a very moisturizing (hybrid makeup/skincare product) Estee Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue.

Below is the final result with a fuller face of makeup (foundation, lipstick and eyebrows done). As shown below in the second photo, it lasted for the day. While there is a bit of blue that shows through, the eyes are relatively concealed, hydrated and natural looking even after many hours.

Some Final Under Eye Skin Thoughts

This post explored under eyes and under eye skin, a problematic area for many of us over 50. I discussed why this skin typically ages quicker than the rest of us and what we can do about it. I also shared a 5 step process to conceal our under eyes.

What I learned over the course of my 40s is that wrangling my under eyes didn’t really work all that well.  As with most things in life, the more effective result came from a solution that worked to understand and accept my under eyes. I like to say that I ultimately tamed them.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how well you do or don’t work with your under eyes!

xO

Andrea