Beauty Breakdown: Everything You Need To Know About Eye Care, From Experts

For such a small amount of facial real estate, the eyes dominate quite the significant chunk of beauty conversation. I'd argue it's because the eye area is essentially a microcosm of just about every beauty concern out there. Discoloration? Hello, dark circles. Fine lines? Yep, and crow's feet, too. Even hair growth gripes (like shedding and brittleness) make their way into the discussion—eyelashes are tiny hairs, after all.  

Given the many intricacies of the eyes, it can be difficult to compile every single eye care tip into one scannable field guide. Difficult, yes, but not impossible! Below, you'll find everything you need to know about caring for the eyes—from under-eye wrinkles to dark circles to puffiness, lash growth, and more. 

The skin around your eyes is the thinnest, most sensitive region of your entire face. Because the epidermis is so thin, the skin under your eyes is a lot more sensitive to sun damage, pollution, and oxidative stress. Your skin already thins with age (thanks to a loss of collagen), but the area around your eyes is usually the first to sag. 

Your eyes also emote quite a bit throughout your lifetime, making the area a vulnerable spot for fine lines. That's not to say you should never squint or laugh again, but constantly contracting those muscles can create wrinkles over time; it's another reason the area tends to be first to show fine lines with age. 

And because the skin is so thin and delicate, it can easily dry out, crease, or swell after a late night, bout of poor sleep, or uptick in stress. They say the eyes are windows to the soul—in skin care, their brightness (or lack thereof) can offer a peek into your overall health. 

You might be surprised by a few of these mistakes: 

It's all eyes on eye care. 

Whether you use a proper eye cream or simply tap some moisturizer onto the area, you need to give the eye area some extra TLC. Depending on your specific skin care goal—be it puffiness, dark circles, fine lines, etc.—you may reach for a slightly different formula (don't worry; we'll offer recommendations below), but antioxidants, humectants, and peptides are generally A+ players. 

No matter which targeted product you use, consider this your sign to start hydrating the fragile skin. 

When free radicals come in contact with the skin (via air pollution, smoking, UV exposure, etc.), they put it into a state of oxidative stress. Over time, this can actually speed up the skin aging process1, triggering concerns like dark spots, fine lines, and sagging. And because the skin around your eyes is the thinnest and most fragile region of your whole face, you might notice those changes sooner than others. 

All that to say: Do your best to protect the skin from those free radicals. Some aggressors, like air pollution, are simply out of your control, but there are ways you can fend off that oxidative stress. Stop smoking if you currently are, use SPF (more on that in a minute), and make sure you have plenty of antioxidants in your skin care lineup. 

Everyone can benefit from extra hydration, but if you're dealing with a specific under-eye concern, you'll want to consider more targeted ingredients: 

Let's not forget about those flutters. Your eyelashes do so much for your orbs—for instance, they keep dust and dirt out of your eyes and help your orbs stay hydrated—so it's important to keep them strong and healthy. Below, find some must-have tips from Hilal-Campo: 

For more lash growth tips, feel free to check out our full guide here. 

Beauty sleep is very real. Just one night of poor sleep can result in dark, swollen under-eye circles. Not to mention, research has demonstrated a link between shut-eye and collagen production2. So a lack of sleep can actually accelerate skin aging over time—for the eyes, this means sagging lids, fine lines, and sunken shadows. 

Told you we'd come back to SPF! Up to 80% of the signs of skin aging3 are due to UV damage, and since the eyes are already so susceptible to accelerated aging, that damage can show up pretty quickly. 

"In addition to protecting the skin of your face with SPF, it is important not to forget the eyelid skin and other sensitive areas," double board-certified dermatologist Brendan Camp, M.D., says about eye wrinkle treatments. Either find an eye cream that includes SPF, or tap your regular sunscreen underneath and around the eyes. Just make sure to strategically apply the lotion and avoid touching the orbs themselves, lest you face any stinging or irritation.

Collagen is what keeps your skin looking firm and taut, and that includes the skin underneath your eyes. As your skin loses its collagen and elastin, the fat pads around your eyes lose their structure and start to droop. 

That's why experts will encourage ingredients known to support collagen production, like retinol, antioxidants, peptides, and algae (which can inhibit enzymes that break down collagen and help manage photoaging). They'll also recommend internal methods, like eating foods high in collagen (think bone broth) or taking collagen supplements, to help restore your natural levels. Here, you can find our favorite high-quality powders. 

Looking to go above and beyond? I applaud your determination! Here are some extra tips to supercharge all-around eye care:

Eye care is so much more than addressing fine lines or dark circles. To truly treat the area with the love it deserves, you'll want to approach eye care at every angle—from enhancing the under-eyes to lifting the lid skin to promoting lash growth and, of course, caring for the orbs themselves. And we didn't even get into makeup! (That would only make this article even more of a beast.) Don't worry: You can find every single concealer tip right here.