How necessary is eye cream?

[JRez]

I'm turning 24 this summer and have recently started my journey into the skincare world. My current night-time routine is garier micellar water, cetaphil face wash, some serum I found at marshalls, and cerave moisturizer. Morning routine is cetaphil face wash and cerave moisturizer. I'd like to start slowly introducing more skincare into my routine and was thinking that eye cream would be my next step. Is eye cream really necessary? Should I add something else to my routine first? Skincare is definitely one of the beauty topics I know the least about so any help is much appreciated!!! 

[RGbrown]

@JRez 

I adore Cotz Natural Tinted SPF 40 for makeup days; the tint is fairly light (perhaps not good for the palest of pale, but it's sheer enough that I think it would work on a pretty wide range of tones). I don't necessarily want a tint on non-makeup days, but I'm still working on finding my favorite in this category...so far the ones I've tried have all burned the heck out of my eyes once I start sweating. But they've also been chemical sunscreens, so I've picked up Cotz Sensitive Face & Body to test out soon (the reviews are fantastic on this one).

(Also, currently bogo50 at Ulta, plus a free watermelon beach towel at $25 😁)

[WinglessOne]

@JRez  I rotate through 3 sunscreens: 

SUPERGOOP! - Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 - I always use this under my eyes and on my eyelids because it’s the only sunscreen (so far) that doesn’t irritate my fairly sensitive eyes and require less vigorous rubbing to blend out, plus it kinda acts as a primer for concealer. Sometimes I also use it all over my face. It’s a chemical sunscreen that’s completely invisible on skin. 

COOLA - Mineral Face SPF 30 - Matte Tint

 - I usually wear this everywhere except my eye area. The tint disappears on my deeper skin tone, but I think it’d appear on folks with fair skin tones. This is a physical/mineral sunscreen that leaves no white cast on me, thanks to the tint. 

COOLA Sun Silk Face Sunscreen Drops with SPF 30 and Hyaluronic Acid 1 oz / 30 mL - When I wanna be lit-from-within glowy, I use this sunscreen. I either apply it on its own or mix it with my moisturizer—though mixing it reduces its protective ability. It’s a bit much for my oily nose sometimes, so I occasionally use the Coola matte sunscreen on my nose and Sun Silk Drops elsewhere. 

There are less expensive sunscreens out there. CeraVe makes a nice one. So does Aveeno, though I don’t remember which one I liked most. (I always used an Aveeno sunscreen before switching to Coola.) Cotz might also be cheaper than Coola and Supergoop. 

[WinglessOne]

@RGbrown  Heh, that article’s inline with my dermatologist’s perspective. A couple months ago, when I told him I want to further simplify my skincare routine, his first suggestion was to ditch the eye cream. I knew he’d say that (I’d already researched this topic but, since I’m not a doctor, decided to get a derm’s direct input), especially after learning my entire current routine and hearing that my full face moisturizer works just fine as a nighttime eye cream, now that the weather’s warmer. “Why not use it under your eyes in the daytime, too,” he said; “why are you using a separate eye cream in the daytime, instead of repeating your effective nighttime serum and full face moisturizer routine? I know you love this eye cream but c’mon, even you aren’t that stubborn!” 😂 I love my doctor. 

We both agreed my eye cream is a good one and could be used on my whole face. But that’s very cost inefficient, especially when I already have a good moisturizer for the rest of my face. Also, the eye cream and my eye serum have some overlapping results (which is why I don’t layer them); he confirmed my belief that the one worth keeping is the serum, which would also work on the rest of my face if I wasn’t using another retinol product. For winter mornings, I’ll try applying my facial oil under my eyes and topping it with my daily moisturizer. Since I’ll likely switch to Lala Retro when temps fall below 0F, that should work fine. Meanwhile, I might as well use up the rest of the eye cream. No sense letting it go to waste. (Psh, that’s not stubbornness, it’s cost management! 😂) 

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

I do confess that most days I use an "eye" something or other...but only because I can't bring myself to let all these minis and samples go to waste lolol. In all of my skincare spending, an eye cream/serum/oil is something I have never ever bought, and I don't think I ever will. I toyed for a while with buying an Algenist one because I adored the sample and really felt like it did a bit more for fine lines than anything else I've ever used, but I just never could bring myself to do it ($74 for that tiny jar?? 😮 ). 

[WinglessOne]

@RGbrown  Yeah, it really depends on what specific issues you wanna target under your eyes vs. the rest of your face, and whether or not a full face product can also target those undereye issues. I reeeeally wanna use my eye serum all over my face, but that’d be a bad $/oz expense. 😂 DDG does make a full face version of that serum that I could try under my eyes instead (better price per ounce, perhaps), but I think it contains an ingredient that stopped me from trying it... I need to recheck that. 

I can’t use my new 1% retinol product under my eyes, but over time—as my skin adjusts and tolerate it—I might be able to bring it up to my eyes. Then I probably wouldn’t need the eye serum anymore: it contains a much lower (I assume) % of retinol. But that’s a long way off, and I’m not about to rush this retinol adventure. 

I’m not terribly shocked by my eye cream’s $54 price tag, though that’s over $100/oz... I rationalize it by remembering I bought it during a sale, and I use a small enough amount of it each day that it’s not like I’d frequently run through bottles of this stuff. But between this and the $69 eye serum, I’ll happily pick the serum, especially since Nordstrom carries it (so I can always get it for free with my Nordies Notes. 🙂 )

[naturalooks15]

@WinglessOne  I had done a comparison of the DDG face serum with eye one. There were few ingredients extra in the eye serum. Plus face one was in dropper bottle I think rather then airless pump. I will dig it out once I have my laptop and post it.

now this post of yours is making me very very curious about your full skincare routine if you don’t mind sharing 😀.

I have been trying to talk myself out of ordering the DDG eye serum since I have 2 DE eye creams sitting at home to finish first 😞 but then my mind is arguing

“if DDG serum can help with the undereye bag that is starting to develop, is it wise to delay buying it for 6-8 months, just give those DE creams to DH or DD” 😄 any wise words what to do??

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

I will say that I am fortunate that my skin, both face and eyes, isn't terribly picky about most things, and I don't really have any separate eye-area issues I want to target, so most anything I use on my face gets brought up to my eyes too. Any eye cream I use is superfluous...I just hate letting it go to waste 😋 But if I were to pare down my routine, eye creams would definitely be on the chopping block (and I skip them on my lazy days, with no ill effects).

Definitely take your time with the retinol, but I'd bet in time you can use it all over and skip the ddg serum completely.

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @JRez,

I find that it is necessary. The skin under the eye is so much thinner than the face that it is hard for a face cream to penetrate in the eye area. Another product I recommend adding into your routine is an exfoliator to exfoliate the dead skin cells and promote cell turnover for healthy skin. I hope this helps! '

Best,

Rebecca

[WinglessOne]

@RebeccaBT  My dermatologist mentioned this notion of undereye skin being unable to absorb full face moisturizers. His exact words: “Any dermatologist who says that is just trying to sell their eye cream.” 🙂 (Did I mention my derm’s kind of a smarta**?) 

The skin in that area is indeed thin, but that doesn’t hinder absorption (or to be as correct as my derm, product penetration; I’m as guilty as everyone else of using the wrong terminology there). In fact, thin skin has better absorption ability than thick skin. Small molecules penetrate/absorb better than large molecules, but this is true for all the skin on your body, not just your undereyes. And of course, some ingredients (like silicones) that exist in both eye creams and full face moisturizers will sit on the skin and won’t penetrate/absorb at all. 

I often apply multiple thin layers of moisturizer under my eyes (which is where my skin is driest) and my skin handles it just fine, with no “stop, I’m full, can’t soak up any more” pilling after the first or second layer. I’ve done this with my eye cream, Kora Noni eye oil, and my YTTP Superfood full face moisturizer. If pilling happens after 3 layers, I know I’ve overapplied moisturizer. 🙂 In the winter, I apply as many layers as my undereyes can take. 

Exfoliation is definitely a good skincare step to add for all skin types! 

[RebeccaBT]

@WinglessOne Love hearing your thoughts! I think skincare is so personal! Whatever works for you and your skin is what one should do 🙂

Best,
Rebecca

[WinglessOne]

Hi @JRez ! Eye cream isn’t necessary for everyone. It depends on what skin issue(s) you want to target. If your CeraVe moisturizer is keeping your undereye skin moisturized, and that skin looks and feels the way you want it to, then you can skip eye cream. 

What’s necessary is sunscreen. That’s the best product you can use on your entire face—including your undereyes—to keep your skin healthy. 

Under my eyes, I want to target dark circles caused by allergies/eye rubbing and sun damage (from when I didn’t wear sunscreen in my teens and 20s; seriously, always wear sunscreen), plus crepey and very dry skin. At night I use an eye serum that removes darkness and firms up my skin, and I top it with the same moisturizer I use all over my face to address dryness. In the morning I use whichever serum I use all over my face that day, then apply an eye cream that firms and greatly moisturizes that skin, and top it with sunscreen. In the winter, I use an eye oil at night (and sometimes morning) that’s extra moisturizing, because my undereyes get very dry in Chicago’s frigid winters and my usual moisturizers aren’t enough to save my skin. 

[SportyGirly125]

@JRez eye cream can help with puffiness and wrinkles and can firm the undereye area.