Premise
Similarly to the lip contour, the eye contour is an extremely delicate area of the face skin. Continuously subjected to environmental insults (wind, humidity, hot / cold changes, etc.) and to the natural movements of facial expressions, the eye contour tends to age much more quickly than in other skin areas.
What is the Eye Contour
Eye contour is defined as the precise area surrounding the eyes, known precisely as the periocular area. When compared to other areas of the face, we note that the eye contour is distinguished by several features:
- The skin surrounding the eyes is apparently thinner (0.3 mm)
- The number of hair follicles, sebaceous glands and eccrine glands (sweat) is much lower
- The elastic and collagen fibers present in the dermal matrix are few in number
- The under-skin fat is present in much smaller quantities
- The lymphatic / blood circulation of the area around the eyes is rather slowed down
Precisely due to its peculiar distinctive features, the skin around the eyes appears very susceptible to the stagnation of interstitial and blood fluids; moreover, this area is clearly drier and more permeable than the other areas of the face. All this translates into a natural predisposition towards bags, dark circles and expression lines.
Dark circles, bags, wrinkles
The main disorders affecting the aesthetics of the eye contour area are basically three: bags, dark circles and wrinkles. These are very serious disorders - especially from the female world - and whose main characteristics will be briefly described below.
eye bags
Dark circles are the result of a slowing of lymphatic and venous microcirculation in the periorbital area. In turn, the stagnation of liquids and blood, with deposition of pigments in the dermis (melanin and oxidized hemoglobin), gives the eye a purple-bluish "shadow". As the age progresses, the dark circles under the eyes become even more marked due to the progressive thinning of the epidermis in this area, and the reduction of blood microcirculation.
Curiosity
The laxity of skin linked to photoaging is mainly due to the chemical-physical changes that collagen and elastin fibers undergo due to inflammatory phenomena triggered by UV rays: consequently, the protein structures that form the dermis scaffolding are degraded and the skin appears less firm and elastic, in fact susceptible to wrinkles.
Bags
Even the bags are typical imperfections of the eye contour: this is a typical eyelid swelling that is accentuated in certain circumstances (upon awakening, in conditions of high stress or intense reading, after a hypersalted meal, etc.) and are very evident during mature age. As we know, the eyelids are formed by folds of skin tissue with extraordinary elasticity, such as to make them very extensible. This same characteristic, however, makes the eyelids easily "attackable" by the phenomena of premature skin aging. With time, the connective tissue that constitutes the subcutaneous cellular layer of the eyelids tends to lose extensibility by gradually relaxing, giving rise - thanks to the contribution of local water retention - to the phenomenon of bags, the main defendant of the "off" gaze.
Wrinkles
In addition to dark circles and bags, another typical blemish in the eye area - probably the most felt by the female world - is wrinkles. However, over the years the problem of wrinkles is becoming particularly felt also in the male universe, which is why so many men nowadays resort to the most varied anti-wrinkle treatments.
The 20 muscles present in the area around the eyes ensure facial expressions with over 10, 000 daily movements: the same muscles, however, also play a decisive role in the formation of wrinkles, crow's feet and other old-age folds. Not by chance, the accentuated and repeated expressiveness of the face is part of the long list of faithful photoaging allies.
Did you know that ...
In women, blemishes around the eyes are more evident during the menstrual period.
Cosmetics
Regardless of the type of skin, the critical area around the eyes always requires a very delicate cosmetic treatment. Whether dry, oily or mixed it doesn't matter: this area is always extremely sensitive and, as such, requires a lot of attention from the subject. In fact, remember that the skin around the eyes tends to rebel more often against physical and chemical insults than other areas of the face. Furthermore, this area is much more at risk of fine lines, crow's feet and imperfections typical of the age: in order to postpone as much as possible the manifestation of these (unavoidable) imperfections, the anti-aging treatment aimed at the eye contour should start around 28-30 years old already.
An ideal product for eye contour make-up, however, should not be excessively oily: light emulsions, serums and gels enriched with functional active ingredients with regenerating, nourishing, antioxidant and anti-aging properties should be preferred. Moreover, given the marked fragility and sensitivity of the area, the products for the eye area should also be enriched with microcirculation-stimulating substances and sun-protective filters to minimize the risks from photo-aging.
Anti-wrinkle cosmetics for the eye area
As mentioned, cosmetics with an anti-wrinkle action for the eye contour should be used starting from 28-30 years of age, if not to counteract the first wrinkles that may not have manifested themselves, at least to prevent them and delay as much as possible the occurrence.
To be effective, the anti-wrinkle cosmetics for the eye area should contain, therefore, a series of active ingredients able to both moisturize and nourish the skin, and to counteract the factors that favor aging, such as antioxidants (vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10, etc.), the elasticizing substances and the substances that de-contract mimic muscles ("botox-like" substances and cosmetics).
Furthermore, anti-wrinkle eye contour cosmetics can be formulated in different ways and, more precisely, in the form of creams, gels, or serums. By doing so, it is possible to meet the needs of each individual.
Anti-dark circles and anti-bags cosmetics
Given the main causes of the formation of bags and dark circles, the anti-dark circles and anti-bags cosmetics are formulated with ingredients able to favor and protect the microcirculation of the delicate area around the eyes. Examples of such ingredients are plant extracts of butcher's broom or centella asiatica.
At the same time, substances with a soothing, calming, anti-edema and anti-inflammatory action are also very useful; properties possessed, for example, from vegetable extracts of witch hazel or calendula.
Also in this case, the anti-dark circles and anti-bags cosmetics can be formulated in the form of creams, gels or serums.
Aesthetic medicine
The use of aesthetic medicine is carried out above all to counteract, eliminate, or in any case attenuate, the annoying wrinkles and the signs of aging that appear in the area around the eyes.
The most requested and practiced non-surgical treatments include:
- The administration of fillers (to colalgene, to hyaluronic acid, etc.).
- The use of laser technologies.
- Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion.
- Anti-wrinkle radiofrequency.
- Botulinum toxin injections.
Among the cosmetic surgery operations carried out to eliminate wrinkles around the eyes, however, we recall the lifting and mini-lifting anti-wrinkle, lipofilling and blepharoplasty.
Eye Contour Cream »
