How to Select the Ideal Eye Cream for Your Skin Care Needs

How to Choose the Best Eye Cream for Your Eye Concerns

When searching for the best eye cream or serum to address concerns like eye bags, dark circles, and wrinkles under the eyes, it’s essential to identify your specific eye issues. As a dermatologist, I advise my patients to determine whether they are most bothered by puffy eyes, dark circles, or wrinkles around the eyes. This will guide them in selecting the best under eye cream with the appropriate ingredients for their needs, whether it’s the best eye cream for dark circles, the best eye cream for wrinkles, or an effective eye bag cream. Knowing your eye concerns will also help you choose the most suitable products to use in your morning and nighttime routines. In my dermatology practice in Miami, I share these same tips with my patients and explain to them that the delicate skin around the eyes requires extra care and attention, and using the best eye cream or serum can provide the targeted treatment needed to address specific concerns and keep the eye area looking its best.

This guide will help you choose an eye cream or serum, but if you have not taken the skin type quiz- we suggest you go here first so you can shop by your Baumann Skin Type.

Take the Quiz

16 Bauman Skin Types

The quiz will give you a list of medical grade eye creams and serums from many brands to choose from.

Whether you chose by price, brand, or preferences such as all natural- you can be confident these are right for your skin type.

Here is a guide to help you choose the best eye creams and serums for your skincare routine.

Find the Best Medical Grade Eye Creams

Best Eye Creams

5 Types of Eye Cream

Antiaging Eye Creams

Hydroxyacid Eye Creams

Retinol Eye Serums

Hydrating Eye Creams

Soothing Eye Creams

Rosacea or Facial Redness

Allergic Skin

Dark Circles

Puffy Eyes and Eye Bags

Sunscreen for the Eye Area

Eye Serum vs Eye Creams

What to Avoid in an Eye Cream

Fragrance

Chemical Sunscreens

Retinol

Which Is the Best Eye Cream for You?

Different Eye Creams for Morning and Night

Eye Products for Under Makeup and Concealer

Eye Product to Use Before Retinol

References

Best Eye Creams

5 Types of Eye Cream

There are five main types of medical grade eye creams designed to treat different eye concerns.. Choose which of these issues is most important to you. I suggest treating dryness and inflammation first and once that is under control, focusing on skin aging and eye puffiness. In some cases you may find one eye cream that treats all your eye concerns, but in most cases you will need one eye cream in your morning routine and a different one at night.

Types of Eye Creams

Antiaging Eye Creams

Anti-aging eye creams are the best eye creams for wrinkles and crow’s feet. These anti-wrinkle under eye wrinkle creams generally contain ingredients like:

peptides

retinol

growth factors

antioxidants

exosomes

heparan sulfate

Peptides and humectants temporarily smooth away lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging in the eye area. Retinoids and hydroxyacids help get rid of wrinkles long term but can be irritating to some skin types. Retinol containing eye cream and serums should be used at night.

To learn more about antiaging ingredients- click here.

This dermatologist- recommended eye cream has many different types of antiaging ingredients which is why it is the best eye cream for wrinkles and dark circles. It has every almost type of ingredient to treat wrinkles except the irritating ones (retinol and hydroxyacids).

It has:

Peptides (Tetrapeptide-21, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 Acetate- firms skin

Ferments (Saccharide Isomerate) anti-aging and targets microbiome

Vitamin C (Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate and ascorbic acid that lighten skin and increase collagen )

Caffeine-(anti-pufffiness and antioxidant)

Bisabolol- soothing

Hyaluronic acid- humectant

Glycyrrhetinic Acid (licorice extract that sooths and lightens skin)

Phytosterols- similar to cholesterol for barrier repair

This dermatologist recommended eye cream targets aging, puffiness, dark circles. It has won many awards because it can treat so many different eye issues. This a favorite eye serum of my male patients because it feels light on the skin and does not have a feminine fragrance or any estrogenic ingredients. I like to use it to lighten dark circles under the eyes in my patients that have sensitive skin and cannot tolerate most skin lightening ingredients.

The best antiaging eye cream for your 30s should have ingredients that protect the skin from pollution and target the causes of skin aging.

SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Eye Complex combines antioxidants, retinol, and other active ingredients to address signs of aging around the eyes. It contains ingredients like blueberry extract, proxylane, and optical diffusers to improve the appearance of dark circles, puffiness, and wrinkles.

The best antiaging eye cream for your 40s is Neocutis LUMIERE FIRM Illuminating & Tightening Eye Cream. It has ingredients that restore collagen such as growth factors. Combine these with a retinol night serum to keep your skin radiant, smooth, and youthful.

This is my favorite eye cream for patients in their 40s with crow’s feet.

The best antiaging eye cream for your 50s should have ingredients that target wrinkles, crow’s feet and help firm the under eye area . If you are a woman and are experiencing menopausal symptoms, I recommend this eye cream to help combat the loss of estrogen. It contains Methyl

Estradiolpropanoate that helps restore estrogen activity in the skin.

The best eye cream for men in their 50s is Plated SkinScience Intense Serum. This is actually a facial serum for antiaging created by a male doctor to treat aging skin. It can be used on the upper and lower eyelids to make the skin look tighter and smoother. Follow it with a moisturizer that is right for your Baumann Skin Type. To learn more about the power of exosomes to rejuvenate skin- read this blog.

Hydroxyacid Eye Creams

Hydroxyacid eye creams can help to reduce wrinkles, sun damage, and other signs of skin aging. However, you should not use these products unless you are a resistant skin type and your skin has no sensitivity or redness, Hydroxy acids like glycolic acid can cause dryness, flaking, and irritation, especially when used in the delicate eye area. I would prefer that you use a retinol around the eyes for antiaging purposes,

Retinol Eye Serums

Retinol is one of the best antiaging ingredients. It should always be used at night. Be very careful with retinol and follow these how to use retinol directions to avoid retinol side effects.

Hydrating Eye Creams

The best eye creams for dull, dry and dehydrated skin have humectant and occlusive moisturizing ingredients.

Best hydrating eye cream

Hydrating eye creams for dry eyelid skin contain moisturizing ingredients to hydrate and plump the thin skin around your eyes. This helps to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles caused by dehydration. Eye creams will be more hydrating for you than eye serums.

Sunscreen for the Eye Area

Don’t forget to protect your eyelids in the sun so you can prevent wrinkles around the eyes and sagging of your eyelids. These are some good SPF prodcuts for the eye area.

Eye Serum vs Eye Creams

There is a wide variety of eye creams and serums designed specifically for the eye area. When deciding on an eye cream vs an eye serum, consider your Baumann Skin Type®. Creams are thicker with more lipids and are more hydrating than eye serums, which have a gel-like consistency. If you have dry skin, you will prefer an eye cream which hydrates fine lines under the eyes and plumps them. If you have very dry skin, choose a barrier repair eye cream. If eye creams make your eyes puffy, choose a eye serum instead. You do not want to use a hydrating eye cream because this will make puffiness worse. Instead choose an eye serum. Oily skin types often prefer the feel of an eye serum. There is no reason to use both an eye serum and an eye cream at the same time. They just dilute each other and reduce efficacy of both. If you want to use both an eye cream and an eye serum, use one in the am and one in the pm.

Are you having eye irritation from side effects of facial medications such as acne medications and skin cancer treatments.? Applying an eye cream first can help prevent imiquimod side effects.

Do you have eczema around the eyes or eyelid dermatitis? Choose a barrier repair eye cream to protect delicate eye skin. Use this eye cream am and pm. A serum is not hydrating enough if you have eczema around the eyes.

What to Avoid in an Eye Cream

First- know your skin type so you know which eye cream ingredients to avoid and which to use. In general, if your eye burn from eye creams, avoid witch hazel, ascorbic acid, hydroxy acid, retinol, avobenzone sunscreen, essential oils and fragrances in eye creams. Fragrances, including those derived from natural ingredients, are often irritating to the skin, especially in the delicate eye area. Similarly, some dyes, preservatives, and other common allergens can irritate eye-area skin, especially in rosacea prone skin types. Choose a hypoallergenic eye cream if your skin tends to react negatively to many common ingredients.

When beginning a retinoid in your nighttime skin care regimen, avoid retinol and hydroxy acids in eye creams until you are already acclimated to high-strength retinol use every night.

Best eye cream for beginners

Fragrance

The skin around the eyes is particularly delicate and sensitive, making it more susceptible to irritation and adverse reactions. Fragrances, whether natural or synthetic, can potentially cause redness, itching, or even allergic reactions when applied near the eyes. By opting for a fragrance-free eye cream, you minimize the risk of irritation and ensure that the product is gentle enough for the fragile eye area. Additionally, fragrance-free formulas are less likely to cause watery eyes or exacerbate existing sensitivities, allowing you to focus on the beneficial ingredients that target your specific eye concerns without unnecessary irritants.

Chemical Sunscreens

Many chemical sunscreens can burn the eyes and make them water. One of the worst is avobenzone. So avoid eye creams that have avobenzone. It can also go by these other names on the label:

Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane

Parsol 1789

Eusolex 9020

Escalol 517

Neo Heliopan 357

Uvinul BMBM

Parsol BMDM

Eusolex 9020

Parsol 5000

4-tert-Butyl-4′-methoxydibenzoylmethane

1-(4-tert-Butylphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)propane-1,3-dione

4-tert-butyl-4′-methoxydibenzoylmethane

1-[4-(1,1-Dimethylethyl)phenyl]-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-propanedione

t-Butyl methoxy dibenzoylmethane

Dibenzoylmethane, 4-methoxy-4′-tert-butyl-

Note that avobenzone is the most common and widely recognized name for this ingredient in the context of sunscreens and SPF products.

Retinol

Although retinol is found in many antiaging eye creams for men and women, it can be very irritating for sensitive skin types. If you have dry eyes, red eyes, or stinging eyes, do not use eye creams or serums with retinol or retinyl linoleate, retinyl palmitate, or retinaldehyde.

Which Is the Best Eye Cream for You?

The best eye cream for you will depend on your Baumann Skin Type® and your specific skin concerns. For example, is your main concern lines and wrinkles, sun damage, redness, or dehydration, or are you simply looking to prevent these problems from arising in the future? Once you know your Baumann Skin Type, you can work with our STS approved skin care experts to treat the eye area with Botox or other cosmetic procedures.

Take the skin type quiz to see which eye products are suited to your Baumann Skin Type.

Take the Quiz

Different Eye Creams for Morning and Night

Never use an eye cream or an eye serum at the same time because you are wasting money and reducing the effectiveness of both products. However, you may choose to use one in the am and one in the pm. These are the factors to consider when deciding which eye product to use in the am and which to use in the pm:

Eye Products for Under Makeup and Concealer

Do you wear makeup? If so, choose the eye products that make your concealer go on smoother in the am. To find an eye product to mix with concealer, look for eye serums and creams with humectants like:

hyaluronic acid’

glycerin

honey

saccharides

sorbitol

propylene glycol

Think of your eye cream or eye serum as a primer for under eye wrinkles. Choosing the right eye product will help to stop concealer from settling in creases and lines. It is hard to say which is best to go under concealer- a serum or a cream- because it depends upon the characteristics of the eye products and the ingredients in the concealer. So- we recommend trying several different ones to find which eye serum is best to prevent makeup from caking.

These eye products work well under or mixed with a concealer.

Eye Product to Use Before Retinol

Are you using a retinoid at night? If yes- choose an eye cream for night that will protect your delicate from retinol and other retinoids that get on the pillow and transfer to thin eye lid skin. This can cause eyelid irritation from retinoids.

Using an eye cream before applying retinol can help you tolerate retinoids at night. Choose one of the hydrating eye creams mentioned above.

There are many good medical grade eye creams to choose from. Your best bet is to take the quiz and see which eye creams and serums are the best to use in your custom skincare routine.

DQH Knowledge drop: In your 20s, your skin cell turnover decreases. (Cell turnover is a key component in keeping your skin youthful.) You know what else slows down? Your collagen production. Starting in your 20s, collagen decreases by about 1 percent per year. Should you want to prevent fine lines and wrinkles, start by eliminating behaviors that contribute to premature aging. “If it’s bad for you, it’s bad for your skin,” says dermatologist Michel Somenek. “Cigarette smoking reduces blood flow to the skin and causes premature wrinkling and a dull skin texture. Making the repeated pursed motion to inhale can also cause smoker’s lines. Alcohol and recreational drugs are toxins for the skin that damage its cellular structure and DNA,” Somenek tells us. “The faster you eliminate vices while you are young, the better chance your skin and body have to recuperate.” Also, adopting an anti-aging routine in your 20s is key. After all, the best offense is a good defense. We spoke to Somenek and experts Joshua Ross and Audrey Kunin to find out more. Keep reading for the best anti-aging products for your 20s, according to skincare professionals. Sunscreen “We all know that the sun is the number one cause of skin aging and starting the prevention in your 20s is very important,” Ross says. “The majority of your sun damage won’t start to appear until you’re in your 30s, so don’t wait until you see it surface or you’ll be behind the curve. Stay ahead of it with a good-quality zinc-based sunscreen worn daily.” Farmacy Green Defense Daily Mineral Sunscreen An invisible sunscreen with SPF 30, plus botanical extracts meant to protect skin with tons of antioxidants. Bonus: It’s clean and fine to use under makeup. Bareminerals Complexion Rescue™ Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Although we recommend you use your SPF and moisturizer separately, we also understand moments when you don’t have time or energy for that extra step. For those times, this bareMinerals moisturizer is a great thing to have on hand. Vitamin C Serum “A great introduction to anti-aging is to start with a vitamin C serum in your morning skincare routine,” Ross says. “It’s a powerful antioxidant that will neutralize free radicals and brighten the skin.” He adds that it’s a great way to counteract the effects of the sun’s harmful rays, which, as previously mentioned, are among the biggest causes of premature aging. Drunk Elephant C-Firma™ Vitamin C Day Serum The Drunk Elephant C-Firma is a lightweight serum that promises to give skin a glow by combining the brightening powers of vitamin C with ferulic acid, l-ascorbic acid, and vitamin E. The included sodium hyaluronate is meant to replace hydration loss, so you shouldn’t have to deal with any irritation. Sunday Riley C.E.O. Rapid Flash Brightening Serum This potent serum is jam-packed with vitamin C (15 percent, to be exact), which means it’s a potential superstar at both brightening skin and dousing it in antioxidants. Peptides Using peptides on your skin has many benefits, says Somenek. “The skin barrier is what defends the body against pollution, UV rays, bacteria, and toxins. It can be damaged by several everyday factors. Using topical peptides aids in building a stronger barrier,” he says. “Peptides comprise elastic fibers, which are a type of protein. These fibers help to make skin appear taut and firm. Peptides can also help repair damaged skin, relieve inflammation, and even out skin tone. Some peptides can kill acne-causing bacteria that is common in 20-somethings.” Kunin agrees, saying, “Peptides are an excellent entry point for supporting collagen.” She recommends looking for face and eye treatments that contain these collagen-boosting powerhouses. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream This Charlotte Tilbury super-emollient eye cream has a base of coconut oil and shea butter (read: it’s incredibly hydrating). Botanicals plus peptides are meant to help reduce dark circles and boost collagen, respectively. This creamy moisturizer serves up potent collagen-boosting peptides and pycnogenol, and antioxidant-rich vitamin C. “Instead of sitting on top of the skin, peptides penetrate the outer layer so they go deep. The ‘signals’ they send tell the cells to produce elastin and collagen, which are needed for youthful-looking skin,” explains Somenek. At-Home Peel Pads Remember that skin cell turnover fiasco we talked about earlier? One way to help support it is by exfoliating. “Exfoliation is important to help keep skin fresh and luminous,” Kunin says. She recommends using at-home peel pads as an easy and effective way to exfoliate. “The goal in your 20s is to fight the slowing pace of cell turnover. It is wise to use products that gently exfoliate, yet still remove oil and other impurities. Products that have Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) or Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA) are a good choice.” According to Somenek, you should only exfoliate two to three times a week. “People of all ages are guilty of over-exfoliating and that can be too much of a good thing,” he says. Dermadoctor Kakadu C Intensive Vitamin C Peel Pad A few swipes of this Derma Doctor powerful peel pad promise to leave your skin glowing and smooth, thanks to the seven (yes, seven) types of chemical exfoliants, including AHA and BHA. It also contains vitamin C via Kakadu plum extract for added brightening and antioxidant protection. KEY INGREDIENTS Kakadu plum extract is sourced from the Kakadu plum, a fruit grown in northern Australia. It contains vitamin C, which restores the skin’s natural barrier, increases collagen production, and soothes irritation. Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel Pads These are the gold standard of peel pads, with a cult following and over 900 five-star reviews on Sephora. They’re easy to use and contain a blend of anti-aging exfoliating acids. Emollient Night Cream “In your 20s, you need to start upping the hydration in your skincare routine. You may have been cautious of over-moisturizing because of acne in your teens, but as you enter your 20s, your skin transitions and becomes drier,” Ross says. “I recommend an emollient night cream added into your evening skincare regimen.” “Twenty-somethings need to make sure that they are not using creams that will clog their pores and cause excess oil production,” says Somenek. Opt for non-comedogenic products. Cerave Skin Renewing Night Cream One great choice is the CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream, which is a non-comedogenic night cream that leaves skin soft and glowy. It combines the moisturizing powers of ceramides and hyaluronic acid. RoC Retinol Correxion Max Hydration Creme “The best night cream ingredients contain retinol, benzoyl peroxide, and/or salicylic acid or hyaluronic acid. The goal is to moisturize, yet remove excess oil,” says Somenek. This Roc Retinol Correxion cream fits the bill as it contains both hyaluronic acid and retinol so it promises to moisturize while also being non-comedogenic.

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