Recently I was asked:
“Do you have to use an eye cream or is your face cream good enough?”
Typically eye creams are used when:
- there’s a particular concern (dryness, puffiness, fine lines, etc.)
- the face cream you’re using is too rich for the eye area.
- or both – for example, you’ve been experiencing milia (small bumps under the skin) in your eye area
So let’s talk about the last point.
Small bumps showing up under the eye area is common after long term use of a face cream that’s not meant for the eye area. Typically this is because the moisturizer has ingredients that are better suited for areas where our skin is thicker and can absorb more.
For example, our face creams with shea butter (like patchouli, daily detox, and forever young) wouldn’t be appropriate for the eye area. Instead, pair them with this gentle eye cream for sensitive skin.
The eye area (particularly just under the eyes) needs ingredients that absorb more deeply (like light oils and aloe). Shea butter is fantastic at restoring our lipid barrier and protecting sensitive skin, but the skin around our eyes is thinner and unable to absorb the same amount of shea butter that other areas of our skin can.
An example of a face cream that would be ok for your whole face and your eye area would be the cucumber refresh facial moisturizer (which brings me back to: it depends on what face cream you’re using).
So the bottom line is if you’re using a face cream that works well for the rest of your face (like the patchouli moisturizer) to keep hydration in, redness at bay, etc…. don’t switch up your face moisturizer to accommodate your eye area. Instead, use a dedicated eye cream as well as your current moisturizer.
If you’re not sure if your facial moisturizer is appropriate for your eye area, check the ingredients.
For reference, here is a rundown of our Grounded Sage Skincare moisturizers and whether I’d recommend using an eye cream with them or not:
- patchouli facial moisturizer – pair with an eye cream
- daily detox facial moisturizer – pair with an eye cream
- forever young facial moisturizer – pair with an eye cream
- cucumber refresh facial moisturizer – good for the eye area as well as your whole face
- raw radiance facial moisturizer – ok for the eye area (though some skin types may be sensitive to the essential oils)
- calendula & oat facial moisturizer – ok for the eye area as well as your whole face
- blueberry & cornflower night cream – great for the eye area as well as your whole face
- summer shade day cream – ok for the eye area as well as your whole face
I hope that helps,
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