What does the term “Fine Lines” refer to?
Fine lines mainly refer to the natural breakdown of collagen in the skin that is caused by various reasons Such as aging, sun exposure, and so on. That collagen destruction is illustrated around your eyes in the form of very small fine lines and wrinkles.
In this article, we will be covering everything related to the causes and treatments of fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes.
How important is it to take good care of the skin around your eyes?
The eyes are not only a vital visual organ, but they do resemble a main symbol of beauty in our appearance as well. On top of that, eye contact is the most crucial communication aspect between people, as it will show transparency through our subtle expressions. In fact, as well as revealing how we feel, eye contact can also show our age. Clear, vibrant, and charming eyes will not only make a woman more attractive and elegant but also they will also hide and conceal any other facial defects.
In short, eyes are regarded as a “window of beauty” to every woman out there. And naturally, as we grow older, we start facing more and more problems such as fine lines and wrinkles appearing on the skin around our eyes as it is considered to be a very sensitive area.
This is why you should be very cautious when it comes to taking care of it, you should educate yourself and fully understand the composition of that skin area around your eyes.
Structure of the skin around your eyes
- Studies have shown that the skin around the eyes is only 1/7 to 1/10 the thickness of the facial skin. So, it is considered to be the thinnest part of the human body. In fact, the skin around the eyes is too thin that the combined thickness of the dermis and epidermis is only 0.55 mm.
- Unlike other parts of the skin on your face, the skin around your eyes has no sweat or sebaceous glands. Hence, this part of the face is almost always free of oil and sweat which causes the skin to be dry due to the lack of natural protection of oil secretion.
- Also, the lack of exercise will decline the blood circulation function in your body, and this will result in reducing the oxygen levels in the skin around your eyes, and eventually will cause dark circles to appear around your eyes.
- The vessels of the skin around the eyes are very small and extremely prone to aging faster than any other part of the body. It is worth noting that the layer under the eye’s skin contains a large number of those vessels, hence the extreme volatility and sensitivity of this part.
- The eye is known to be the most active area in the whole body. With a heavy workload on the skin around it, it easy very easy to fatigue it and worn it out. To get a glimpse of how enormous the pressure the eye takes on a daily basis, our eyes blink anywhere between 24,000 to 28,000 times a day. That pressure is applied to the muscles and reflected on the delicate skin around our eyes without even noticing it.
- The larger the eye, the wider the span in which it blinks. This is why people with large eyes are more prone to eye fatigue and aging.
- The eyes are located in a very critical part of the face, joining the facial muscles with the muscle of the eyes. This is why when you express feelings such as laughter, for example, it significantly shapes and changes the collagen around that area.
Causes of fine lines around your eyes
After understanding the general structure of the skin around the eyes, it is time to understand what are the main causes behind their appearance so we can be fully aware of how to treat them properly.
Lack of water
Since it is very thin in thickness, the skin around the eyes has a very weak protection function and very poor water retention ability. The moisture is normally easily evaporated, leaving the skin in a very dry state most of the time which is one of the main reasons behind the formation of fine lines on this part of the skin. And as you age, sebum secretion decreases even more and the skin becomes drier and weaker.
Overuse and pressure on the eyes
Unhealthy and bad habits such as long-term computer usage, frequent squinting, and over-blinking can easily exhaust the skin around your eyes and speed up the aging process of that part of the face. More often than not, this is the only reason behind the formation of fine lines around your eyes.
Poor blood circulation
You now have a solid idea of how thin the skin around your eyes is. This is why the blood vessels in that area are so small, so it is very difficult to carry and transport nutrients and oxygen to the skin cells in that area. This will cause the natural circulation of the capillaries to be static, leading to a slower metabolism and resulting in fine lines appearing around the eyes.
Not enough sun protection
Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause severe elastic fiber deformation of your skin, as well as all sorts of collagen problems in your body. This will get the dermis to be thinner and the skin to lose its elasticity.
Aging
This is a natural and common case for everyone. Actually, it can start as early as 25 years old in some cases. The skin will normally become thinner, elasticity and collagen will also start decreasing, and shrinking signs of the skin will start appearing.
How to get rid of fine lines around your eyes?
Now, it is time for our main topic. We have gathered all the information on how to get rid of fine lines around your eyes and prevent them from occurring. To achieve the best results, you should start changing your daily habits a little, as well as changing your mentality towards the protective ways, so you prevent any forthcoming wrinkles and fine lines formation around the eyes.
Get rid of bad habits
We cannot stress enough about how sensitive and fragile the skin around the eyes is, and how easy fine lines can appear in this area. Bad habits are so common nowadays, to a point that it is not very clear if you are practicing a bad habit or not. an unhealthy habit could just be as simple as using your phone for a long time on a daily basis. You might think that it is highly unlikely to get wrinkles or fine lines from such a habit, but you’d be wrong. Looking at your phone for a long time will get you to squint your eyes without even noticing and in the long run, this will cause a lot of complications to the skin of the eyes and form fine lines around it.
We have illustrated some of the bad habits below so you can be more cautious and do not overdo them, and ultimately, maybe get rid of them.
Try not to squint too much
if you suffer from myopia or astigmatism, you should definitely seek medical attention and wear eyeglasses to fix this problem.
Do not deliberately blink
Frequent blinking will weaken the muscles around the eyes and will cause fine lines to appear.
Never ignore an eyelid swelling
If you notice anything unusual or any abnormality in or around the eye, you should seek medical attention on the spot.
Sudden weight loss
The sudden loss of weight will, somehow, shock the skin and won’t give it enough time to adapt to the body fat reduction naturally. This can pretty much cause fine lines. So it is highly advised to lose weight gradually.
Be gentle with your skin
Do not pull your skin roughly when you are applying or removing makeup.
Always hydrate
From time to time, you should drink and supply your skin with a sufficient amount of freshwater, especially in dry climates.
Strengthen the skin around your eyes
This can be done with a few simple exercises. Just open your eyes as wide as you possibly can for several seconds, then start closing your eyes slowly until the upper and lower lids are about to touch. Repeat this process five times in a row on a daily basis, this is a very good exercise for the skin around your eyes to remain vibrant.
Skincare and precautions
In this section, we will show you how to take good care of the skin around your eyes, so as to prevent fine lines formation from external factors.
Sun protection
It is often neglected but protecting your skin from the sun is one of the most important things to do to prevent unwanted skin complications and damages, especially the skin around your eyes, since it’s very weak and fragile. Almost 90% of the external factors that cause early aging of the skin comes from the ultraviolet rays from the sun.
Fully remove your makeup
It is well-known that cosmetics and makeup products are synthetic. They contain chemicals that, when used for a long time, can cause all sorts of damages to the skin. This is why, if the makeup around your eyes is not thoroughly and fully removed, it will suffocate and plug skin pores. In the long run, this will cause dark eyes, fine lines, wrinkles, and aging of the skin.
When choosing a certain makeup remover for your eyes, you should always go for a soft, non-irritating one in order to protect the delicate skin around the eyes. And always be careful and gentle when you are removing the makeup.
Morning and evening skincare
The absorption ability of skin metabolism changes in the mornings and the evenings. This is why it is recommended to apply different eye care products accordingly. For example, eye cream with light and soft quality should be applied to the skin in the morning to activate the skin for a long day ahead. And in the evening, you should be using an eye cream containing nourishing ingredients to give the skin a well-deserved adequate rest overnight.
Eye massage
Massaging your eyes is mainly to improve eye fatigue and dullness. Besides using skincare products, moderate massages can do wonders in relieving eye pressure. Especially, if you are a woman who works in an office all day. In fact, if the nature of your work requires you looking at a computer screen all day, you should not only massage your eyes, you should also close them for five minutes every 2 hours at work so you can rest them from the heavy load.
Balanced diet
It goes without saying that you should eat healthy food that will help you supplement a certain deficiency in your body. For the sake of the topic in hand, eating food that is high in protein and vitamins is strongly recommended. Food that is rich in protein such as jujube or pigs feet, has the most natural moisturizing and anti-wrinkling effects on the skin. This moisture provided from such food will smooth fine lines in no time.
On the other hand, vitamin E and vitamin A have marvelous effects on the eyeballs and eye muscles, these vitamins also play a very vital role in improving fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes.
Cold and warm towels
As we grow older, blood circulation in our body becomes worse. This of the skin around the eyes as a non-flowing pond, where it is very slow to absorb nutrients by the skin around that area. This is why it is very easy for the skin to dry out. So on top of your daily maintenance procedure, you should also apply cold and warm towels to your facial skin. While applying the towels, you should gently massage the area around your eyes with your finger so you enhance the absorption function of your skin as well.
Eye Masks
applying eye masks twice a week will fully hydrate your skin and prevent fine lines formation around your eyes, as well as brightening and whitening your skin. There are plenty of effective, ready-made mask products in the market today. But, it is always better to make your eye mask at home with fresh fruits and vegetables so you make sure you are applying 100% organic ingredients on your skin. Here are some of the most effective eye masks that you can easily make at home.
- Milk and baking soda eye mask
This is a popular eye and face mask that has a very positive effect on removing fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. It is known for how simple it is, all you need to do is mix a 1/4 cup of milk with for 4 tbsp. of baking soda and start whisking the mix together until you get a creamy texture. Then put the mix in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Finally, soak the milk with cotton pads and start applying it on your face and around your eyes until it is fully covered and leave it for 10 minutes.
- Cucumber and egg whites mask
This mask has a tremendous moisturizing and anti-wrinkling effect on the skin around your eyes. Squeeze the cucumber and mix it with egg whites, then add 2 drops of white vinegar and stir. Apply that mix around your eyes once or twice a week.
- Loofah eye mask
The loofah is derived from a plant called Luffa. Loofah masks help keep your skin in good shape and reduce the likelihood of fine lines formation. It is simply done by pouring a wet loofah into some mud made from Kaolin clay, tea tree leaf oil, glycerine, and lavender oil and applying it around your eyes.
- Apple eye mask
Apple eye masks are good for wrinkles and removing dark circles and fine lines around the eyes. Just cut the apple into very thin slices and apply those slices directly on your eyes. Make sure the slices cover the skin around your eyes to get the utmost beneficial effect of the mask. It is also advised to put the slices in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before applying them on your face.
Fine lines treatments
With advanced science and technology nowadays, the medical beauty industry is becoming more and more experienced in the field of getting rid of all kinds of complications on the face such as wrinkles and fine lines.
Anti-wrinkle injections
Those injections will relax all the facial muscles that cause the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. This treatment is not painful, however, it is challenging to determine the amount and location of the injection. This method has to be done by a professional doctor, preferably your own trusted doctor.
Rhytidectomy
This treatment is very efficient when it comes to eliminating fine lines around your eyes. it mainly depends on using electric waves to re-arrange the tissues in the skin. However, you must find a licensed hospital that does this kind of treatment just to be safe.
Carbon dioxide laser
Co2 laser treatment uses short-pulsed energy operated on you tiny skin holes. Resulting in collagen regeneration and rejuvenating the skin layer. This treatment is very effective, although the recovery period is a bit long and can take up to a week to fully recover.
Disclaimer: to be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.
Tips for using eye cream
Use your ring finger to apply a cream to your eyes
Knowing how fragile the skin around your eye is, you should be extra careful when applying the cream on it. Since the ring finger is the lightest, you should always apply the cream with that finger.
You should always differentiate between a facial cream and an eye cream
Many women would apply a facial cream to the skin around the eyes, this is absolutely wrong. Facial creams are for the orbital bone of the face and should never be used around the eyes as they will easily cause bothersome fat and heavy particles to be formed on that fragile area.
Do not overuse an eye cream product
There is a common misconception that the more eye cream they apply, the better the skin will look. This is a common mistake because applying too much cream will defect the absorption function of the skin, which will eventually suffocate the skin and accelerates the aging of it. Generally, it is wise to apply a pea-sized amount of cream for both eyes and that’s about it.
Pay attention to your massage technique
The way you massage the skin around your eyes with an eye cream product will be different depending on the technique you follow. Wrong massage techniques will not allow the cream to work properly and that will eventually be the reason why wrinkles and fine lines appear around your eyes. Massaging should be done gently and in a circular motion. Keep on rubbing and massaging gently till you feel that the skin around your eyes starting to get warm, this is just to enhance the blood circulation around that area.
FAQ’s
Dark circles, Wrinkles, Fine lines, etc.
What are the proper steps I should take when using an eye cream product?
Basically, after cleaning your face, you should first apply toner then eye cream, and finally a facial cream for the whole face. These are the steps you should be following every time.
What’s a good eye cream product?
A good eye cream product should be compatible with the overall condition of your skin. It should be easily absorbed by the skin and should never give a greasy feeling, especially in the summertime. Also, should never make you feel dry in winter.
When removing makeup around my eyes, what should I pay attention to?
First and foremost, makeup must be removed on time, do not ever keep your makeup on overnight. Second, do not just use a generic makeup remover product, you should always get a specific eye makeup remover as they are more gentle on the skin.
Third, use cotton pads to thoroughly clean tough spots around your eyes
And finally, clean your face with fresh water twice.
How to choose a suitable eye cream?
You should always choose an eye cream that contains vitamin E and natural plants essence
