Your skin care routine probably already consists of a number of different steps – do you really need to add in another one?

Well, if you aren’t yet using an eye serum, then yes, this one extra step could make a huge difference to your skin.

Why Do You Need an Eye Serum?

Unlike facial serums, eye serums have been designed specifically for use around the eyes.

You’re probably thinking…

Surely my facial serum will suffice for use around the eyes?

Sometimes, yes. However, using a facial serum around your eyes can sometimes make your skin worse.

How?

For starters, the skin around your eyes is ten times thinner than the skin on the rest of your face. It also experiences a lot more wear and tear – your eyes move more than 100,000 times each and every day. Everything from smiling and frowning to blinking causes that thin and delicate skin to crease and wrinkle, making it no surprise that the eyes are often the first part of the face to display visible signs of aging.

An eye serum addresses this by nourishing the skin with all it needs to stay fortified and strong. It can help to:

• Reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Minimize puffiness around the eyes
• Address sagging skin around the eyes
• Lighten and brighten dark circles

Do You Really Need to Use an Eye Serum if You Already Use an Eye Cream?

If you already use an eye cream on a regular basis, then you’re probably thinking that an eye serum in addition to this isn’t necessary.

This is where you would be wrong…

Serums and creams are very different, not only in appearance and texture, but also when it comes to how they work.

Serums are much thinner than creams, and this means that they are able to penetrate deeper into the skin’s layers. Since this is where the most significant cellular changes occur, a serum is usually more effective than a cream when it comes to stimulating noticeable improvements in the skin.

This doesn’t mean that eye creams don’t have their place too…

Their thicker texture is perfect for nourishing the outer layers of your skin. They help to smooth, soften, and plump up the area around the eyes, containing a number of key moisturizing ingredients that are simply too thick to include in a serum.

How to Choose an Eye Serum

There are so many different eye serums out there, so how do you choose which one to use?

The first step is identifying the specific skin concerns that you want your eye serum to help with. Whether this may be crow’s feet, dark circles, or anything else, begin by prioritizing your skin concerns.

Once you know exactly what you want to treat, it’s time to look into ingredients…

Eye serums aren’t created equally. While high quality serums contain intense doses of concentrated active ingredients, the poorer quality serums usually consist of a number of filler ingredients, making it so important to closely inspect that ingredient list.

What should you be looking for?

Again, this depends on what you are hoping to treat, but some of the best ingredients to look for in an eye serum are:

• Vitamin C – vitamin C is one of the most important ingredients in skin care. It’s a very powerful antioxidant that not only helps to lighten and brighten the skin, but also works to stimulate collagen and elastin production, leaving your skin looking smoother, firmer, and tighter in the long run.
• Peptides – peptides serve a number of uses, so you may have noticed them in a few of your other skin care products too. However, in an eye serum, they help to strengthen your skin’s outer layer while promoting collagen and elastin production. Peptides naturally penetrate quite deep into the skin, making them fantastic in serum-form, and they work even better when combined with vitamins.
• Sodium Hyaluronate – this humectant is derived from hyaluronic acid, which is loved for being one of the best humectants in the industry, capable of holding up to 1000 times its weight in water. The difference between the two is that sodium hyaluronate has a much smaller molecular size, meaning that it can affect changes deeper within the skin, which is why a serum is the perfect way to deliver this ingredient to your skin’s inner layers.
• Green Tea Extract – botanicals are always a great addition in an eye serum, but green tea extract is one of the most powerful. There are a number of studies out there to back this ingredient up, confirming that it can do everything from fighting premature skin aging to reducing puffiness – all of which the skin around your eyes would really benefit from.

Can’t find an eye serum that contains all of the ingredients you need?

Take a look at the OROGOLD 24K Intensive Eye Serum. It contains all of the ingredients listed above, along with a few extras:

• Calendula flower extract
• Ginkgo biloba leaf extract
• Kudzu extract

When to Apply an Eye Serum

Since eye serums are much lighter in weight than an eye cream, you need to apply your eye serum first.

Do this after you have cleansed your face and applied a toner.

Wondering whether you should be applying your eye serum or your face serum first?

This all depends on which formula has the highest concentration of active ingredients. If you can’t quite tell, go for the eye serum first. So long as you keep your face serum away from your eyes and your eye serum away from the rest of your face, the order won’t matter too much.

Confused about whether to use your eye serum in the morning or at night?

Both have their benefits, so if you can apply your eye serum both morning and night, this would be most beneficial.

If you’ve invested in a pricier eye serum and want it to last for as long as possible, then when in the day you should apply it depends on what you are using it for:

• If you want your eye serum to tackle fine lines and wrinkles, apply it in the evening. Collagen production tends to be at its highest during the night, and your eye serum will be able to provide this process with some extra support
• If you want your eye serum to protect against environmental damage and give the skin around your eyes a noticeably plumper and more hydrated appearance, then apply it in the morning

How to Apply an Eye Serum

When it comes to potent eye serums, a little goes a long way, meaning that you only need to use a very small amount of the product each time.

Most eye serums either come with droppers or dispensers. Use this to place a small amount of serum onto your ring finger.

Why your ring finger?

Because this is actually quite a weak finger when it comes to power and strength, especially when compared to the middle or index finger. This means that you’ll be gentle when applying your eye serum, which is exactly what you need when dealing with the delicate skin around the eyes.

Then, begin at the inner corner of your eye. Gently tap a small amount of the product from your ring finger onto your skin around your eye socket – don’t press too hard, just a light touch is enough.

Make your way around your eye area, gently tapping the serum in as you go along. Tapping is generally a much better way to go than rubbing because of the way in which it increases product absorption. It’s also much gentler – rubbing a product in often pulls and tugs at the skin, which can exacerbate wrinkles, redness, and irritation.

Once you’re done, have a feel to see whether or not your skin has fully absorbed the serum…

If it has, then this could mean that your skin was quite dry and thirsty. Hopefully, your eye cream will help to address this further, but if you aren’t planning on using an eye cream, then another layer of your eye serum would be beneficial.

If your serum hasn’t fully absorbed into your skin, continue to gently tap it in. You may want to use less in the future.

Can an Eye Serum Be Used on the Face?

Eye serums usually come in much smaller containers than a face serum, simply because they’re designed to cover a much smaller area of the skin.

This can make it pretty pricey to use an eye serum on both your eyes and your face, but if you want to give this a try, then it could actually be pretty beneficial…

This is a trend that has been around in K-beauty for a while now. Thanks to the way in which eye serums are designed to be gentler than face serums in order to avoid irritating the delicate skin around the eyes, they can be great for use on the face by people who suffer from sensitivities.

Apply it in the same way you would around your eyes, by using your ring finger to gently tap the serum in.

Other Ways to Care for the Skin Around Your Eyes

While an eye serum can make a huge difference to the health and appearance of the skin around your eyes, there are quite a few other things that you can do too to give this area the best of care.

Use an Eye Cream

Eye creams are the perfect way to follow up an eye serum.

Just like a facial moisturizer, an eye cream forms a protective film over the surface of your skin, which helps to lock in all of the potent ingredients from the serum you’ve just applied.

Again, pick an eye cream that targets your individual skin concerns. For example, if you’re trying to eliminate dark circles, take a look at the 24K Dark Circle Eye Solution. However, for those wanting to tighten and smooth the eye area, the 24K Cryogenic Contour Eye Firming would be a much better option.

Sun Protection

Did you know that the sun is responsible for up to 90% of visible facial aging?

This means that a large portion of those fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, and dark spots around your eyes are all due to sun exposure, and could have been avoided.

Don’t worry, it’s not too late.

An eye serum that contains plenty of antioxidants will help to turn back the clock when it comes to sun damaged skin. However, unless you’re also using sun protection at the same time, your efforts will be futile as the problems will only keep getting worse.

An SPF30 is usually enough to give the skin around the eyes the protection that it needs, and this should be reapplied regularly throughout the day. Do this during the winter months too – although the sun may not feel very strong, those UV rays can still cause damage to your skin cells, no matter the time of year.

Treat Your Eyes to an Eye Mask

Facial masks are pretty common, but how often do you use an eye mask?

If your answer is never, give one a try – you’ll be surprised at how much an eye mask can improve your skin.

Wondering how?

Go for an eye mask that has been pre-dosed with a high-potency serum, such as the 24K Collagen Eye Renewal Mask. This mask has been designed for monthly use – simply apply each mask to the area under each of your eyes, and then sit back and relax for 15 minutes. It’s the perfect excuse for some me-time!

If you aren’t yet using an eye serum, now is the time to start. If you’re still in your 20’s or early 30’s, an eye serum is a great preventative measure to take against all of the skin aging issues you’ll soon be experiencing. For everyone else, an eye serum can help to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, reduce puffiness and dark circles, and keep the skin around your eyes looking bright and healthy – that’s something that just about everyone would benefit from!