Eye Envy

Eyes are the window to your soul and a pair of capitvating, youthful and glistening eyes rank high on the beauty stakes across ethnicities. But with great power comes great responsibilities and the eyes (if not taken care of) are often the first tell-tale sign of age.

The skin surrounding the eye area is extremely delicate and the thinnest compared to other parts of our face. With almost no oil glands, minimal underlying fat and riddled with a web of tiny capiliaries, all these characteristics give rise to problems such as puffiness, milia seeds, sunken-ness, dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles.

Here are some tips to keep eyes perky and youthful for days to come:

1. Start early with a good under-eye serum and eye creme. Prevention is better than cure so start as early as you can. Defy the saying that “youth is wasted on the young”. If you are in your 20’s, opt for a lightweight eye gel. In your 30’s, consider an anti-ageing serum. Use only serums at night if you are predisposed to puffy eyes.

2. Eye massages help with lymphatic drainage of toxins, improving of blood circulation and smoothening of fine lines.

3. For professional treatments, opt for Plasma Eyelift if you suffer from heavy, droopy eyelids that need a lift. Ultherapy or X-Lift (radio frequency) treatment for eyes go a long way in firming and tightening of eye contours. Medical grade LED light treatments provide a gentle yet effective way to rejuvenate the undereye area. Yellow laser uses a unique wavelength of light to reduce vascular conditions and brighten skin, thus reducing dark eye circles.

4. Do an eye mask once or twice a week – either the good old fashioned cold cucumber slices or soaked tea bags to reduce puffiness and fatigue and restore vitality.

5. Adopt a holistic approach to eye care for optimal results. Sleep at least 7 hours and before 2am. The deepest and most regenerative sleep occurs between 10pm and 2am. An hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 after midnight. Protect eyes against harmful effects of UV rays – opt for sunscreen or UV protection shades. Drink lots of water. Cut down on salt to eliminate puffiness. No smoking to prevent premature sulleness of under eyes. Never rub your eyes unless you want to accelerate the formation of fine lines.

And if all else fails and you have a red carpet event, choose an oil-free under eye concealer.