Not surprisingly, when we try to estimate someone’s age, the appearance of the eye area is always one of the key factors. Therefore, if you want to keep looking young as long as possible, you need to slow down the tendency of skin in the eye area to age faster than the rest of your face.

Why is the skin around the eyes more prone to ageing?

• This skin is thinner than the rest of the face, making it more prone to wrinkles and puffiness.
• It has almost no oil glands so little natural hydration.
• There is a large capillary network underneath — the many blood vessels in this area can show through the delicate skin, contributing to the appearance of dark under-eye circles.
• It is stressed by frequent eye movements and squinting.

What can I do immediately?

• Common habits such as squinting, tugging, pulling and rubbing the eyes aggressively can do harm to the eye area. Recognise these bad habits and stop them.
• Avoid sun exposure, wear SPF and do not smoke as these not only contribute to overall ageing but also ageing around the eyes.

How do I diminish dark circles?
Dark circles are caused by a variety of factors such as stress, lack of sleep, allergies, medication, sun exposure and genetics.

• The first step in diminishing dark circles is sleep. Regardless of your age, try to get at least as much as seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
• There are treatments available for reducing the appearance of dark circles. Skin creams that contain vitamin C, vitamin K and alpha hydroxy acid can work well and will usually diminish under-eye discolouration. If the treatments don’t work as well as you hoped, you could consider consulting a dermatologist who could recommend prescription bleaching creams, or even fillers such as restylane. Restylane can be injected to the scalloped bags and hollows under the eye to fill in hollows and brighten the appearance of dark circles.
• There are also many different under-eye concealers that can be used to effectively cover up dark circles. If you suffer from allergies, this could also be a cause. Find a physician for effective treatment.

How do I reduce under-eye puffiness?
Mild puffiness around the eyes can be due to stress, fluid retention, allergies, or a general lack of sleep.

• The most common cause is from allergies and can be eliminated with allergy medications.
• Many people slather on heavy eye creams, only to wake up to puffy under eyes. Recognise that use of heavy eye creams can contribute to morning puffiness. Prevent puffiness by getting enough sleep, with your head slightly raised on a pillow.
• Sleeping with your head slightly elevated would help you against gravity which causes fluid to collect in your lower eyelids resulting in morning puffiness. In the morning, cold compresses either with cold water, chilled washcloth, eye gel mask or cucumber or tea bags will also greatly help to reduce the swelling.

Never underestimate the effect of mechanical causes in contributing to wrinkles and crow’s feet. Smiling, squinting and rubbing the eyes can all contribute to this.

• Use the proven wrinkle fighters in the eye area — trentinoin or retinoic acid medications. Trentinoin is a vitamin, a derivative medication proven to reduce fine lines. It can cause dryness and irritation and should not be used if pregnant. To offset the potential irritation, use it every other night, alternating if possible, with an under-eye moisturiser.
• Crow’s feet or wrinkles at the outside edge of the eyes, are caused by squinting and smiling. Botox is the best way to reduce the creasing caused by muscle movement that contributes to these creases.
• Moisturise under the eyes. This will help with dryness, which is also a contributor to wrinkled looking skin.
• Look for eye creams with antioxidants or vitamin C.