Do You Really Need an Eye Cream?

It may seem like a skincare staple, but do really you need a separate eye cream for puffiness, dark circles, and fine lines—or will your regular moisturizer do the trick?

The eyes are where all our choices–good and bad–show up. Partied too hard last night? It shows in your eyes. Haven’t slept for a week? Your eyes give you away. Laughed waaay too hard in your 20s. Your smile lines remember the punchlines.

It’s easy to see why eye creams are so popular, and why some people absolutely swear by them as an irreplaceable part of their daily routines. But there are also those who write them off as nothing but marketing gimmicks and overpriced moisturizers. So who’s on the right side of this debate? Well when a teeny tiny jar of product comes with a not so teeny tiny price tag, the answer isn’t quite as simple. Like with any other skincare product, the question to ask yourself is this—what does your skin need, and are you already getting it from something else in your routine? There are some cases when it might be worth the investment, and others when your regular moisturizer might just do the job. So, let’s talk about it.

Why Some People Swear By Eye Creams

Let’s start with the case for eye creams. It’s true that the skin around the eye area is thinner and more sensitive than other parts of the face, which is also why it’s often the first place where signs of aging, like fine lines, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation, show up. The idea is that an eye cream offers concentrated care, designed to address specific concerns, without being too harsh on this delicate skin. This is why some eye cream enthusiasts will argue that your regular moisturizer just isn’t enough.

In reality though, many of the products we use on the rest of our face can also be used around the eyes, and the ingredients in eye creams are likely to be the same as those in your serums and moisturizers (although usually, in lower concentrations). The big difference is that you’re getting charged double the price for the privilege of applying them under your eyes.

So, is there any situation in which an eye cream is necessary? Well, yes, but it really depends on what your skin needs—and what the rest of your routine lacks. Let me break it down for you.

How To Tell If You Need An Eye Cream

Personally, I’ve gone back and forth on the whole eye cream debate. I’ve had periods where I was loyal to one, convinced it was giving me something that the rest of my routine wasn’t, and others where I skipped it entirely. What I’ve learned is that whether or not you need an eye cream really depends on your skin’s needs.

Because the skin around your eye area differs from the rest of your skin, it *could* have specific needs that the rest of your face doesn’t. In such cases, it’s important to identify what exactly your eye area needs, and what kind of eye cream can tackle those needs. Here are a few situations in which you may need a separate eye cream, along with my favorite product recs for each:

1. Your eye area has a specific need

If you’re trying to tackle a problem that’s restricted to the eye area, like puffiness, some eye creams are formulated with ingredients specifically designed to tackle these. For instance, caffeine, a popular ingredient in eye creams, works to reduce puffiness by temporarily tightening blood vessels and restricting blood flow to the area. These targeted ingredients are rarely found in high concentrations in regular moisturizers, so an eye cream can help if you’re looking for specific results.

My Top Recs:

PYUNGKANG YUL Black Tea Time Reverse Eye Cream

THE INKEY LIST Caffeine Under-Eye Cream

2. Your eye area needs something a little gentler

Then there are times when your eye area needs the same thing as the rest of your face, but at a lower concentration. The truth is that regular moisturizers and serums, with active ingredients like retinoids or vitamin C, may be too harsh for the eye area. I myself use a prescription retinoid at night which is FAR too strong for my eye area. Instead, I choose eye creams formulated with a lower retinol concentration, or gentler retinal or bakuchiol to give my eyes the same benefits without causing any irritation. Eye creams in general tend to be formulated with lower concentrations of active ingredients, which can provide similar benefits without the irritation that stronger products might cause.

My Top Recs:

FIRST AID BEAUTY Retinol Eye Cream with Squalane + Ceramides

OLE HENRIKSEN Banana Bright Eye Creme

3. Your eye area needs something a little extra

On the other hand, there can be some situations where your skin needs a higher dose of something than the rest of your face does (it’s annoying, I know)! For example, a while back I noticed that the skin around my eyes tends to get a lot drier than the rest of my face, sometimes I’d even wake up with dry patches just around my eyes. This was a problem, because, the rest of my face is oily, acne prone and tends to breakout if I use anything heavier than watery, lightweight serums and gel moisturizers. I definitely didn’t want to put anything heavier on the rest of my face and risk a breakout, so a thicker eye cream was the perfect solution.

My Top Recs:

AXIS-Y Vegan Collagen Eye Serum

ALLIES OF SKIN Peptides & Omegas Firming Eye Cream

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, when it comes to eye creams, I fall somewhere in the middle of essential and useless. I’m not going to dismiss them altogether as overpriced moisturizers, but I don’t see a need to add them to your routine just for vanity’s sake. I think of eye creams like the cherry on top of a sundae—nice to have, but not always essential. If it works for you and your skin concerns, great! But if it feels like just another step in an already packed routine, don’t sweat it. Your skin knows what it needs, and sometimes, less is more.

So, what do you think? Are you team eye cream, or are you keeping it simple? Share your thoughts—I’d love to know!

About The Skinimalist

Hi, I’m Mal, a 30-something recovering skincare addict, and this is my blog. A space where I attempt to de-influence you from chasing trends and buying more skincare products you may not need.

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