Tips for Treating Dry Skin Around the Eyes
Having dry skin around the eyes can be embarrassing and annoying. Like many others, you may have spent a fortune on lotions and potions that should have treated the issue but didn’t. If you’re sick of the assorted bottles of serums, moisturizers, and masks cluttering up your bathroom drawers, then pay attention because we have some great “do it yourself” treatments that are a cinch to put together and can show a huge improvement in your skin!
First, let’s learn a little about the delicate skin around the eye area. The skin here is much thinner and produces a great deal less oil than the rest of our face. Because this skin has less natural oils to hydrate it, it is prone to showing symptoms of dryness such as an accumulation of skin cells, flakiness, and redness. A drop in humidity--such as during the winter when electric heaters tend to dry out the air--can also cause the skin around the eye to suffer severe bouts of dryness.
So, how can we combat this when typical moisturizers won’t do the trick? Preventative measures have the best effect for not only preventing dryness now, but also for preventing the signs of aging in the future. When washing your face, try to use lukewarm to cool water—in fact, the cooler the water the better! If you’re taking a shower, try to keep the water cooler, or keep your shower time down to about 10 minutes. Bathing in hot water is one of the main causes of skin dryness, so bear this in mind when washing your face (and your body, for that matter!).
If you have to heat your home with a wood stove or often use electric heaters during the winter, you may want to consider buying a humidifier. These nifty machines put water back into the air in the form of steam, which can help to counter the drying effect of harsh heating units. Smoke from cigarettes is also a huge contributor to dry skin around the eyes. Whether you smoke or someone else in the house does, that could be a huge factor in the cause behind your dry skin. If someone else in the house is smoking, consider asking if they wouldn’t mind smoking outside. Not only is it better for your skin and health, but you won’t spend nearly as much time washing and painting the walls! If you smoke, you may want to consider cutting back or quitting altogether.
Now that the preventative measures are out of the way, let’s talk about ways that you can treat existing dry skin around the eyes. For starters, switch to a very mild facial cleanser if you don’t already use one. If you can, choose one designed specifically for dry skin. Also be sure to use a gentle toner to help keep the elasticity of your skin up. If your skin is in seriously bad shape, there are simple concoctions you can whip up to apply to the skin (very carefully!) around your eyes. One “concoction” is to add a liberal amount of olive oil or pure vitamin e oil to a bit of your usual facial moisturizer. Keep this mixture in a separate container and use only around the eyes, as it may be too oily for the rest of your face.
You can also mix two tablespoons of aloe vera gel with a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir the mixture well until it becomes well blended. This not only makes for an excellent and cheap moisturizer, but the aloe vera provides a nice cooling effect. You can also create your own exfoliate by mixing brown sugar and olive oil until it creates a thick paste. Be VERY cautious when scrubbing the area around your eyes, as you really don’t want to get any of this inside the eye itself. Wash off with warm water and discard the remains of the mixture. The sugar will work to scrub away any excess skin that may have built up and the olive oil will provide loads of moisture immediately to the area. You can use this scrub as often as you like, but I think twice a week is a good place to start, as you don’t want to overwork the skin.
If your dry skin has cropped up recently and seems to be quite irritated, you may want to consider seeing a dermatologist, as it is possible that you may be suffering from contact dermatitis. This condition is often the result of an allergic reaction towards certain allergens that have come into contact with your eye either directly or indirectly, such as by rubbing your eyes with your hands.