ASK DR. DIMA - UNDER EYE DRYNESS
MissRo here! Have any of you had issues with your eyes? Dark circles, puffiness, dryness? Well, again we have the pleasure of hearing directly from Dr. Dima herself! She recently received a question from one of her clients about under eye dryness.
Dear Dr. Dima,
I need some eye cream for dryness around my eyes. Can you recommend a good one?
Laurie S. Pasadena, CA
Dear Laurie,
It would be helpful to know a few things to be able to give an adequate response to your question. Among them are age, any existing skin conditions, any history of allergies and whether the dryness has any associated symptoms. But, having said that, I will do my best to give you a few recommendations.
First and foremost, our skin has a built-in mechanism for keeping itself hydrated and one of the most common causes of dry skin under the eyes (or anywhere really) is dehydration. So make sure you’re drinking plenty of water daily and the water in ice tea/coffee/soda doesn’t count.
Another cause of dryness under the eyes is using a product that has a potent skin rejuvenating ingredient in it such as Vitamin A, Retin-A, Vitamin C or similar cellular turnover ingredient. Many women I treat experience this “paradox.” They call or come back stating that they’ve been very compliant with the skin regimen I prescribed, but their skin feels dry and the wrinkles under their eyes look worse. In reality, they are developing new collagen resulting in softer, smoother skin, but it passes through this “dry” phase first. Now that’s a real eye opener!
There is a product called Galactic Glove Seal Your Skin Serum by Cosminology that helps to soothe the dryness almost instantly without irritation. Another is Heal Me at the Speed of Light Recovery Gel. Both are non-irritating and are best applied immediately after cleansing. Another very good product is Obagi Nu-Derm Eye Cream by the deity of dermatology himself and my mentor, Dr. Zein Obagi. Remember to use tepid to warm water for cleansing. If the water is too hot, it strips the skin of essential lipids leading to increased dryness.
Now, hypothetically of course, let’s say you’re out camping in the wilderness or you find yourself “LOST” on a deserted island with no internet or malls…ever wonder how those T.V. stars still manage to look so good? Assuming you have plenty of drinking water, your best bets would be an aloe plant, olive or coconut oil and even lip balm or any petroleum based product. Yes, that’s right! Just put some Chapstick under your eyes!
Lastly, you only have two of them. Protect your eyes from harmful UV rays with sunblock and sunglasses.
I hope this helps!
Dr. Dima
Remember Megheads, you too can ask Dr. Dima your skin care questions at askdrdima@cosminology.com.
Finally, Dr. Dima is doing a meghead special! Receive $10 off any $50 purchase with coupon code: meg1109.
So, do you suffer from under eye dryness? If not, what eye issues do you have?
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I don't have under eye dryness. I have dark circles, puffy bags, and lines (getting deeper! worse when I smile!). I am actually contemplating surgery for the bags. But I wear contact lenses and I think wearing them made the bags and lines worse cos I'd pull the undereye area a little. So theoretically I should get lasik first... sigh.. surgeries freak me out :(
When I had really dry eyelids and undereye area due to Accutane, I used Clinique All About Eyes (it feels so good without feeling heavy!) and Eucerin Q10 AntiWrinkle Sensitive skin cream (comes in a jar, is meant for face, but is gentle enough to use around your eyes. Looks like margarine and is really really thick, but good for use at night!)
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thank god under my eyes is one of the few places i'm not dry!
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I always get a little dry under my eyes every morning, i slap on some moisturiser but the concealer always seem to dry it out again. i also get puffiness and dark circles sometimes.. it's terrible!!!!
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My undereye area isn't really dark, but when I'm dead tired I get really noticable bags and that's when my dark under eyes pop out, literally! I also have oily lids so any eye make-up requires touchups after a couple hours :( primer helps.
That was really interesting about the Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Luckily I don't have dry skin under my eyes.
Ugh i just started using a retanoid product and am going through the dry and peeling stage. YUK indeed. But I know it will pass and I will have smooth soft skin!!!
Tan is Love
I don't have under eye dryness, but I have panda circles! I have to acknowledge though that taking my allergy pill every night really helps quite a bit
I have dryness around my eyes. I tried a few different creams but I find it difficult to find a cream that suits my sensitive skin. Right now Iam using Weleda Wildrose intensive eye cream. It's soo good. Really moisturising and it works for my sensitive skin. Also it's very affordable. Before I used an eye cream by Avene (don't remember the name). That one was good as well, but I prefer Weleda.
I don't have under eye dryness, but as I get older I've noticed that the dark circles under my eyes are starting to get worse. I don't think it's from lack of sleep or anything, it's just genetics. Mine aren't horrible though, nothing a little concealer can't fix. I'm also concerned about wrinkles around my eyes, but nothing too horrible has popped up yet.
I don't have any under eye dryness. (The skin on my face is a bit dehydrated though).I have been using an eye cream by Olay for several weeks and it really helped to lighten my under-eye circles. They are still there but a bit better. On the other hand, I feel like the tiny wrinkles on the outer edge of my eyes are more pronounced...yuck!
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I don't have dryness near my eyes. What I do have is puffiness, above, really not so much below. The hang-overeyelid thing...eww...not attractive. I liked the review, I do have to drink more water. Thanks for the reminder.
the skin under my eyes gets dry occasionally, my beef is puffiness and dark circles. I will use a cucumber sliced thick, I put it in the freezer for a few minutes so it get good and cold. then I put them over my eyes, it works very well, it really does.
My under eye area is dark, and gets dry because i use retin-a everywhere else but there. I have this microdermabrasion cloth. It works beautifully for rough patches.
I don't have undereye dryness, but I do have massive purple circles and these tiny bumps under my eye and in the inner corners. I guess I should drink more water.
Wow, thanks for the valuable info' Dr Dima! I am very strict on my water intake [I drink loads and loads every day for my skin] and I use a good quality eye cream twice daily - applying only with my ring-finger. It's really good to know that I am actually developing new collagen resulting in softer, smoother skin, but it passes through this “dry” phase first. :D
I don't have under eye dryness, my problem is dark circles. Mine are hereditary and nothing I try gets rid of them.
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I tend to have dryness more in the winter, but drink plenty of water which seems to help.
yeah drinking water that is the key! and also sleeping with an air humidifier if you live in a dry area or are using heating. I am still to figure out my hg concealer for my eyes as my minerals, any kind, makes it look dry under there and makes all the lines show up like 50% worse! not great at all. Right now im trying ELF all over cover stick, its good at covering but it moves into my fine lines and clogs there, which i just cant have
makeup makeup makeup!!!!!!!
I suffer from dark circles, it is genetic :S lucky me. So I cannot leave the house without concealer. I really want to try Heal Me At The Speed of Light, so I think I will just have to take advantage of the meghead special!
Yes I suffer from under eye dryness but it isn't extreme. I also suffer from occasional bags under my eyes if I haven't had enough sleep. My skin is a weird mixture between oily and dry. I have heard that it is most important to keep the areas around your eyes and lips very moisturized. I also heard that those are the first places most people develop wrinkles, because they didn't receive enough hydration. I'm not sure if that is true, but it kind of makes sense to me. I usually just use my regular moisturizer in those areas. My all time favorite and cheapest moisturizer to use is the Nivea soft creme. There are 2 versions. The one in the plastic white tub is the newer formula and is a very light and creamy. But it works great as a moisturizer. And the older original version comes in a blue metal tin. It is very creamy but more dense and compact. And it works very well as a moisturizer too. I know the one in the blue tin has petrolatum in it, and I think the one in the white container does too. My mom just used some of mine in the blue tin for the dryness around her mouth and noticed an almost immediate change. I highly recommend both of these creams, and they are both usually around 99 cents, and lasts for months. You can't beat that. I don't usually use eye creme of any sort, but as I get older or find a product that I want to try I may start using it.
My under eye circles are horrible and so much dryness! I definitely need to start using a thicker cream at night I think. I definitely should first try drinking more water. I know I'm a failure at it!
I don't have indereye dryness. But my under eye cirlces are pretty bad no matter how much sleep I get. And I drink like 3L of water a day.
i dont have any dryness under my eyes, but as many other ladies mentioned, though i am now beginning to get dark circles under my eyes (though im sure has PLENTY to do with my lack of sleep, but besides that lol) .. thats my only eye appearance issue really
I don't have much dryness, but I do have dark circles...And unfortunately, they're genetic and not particularly affected by how much or how little I sleep--such a bummer!
I always thought that the body pulled water from any beverage. I understand how the sugar and caffeine in soda and coffee and tea could maybe cancel or neutralize the benefits from water, but I don't think that any water is like ignored by the body because it came in with other stuff. The body pulls water from fruits and veggies also, so why wouldn't it do it from coffee or tea?
As an oily-skinned lady I don't really suffer from a dry under eye area. But I do have a few fine lines under my eyes that I could try and get rid of.
Oh I totally have this problem-especially if I'm not drinking enough water.Both the galactic glove seal your skin serum and heal me at the speed of light recovery gel sound amazing(love the names)Weirdly I was just reading today about the lady who does the pre -oscar facials and she was listing her must have facial care products one of which was ZO Zein OBAGI skin health offects exfoliating polish-which after the talking up she gave it I'm jonesing for in the most major way.
PotionPrincess♥
As I get older I seem to suffer from eye dryness more, I've been using an eye cream from Pangea Organics that seems to help!
I don't suffer from under eye dryness but i have suffered from lid dryness. This information is great to pass along i do know people who have suffered from dark circles under their eyes.
I intermittently will have dry flakiness under my eyes. I use Hope in Tube by Philosphy which seems to do a decent job, but when I get the flakiness I am horrified to look in the mirror when I am out of the house. My makeup definately doesn't cover it up. I think it is related alot to allergies. I take medication, but I get watery eyes that seem to dry up the skin. I also think drinking more water would help alot.
Dark circles are my main problem... I haven't really thought about whether my undereyes tend to be dry. Hmm!
The skin around my eyes tends to be dry sometimes resulting in flaky eyeshadow and uneven foundation application. Like lulubelle I use Philosophy's Hope in a Tube in the AM and before bed and found that it helps get rid of the flakes.
i dont have under-eye dryness,but I do have circles. However, i am super scared of developing the wrinkles my mother has... i am currently using a neutrogena eye moisturizer, but I feel as though I need something stronger. Any suggestions?
I have under eye dryness and i use a simple moisturizer the same for my face !
Ive never thought of Putting Lipbalm underneath my eyes, for my Undereye dark circles, I guess i will try this, Thanks for the top Tip my Lovely.
xox Luffles xox
I suffer from eye circles, but not so much dryness (although the two may be linked..). However, I would never really put chapstick on my undereyes no matter what was said of the benefits - I feel like my undereye area is delicate enough to warrant special treatment.
xoxo
I seem to have every problem associated with my eyes! I can, however, temporarily fix them all EXCEPT for the deep puffy bags I chronically have. I honestly think that my only solution is surgery!
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Meg sent me the Galactic glove seal your skin serum which totally made my day-Iswear she's psycic.I've been using it every day since and it'sa miracle no more under eye dryness.I'm a big fan of serums but have never before come accross one that you can use underneath your eye's as well as your face.I used to use a christan dior under eye serum a few year's ago but this is a million times better with this your getting 2 products for the price of one that work's as great under your eyes as on your face.I love it.
PotionPrincess♥
I heard this is amazing!
i have dark circles (thanks kids!), bags and fine lines. i don't think i would class my under-eyes as dry though i have noticed a big improvement in the fine lines since starting to use HA serum.
I do have under eye dryness, but the cheapest natural eye cream (Alverde) works well.
I find a drop of straight castor oil rubbed in at night after washing makes a world of difference.
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When i started using a mineral concealer, i think i aged at least 10 years every time i wore. It dried my undereyes out and gave me huge lines where fine ones were so i quickly stopped that. I use gatineau soin special yeax at night and that has eased the lines/dark circles a little. I don't think any product will cure that completely but i doubt it will stop us searching for the holy grail.
I do have a bit of under eye crinkle, but worse for me is under eye darkness. I haven't found anything to fix it yet.
I don't have under eye dryness, but I do get dark circles.
Sometimes under my eyes get dry, and my eyes usually have dark circles under them. :(
i love this
I use ROC eye cream. It's great. And only about $20.