Q: Do I really need a separate eye cream, or can I use my regular moisturizer all over my face?
A: According to most dermatologists, eye cream is an unnecessary luxury. “Your face moisturizer has basically the same formulation and ingredients that you get in any eye cream,” says NYC dermatologist Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas. “It can hydrate the delicate skin around your eyes and help treat fine lines just as well as it takes care of the same issues anywhere else on your face.”
And because sunscreen, retinol, and other anti-aging ingredients can irritate the skin, she cautions to be extra-careful applying any lotion or cream around the eyes, and to never put it on the lids. “You don’t want to risk getting it into the eyes, and the skin on your lids is only 80 microns thick, which means it is easy for ingredients to pass through onto your eyeballs.” Gross, but good to know.
