The eyes are the mirror of the soul...
Yes, they are the first thing we notice when we look at a face and also one of the reasons why people are increasingly visiting the operating room...
As the years go by, those dark circles or bags that didn't worry you start to become more pronounced. That is when you buy the eye contour cream you've heard so much about, use it for a while, but... do you notice any results?
This is the dilemma for many people: finding an eye contour cream that truly fulfills its purpose and is as natural as possible. Here you will find the solution to your problem, stop searching once and for all, and get the results you deserve!
Why dark circles occur
According to the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV), dark circles are a pigmentation of the lower eyelid that stands out against the rest of the skin. Our habits are reflected in this very sensitive area: hours of sleep, stress, diet... Its appearance is also related to genetics.
This is because the epidermis around the eyes is more sensitive and thinner (between 5 and 10 times), so its cellular renewal is much slower than that of the rest of the skin. It produces less collagen and elastin than the rest of the body, and its porosity is also reduced. Another factor that influences this is the constant movement to which it is subjected, such as blinking or gesticulation.
Due to all these conditions, the area under the eyes is exposed to dehydration, which in turn causes wrinkles, sagging, bags, and the dreaded dark circles.
A study from Stanford University (USA) conducted by Professor of Neurology Tony Wyss-Coray was published in the journal Nature, in which he asserts that aging begins at 25-30 years of age.
This is due to the existence of more than 370 proteins in the blood. As their production decreases, cellular aging occurs, meaning its ability to regenerate is slowed down, leading to the appearance of all these irregularities and imbalances in the skin.
With so many types of eye contour creams, how do you choose the ideal one?
Even if you have researched this and discovered that there are ways to know what your dark circles or bags are lacking, we want to tell you something: it is not so easy to guess what your skin specifically needs.
But it is possible to protect it with different active ingredients to restore and boost its properties as a whole.
According to the Ministry of Health, collagen is the most produced protein in the human body. It is created by fibroblast cells, allowing tissue to be connected thanks to a sort of glue between bone and muscle.
As we mentioned before, from the age of 25 collagen production and quality begin to decline, decreasing by 1% per year.
It is important to know this to maintain a realistic outlook and not expect results like those of people who have been caring for the area for years. It is also essential to know the different factors affecting your eye contour in order to change its appearance.
Dermatologist Dr. Marta García-Legaz, a medical educator at the Instituto Médico Ricart, explains these types of dark circles and what may be causing them according to their color, depth, or texture:
- Vascular dark circles: bluish or purplish in tone. This is due to vasodilation reflected through thin skin. Sometimes there may be an excess of iron.
- Hollow dark circles: although they may look like bags, they are not. According to the doctor, it is "a herniation of fat," which is what generates swelling due to fluid retention upon waking.
- Pigmented dark circles: distinguished by their brown or orange color, a consequence of increased melanin. It is common in people who do not sleep well, have hormonal changes, have sun spots, or consume some type of toxin (tobacco, for example). However, she also notes that it is a hereditary sign that is not very easy to resolve.
Ingredients used in an eye contour cream:
- Hyaluronic acid
- Ceramides
- Retinol
- Vitamin C
- Peptides
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Caffeine
All these chemical ingredients have legal recommendations to follow because they are very abrasive substances compared to natural ones. It is important to highlight that those mentioned above are more susceptible to irritating the skin and can produce a kind of desensitization in the area. One must also control their combination with other substances, as they can cause physical and hormonal damage.
As early as 2022, the European Union warned that it would regulate the use of these substances so in demand in cosmetics. Now, in 2024, they have banned all products that contain more than 0.3% retinol, a derivative of vitamin A, in their formula, due to the large number of people exposed to large amounts of it, causing side effects such as headaches, nausea, irritation...
The use of natural ingredients is seen as the safe alternative in the face of these regulations. Among their benefits is their ability to deeply absorb nutrients, the reduction of side effects due to being less abrasive, and the reduction of the Carbon Footprint by choosing sustainable cultivation of ingredients and avoiding chemical processes.
Halo, nature among eye contour creams with chemicals
Although there are different types of dark circles, it is essential to treat the area as a whole to provide effective nourishment, especially because sometimes different cases can occur simultaneously. With Halo you have the perfect formula to care for your entire eye contour, while reducing the impact of aging.
All these benefits are provided thanks to its 100% verified natural formula. Its ingredients include aloe vera, which will keep the area under the eyes hydrated for 120 hours; witch hazel hydrolat, cornflower hydrolat, and cucumber extract, powerful anti-inflammatory and remineralizing agents; and lemon peel extract, arnica, goldenrod, and butcher's broom, which reduce pigmentation and improve luminosity.
But there is more! Halo is an innovative eye contour cream that makes use of two very powerful natural technologies, positioning it as the best eye contour cream at the Orgànics Clean Awards 2023.
Technologies
- Eye Effective: A technology so powerful that it allows you to observe changes in just 14 days. It achieves tightening the skin of the eye contour area (upper and lower eyelid), causing a lifting of the ocular triangle. Its composition: extract of Jasminum sambac or Arabian jasmine and extract of Crataegus monogyna flower or hawthorn. To check its effectiveness on dark circles, women aged 40-65 used this active ingredient for 28 days, resulting in:
- Improvement in vascular permeability
- Degradation of bilirubin and iron content
- Decrease in melanin
- Increased collagen synthesis
- Protein glycation
*According to the report "Eye'Fective: The essence of white flowers for multifunctional eye contour care"
- Orchistem: Its goal is to promote cellular regeneration and improve the function of skin cells. It uses stem cells from the Calanthe discolor orchid, native to Japan, from its own cultivation, avoiding water waste, excessive land use, and waste production. To stimulate and improve communication between the skin's stem cells and fibroblasts, it combines this with 9 plant extracts with venotonic and circulation-activating activity. Two in vivo studies were conducted on women aged 40-65 to verify its effectiveness after 56 days of use. These resulted in:
- Lifting effect on the facial oval
- Lifting effect on the upper eyelid
- Recovery of firmness and elasticity
- Luminous and radiant skin for a more vital and youthful look
- Say goodbye to wrinkles
- Clinical evaluation of the eyelid lifting and anti-wrinkle effect
*Data collected from the report "ORCHISTEM: orchid stem cells improving cellular communication"
How to use
- You need to follow the product instructions, as amounts do matter. Remember that these ingredients are studied together and their proportions are designed for specific quantities to avoid counteracting their effect. Follow the rice rule! The amount equivalent to a grain of rice is what your body needs.
- Apply it after your moisturizer, tapping with your ring finger, as it has the least force. Do so moving outward, as this will activate circulation and massage the area.
- You can also apply it to the upper eyelid or to areas with expression lines like "crow's feet" or the corners of the lips.
Tips
To achieve a better result, it is ideal to know these habits that will help you get what you are looking for in your skin:
- Use of intermittent cold to promote circulation in the area, thus improving cell oxygenation and nutrition. You can do this with a cotton pad soaked in cold water; leave it on for as long as you need and can withstand.
- Use of sunglasses and sunscreen to avoid dark spots on the eye contour.
- Have a diet rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, protein, and fiber. You can add supplementation of vitamin D, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium... to promote collagen production.
- Exercise your body to increase the production of growth hormone, but if done excessively, collagen production decreases; don't push yourself too hard!
Author: Nathalia Carrillo Jácome
