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Eye Lines

Treating Eye Lines and Dry Skin

Hi,

thanks for a site we can trust, you do your research!

I'm in my mid 30's and have dry smile lines under my eyes and crows feet.

I'm on the Obagi system but try to keep the products away from my eyes as they're drying, with the exception of Skinceuticals C+E in the a.m.

I started using Neutrogena copper eye cream also in the a.m., but need something to really combat the lines & moisturize at night.

I'm wondering which you'd recommend - Prevage, P.T. Roth Unwrinkle eye, Kinerase Intensive, or maybe La Prairie or something else!

Thanks again.

Krista

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Aaahh choices … it’s wonderful to have them but they’re so hard to make.

You’ve mentioned some of the very best cosmeceutical creams for the eye area. But there’s no way you can use them all and most people couldn’t afford them all.

So, what I’ll do is put them in order by price (from the least to the most expensive) and tell you what’s special about each one.

First some comments on classes of ingredients found in eye creams …

Moisturizers not only make the skin feel nice, they help support the skin’s glycan network. The glycan network keeps skin plump – supporting it against collapse and thinning.

Just as importantly, it acts as a cellular communication network facilitating surface repair and maintenance work. So moisturizers have true anti-aging properties.

Antioxidants disarm free radicals whether from the sun, the environment or the body’s own internal processes. While sunscreens block most of the sun’s UV rays; antioxidants deal with the free rads that get through the screen as well as those from other sources.

Scientists are very excited about the more powerful antioxidants recently discovered (e.g. coffeeberry extract and idebenone), but that doesn’t mean the prior generation of antioxidants with long track records (active vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, kinetin, alpha-lipoic acid) should be ignored.

Exfoliants, if any, for around the eye area should be the most gentle-acting possible: BHA’s or low concentrations of AHA’s.

Exfoliation has age-reversing effects. Many studies have demonstrated that exfoliation not only reveals younger fresher looking skin but also stimulates new collagen production.

Peptides are the most powerful age-reversing ingredients yet known. Their ability to stimulate collagen production far exceeds that of exfoliants.

See my Cosmeceutical Peptide Glossary to read about the individual peptide study results.

Few eye creams have a stated sun protection. So be sure you add that.

Wear sunglasses when you are out in the sun. Dermatologists will tell you that the single most important thing that you can do to prevent skin photoaging (which accounts for 80% of the skin’s physical signs of aging) is to protect it from the sun’s rays.

Many SPF ingredients are strong chemicals so, as you do with the Obagi products, be sure to keep them out of the eye itself.

Virtually all sun protection chemcials will sting the eyes. According to dermatologists, the manufactured SPF ingredients most likely to cause an allergic skin reaction are PABA, benzophenones, cinnamates, and methoxydibenzoylmethane.

Anti-Aging Eye Creams Ranked from Least to Most Expensive

Neutrogena Visibly Firm Eye Cream's active ingredient is Copper Tripeptide-1.

The rest of the ingredients are pretty run of the mill: good moisturizers; Vitamin E (antioxidant), and no exfoliating agents.

However, at one-fifth the cost of the two most expensive anti-aging eye creams in this list, I consider this a good value.

Kinerase Intensive Eye Cream’s price is about twice that of Neutrogena Visibly Firm.

Frankly, I find the ingredient list a bit disappointing: very good moisturizer (Imidazolidinyl Urea); good antioxidant (Kinetin, a.k.a. N6-Furfuryladenine); Citric acid (exfoliant); and soothing botanicals (Aloe). No peptides.

Kinerase Under Eye Rescue falls right in the middle of this pack as far as cost goes, but is outstanding for its ingredients. On a per-ounce basis, it is about half the price of the most expensive eye creams here.

It contains one of the best anti-aging peptides, Tripeptide-3 and the two most powerful moisturizers known (Sodium Hyaluronate and Diazolidinyl Urea). It is the only eye cream in this list which contains Eyeseryl Tetrapeptide to reduce under eye puffiness caused by water accumulation.

It contains no exfoliating agents and has Kinetin as an antioxidant. In addition it contains some temporary tightening agents and lots of soothing botanicals. All in all, an excellent value.

Prevage Eye Treatment is loaded with anti-aging peptides: Palmitoyl Oligopeptide; Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide 7: Palmitoyl Tripeptide 5: and Acetyl Tetrapeptide 5. It has Sodium Hyaluronate (the best moisturizer), the antioxidant Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) and the exfoliating agent Lactic Acid.

It also contains a lot of soothing botanical extracts to calm the skin and reduce bags and puffiness.

If you love anti-aging peptides as I do, you might want to spring for this one. A little goes a long way.

A bottle should last at least four months. Users report they love the silky feel.

Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Eye is the most peptide-packed of the lot.

Their ingredient list is extremely difficult to decipher, but I found it worth the effort to do so. They use the trademark names rather than the chemical names in their ads.

SYN®-COLL (a.k.a. Tripeptide-3) is found in Kinerase Under Eye Rescue as well.

MatrixylT 3000 (a.k.a Oligopeptide plus Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide) is found in Prevage Eye.

Roth Unwrinkle Eye contains both Argireline and SNAP-8.

Argireline (which is found in many Botox-mimicking anti-aging products) is the “weak sister” of SNAP-8. According to Centerchem, the manufacturer, “SNAP-8 is an elongation of the famous hexapeptide Argireline®. SNAP-8 reduces the depth of wrinkles on the face caused by the contraction of muscles of facial expression, especially in the forehead and around the eyes.”

But what really makes Roth Unwrinkle Eye stand out is the inclusion of SYN®-AKE. Read the research results on in my article, aptly titled Syn-ake, for more information.

As for non-peptide ingredients, Roth Unwrinkle Eye contains antioxidants Vitamin A and E; and the best moisturizer, Hyaluronic Acid (a.k.a. Sodium Hyaluronate).

As for Roths’s stated inclusion of “AC Dermapeptide Lifting and AC Plumping Nanovectors”, I don’t have a clue!

Putting the marketing hype aside, I believe Roth Unwrinkle Eye is an excellent product.

Some Notes on the Other Lines You Mentioned

These are not part of the “rank ordered by price” list; just a few comments on the other lines you mentioned.

The La Prairie Swiss skin care line has many devoted followers. I personally can’t convince myself to pay over $200 an oz. for an eye cream – especially one that has no peptides.

Therefore, I don’t have the full ingredient lists for La Prairie and my observations are based on what their ads say and some comments from Paula Begoun, author of Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me - now in its 5th edition.

La Prairie Cellular Eye Contour Cream contains very good moisturizers and antioxidants.

La Prairie AntiAging Eye Cream contains the same fine skin care ingredients found in the La Prairie Cellular cream, as well as ingredients to combat edema and dark under eye circles.

The Obagi System is very good and has everything you need to fight the visible signs of skin aging, except peptides.

Plus, as you note, you don’t want to get the products too close to the eyes. The products are high in antioxidants. The serum and night cream contain 4% Hydroquinone to lighten age spots.

There is a 30 SPF day cream.

The exfoliating day lotion contains Glycolic Acid, a tried and true AHA.

SkinCeuticals C E Serum: the bad news is that the company has discontinued this product.; the good news is that they have replaced it with a dramatically improved version, SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Serum.

Check out the current offers promotions at SkinStore.com!

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport to offer medical advice.

 

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