The Case for Exfoliating Your Eye Area

Things are going pretty well with this updated skin care system that I've been implementing.  The Korean layering method infuses my skin with various nutrient rich serums, which keeps it glowing.  And moving my favorite skin care products to the shower adds that level of consistency, brining great results.

Yesterday, I glanced into my sun visor mirror to see how my skin looked in natural light.  Skin looked decent but I noticed that my eyes weren't as fresh and bright as the rest of my face. Sure, my first thought was to attribute it to not being in my 20 anymore.  Maybe father time was finally catching up.  But the logical side of me wanted to get to the route cause of the issue.  "What's missing from my regimen that's causing my eyes to look like this?"  The response was immediate.  I was exfoliating all of my face except my eye area.

Now I'm sure that everything you've ever heard or read has warned you repeatedly to avoid exfoliators near the eyes.  They say the eye area is delicate and fragile, like a newborn baby duckling.  You're only supposed to use the lightest touch with the tip of your pinky finger, if you ever go near your eyes.  I understand where they're coming from. We want to protect the eye area as much as possible.  But are we missing on a huge opportunity by staying away from the eye?

Let me first address the idea that the skin around the eye is too fragile for exfoliation.  I'm of the belief that any part of the body that's neglected will start to atrophy.  If we don't use our muscles, they shrink.  When astronauts go weeks without walking, they lose bone mass.  I think that part of the reason why our eye area shows our age so quickly is because we allow it to atrophy.  I've read online accounts of people who claimed to have thickened the skin around the eye area through a vigorous massage technique that includes pinching and rolling of the skin. They say the skin responds well as blood flow to the area increases causing increased collagen production.  The result is a brighter, more youthful looking under eye area.  We layer mascara, concealer,  and eye creams without much thought of how to properly remove all the unwanted build up.

So I looked online and found several articles urging us to exfoliate our eye area. So we can enjoy youthful glowing skin over our entire face!  This morning, I nonchalantly walked into the bathroom to experience this for the first time.  Keeping in mind that if I happened to get an exfoliant grain in my eye, my day would be absolutely ruined.  For this reason,  I purposefully chose not to use any products that are too grainy.  Because, Fresh sugar scrub is extra thick, the likely of any sugar grains going astray is minimal.  Please, never use an exfoliant that has crushed almond shells (or anything of the sort) near your eyes.  If something goes wrong, water can't dissolve it like with a sugar grain.

First I massaged my skin with oil to loosen dirt below the surface.  Then I dampened the skin with water and scrubbed with a tiny bit for Fresh exfoliant. As I got near the eye area, I used a high level of caution.  In fact, I didn't really go near my eyes with the scrub, I just remained in the area surrounding the eye (outer orbital bone). But it was closer than I'd ever gone before with granules.

That's when I decided to use another means to really exfoliate the under eye.  With my eyes firmly shut, I grabbed the Clarisonic and proceeded to cleanse my face. This time I also scrubbed my upper and lower lid (eyes closed).  I even allowed the electronic brush to remain on the eye for a few moments before moving to the next eye.  I emerged from the experience completely unscathed.

As I began to layer on the serums, I made a conscious effort to apply Misha's Essence serum and my glycolic acid serum to the under eye.  After I was done, I looked in the mirror to assess the results. The difference was noticeable right away. I also look forward to the cumulative benefit as well.    Exfoliation allows you to put your brightest, freshest skin on display, it only makes sense to exfoliate your entire face.  If you feel weird about using scrubs near your eyes, try a brush, a mild chemical exfoliant like Cure Gel or an exfoliating serum to see what works best for you.