After amassing a handful of essence masks, I inquired about patches made specifically for the eye area. She walked away and headed towards the counter where the Shiseido products were prominently displayed. I was then handed a fancy box of Shiseido eye patches that required an investment of over $60.00. After very little deliberation, I decided to pass on the patches and proceed with the low cost facial sheet masks instead.
In the back of my mind, I wondered why the eye patches were so expensive. So I did my research. And guess what I found? Shiseido was actually given an award for a technology they developed which will revolutionize the effectiveness of anti-aging eye products....forever!!!!
Check this out:
"Shiseido successfully developed an eye patch showing effective improvement of wrinkles, which was used self-dissolving microneedle technology. Microneedle technology is a newly advanced system for drug delivery and has been recently gained increased attention to its painless manner and safety in the medical field. We applied this microneedle technology to cosmetics as larger eye patch*3 with appropriate size and shape, in which 1200 needles were aligned on the surface (Image). Needles consist of hyaluronic acid which is essential to maintaining skin moisture and elasticity and known to decrease with aging..Successive administration of this patch preparation to the eye corner resulted in significant improvements of wrinkles, with increases of water content in the stratum corneum and viscoelasticity, which is an index of resilience.
Basically, they developed an under eye patch with over a thousand tiny needles that penetrate the skin, delivering hydration and nourishment directly to the sensitive under eye area. These needles aren't your typical variety made of metal. These cosmetic needles are composed of hyaluronic acid and actually dissolve inside the skin which is why the results are so phenomenal.
Those of you familiar with micro needling should be very excited about this. Micro needling has the power to plump the skin, remove stubborn acne scars and even regrow hair! Causing micro-trauma to the skin can have some really wonderful effects. The best tool for the job is a derma roller. Unfortunately, most derma rollers aren't suitable to go very close to the eye area. That's what makes Shiseido's technology so amazing!
As of now, this technology isn't readily available in the U.S. yet. Some of the articles I've read claim that we'll soon have access to these eye patches of the future. But, until then, Shiseido offers us their retinol eye mask. Retinol is the non-prescription version of retin-A. For the past couple of weeks, I've gotten back on my retin-A regimen and my skin is transforming. But my under eye is feeling a little neglected. More than anything, I want to get my greedy hands on those needled eye patches, but until the day arrives, I may test out the retinol eye masks to see what they can do. This, to me, is the next best thing. Here's why. Needles promote collagen formation and higher product absorption through the micro-trauma. Retinol, also promotes collagen formation and greater product absorption by increasing cell turnover. So it's like two different ways to experience similar results.
I'm not sure I'm ready to make the $63.00 investment until I know how this product works for me. Good thing Sephora has a sample size of 6 eye patches for under $20.00. That's very doable.
I'm not convinced hyaluronic acid is great for the under-eyes as during the 2 to 3 weeks I used a HA product under my eyes I began seeing wrinkles for the first time, which went away once I stopped using the product. I deduced that as HA attracts water and makes the tissue swell, my under eye skin was expanding when HA was added, then contracting back to normal as it was used up within the 24hrs period. I think the under-eye skin is too thin and not elastic enough to cope with frequent expanding and contracting like that - hello wrinkles! For women of colour the biggest under-eye bug bear tends to be dark circles not wrinkles, so Retinol and Vitamin C are much more useful. I use a Vitamin C eye-cream (Superfacialist one, buy from Boots) and much happier now. I use HA on my under-eyes max 2 to 3 times a month now and wouldn't use it more often unless I got my under-eye skin a lot thicker and elastic, maybe by using peptides and collagen products for a while.
ReplyDeleteNadege, I so look forward to reading your blog! My favourite posts are those about obtaining and maintaining flawless skin, every time I see them, they encourage me to carry on and try new things! However I was wondering, as someone who previously suffered acne, how dp you actually deal with spots?
ReplyDeleteI only know the method of put a hot cotton pad over it and pop it and moisturise the scar afterwards to fade it. But with all the advanced methods you've brought to my knowledge (such as the incredible Korean method) I wondered, what would you suggest for dealing with spots that have appeared or are bubbling under the surface and can be felt?
Hi English.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to draft a post on how to deal with acne. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you for sharing Anti-aging facials information. This is the most easy way of learning. This helps me to get some idea regarding this and helps me to bring a creative thought.
ReplyDelete