The 2 Best Eye Creams – Active Ingredients And More

Best Eye Creams: While applying moisturizer is a prominent part of most people’s skin-care routines, caring for the fragile skin under your eyes is a whole other ball game and a good reason to consider using a dedicated eye cream.

“The skin on our lower eyelids is the thinnest in the entire body,” explains Amanda Doyle, a board-certified dermatologist at Russak Dermatology Clinic. And according to dermatologist Karan Lal, this skin gets “lax and crepey” over time and is vulnerable to many skin issues, including dark circles, bags, and wrinkles.

We consulted Doyle, Lal, and seven other experts (including an aesthetician) to find the best eye creams to give you results. Below, see their picks for the best eye creams to banish dark circles, reduce puffiness, and even brighten and moisturize.

Active Ingredients:

Eye creams are one of those skin-care products that remain tailored to treat specific concerns, and the ingredients should reflect that. For example, an eye cream designed to brighten might have ingredients like vitamin C and niacinamide.

While an eye cream aimed at reducing puffiness will likely remain packed with caffeine, with that said, some eye creams (like our top pick) include various actives that simultaneously target different concerns and help with everything from wrinkles to puffiness to dark circles.

Texture: The word cream remains used loosely here, as our picks include a range of thick creams, lightweight lotions, and serums. The surface is essential depending on your skin type and needs. For example, a drier under-eye area would benefit from a thicker consistency, while an oilier skin type would do well with a gel cream or serum.

The 2 Best Eye Creams

Revision Skincare D.E.J. Eye Cream

• $109
• Peptides, goji fruit extract
• Lightweight cream
• 5 ounces (Approx. $218/ounce)

Five dermatologists we spoke with had high praise for Revision Skincare’s D.E.J. Eye Cream for its ability to treat a variety of under-eye concerns. “This is a favourite in my office,” says Melissa Doft, founder of Doft Plastic Surgery, who recommends it for patients dealing with wrinkles, sagging skin, puffiness, and dark circles.

According to Hadley King, clinical instructor of dermatology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. “This cream contains dipalmitoyl hydroxyproline and sunflower-seed oil for moisturizing. Vitamin C for brightening, and peptides for reducing fine lines and wrinkles.” She explains that it also contains goji fruit, which provides additional antioxidant benefits, and cucumber fruit water, which calms the skin.

While expensive, it’s a multitasking product that will treat just about any skin problem you may be experiencing in your eye area. Case in point: Doyle says it can also be used on the upper eyelids “to strengthen the thin skin and help with creepiness, premature ageing, and even hooding.”

Board-certified dermatologist and founder of R.V.L. Skincare Rita Linkner is also a fan and has been using it twice daily for years. She uses it all over her eye area, with her upper-eyelid skin, and says she has seen “a big improvement in crepe-ing.”

RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream

• Retinol, hyaluronic acid
• Lightweight cream
• 5 ounce (Approx. $36/ounce)

If you don’t need to splurge on Revision’s eye cream, this one from RoC is an excellent option at a more reasonable price. In addition, it helps with a crowd of under-eye concerns, including crow’s feet, dark circles, fine lines, wrinkles, uneven texture, and puffiness.

Its hero ingredient remains retinol, a derivative of vitamin A that works by stimulating collagen production to strengthen the skin’s basis and minimize the appearance of lines. If you’re aware of the ingredient, then you know it has a reputation for sensitizing and irritating — but since this cream uses a vitamin-A derivative.

That is less strong than prescription-strength retinol. As a result, you’re less likely to experience irritation. Dermatologist Joshua Zeichner then Doft are both fans, with Doft noticing the inclusion of hyaluronic acid, which attracts water and locks in moisture.

It is essential because the dryer the under eye is, the more wrinkled it will look. Also, because this eye cream covers retinol, it’s best to use it at night and follow up with sunscreen in the morning because vitamin A1 makes skin more sensitive to the sun.

Conclusion

Final Verdict. Our best overall pick is Revision Skincare’s D.E.J Eye Cream. It is well-loved for its efficiency in brightening, moisturizing, reducing the appearance of fine lines, and more. Try Pond’s Lifting & Brightening Eye Cream for a more affordable option.