The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (33 page)

Now let’s take a look at Kinerase Cream, a favorite celebrity product that has a cult following. We see the same water, fatty alcohols as emollients, propylene glycol, silicone, safflower seed oil, soya sterol, aloe leaf juice, kinetin, and the same blend of preservatives. Not a single ingredient is different, except the concentration of the active ingredient, kinetin. The eye creamcontains 0.125 percent, and the face creamcontains 0.1 percent. The difference of 0.025 percent, or a microscopic 0.2 mg (worth a few cents when kinetin is bought in bulk) causes a double increase in price.

Many experts claim that using a rich facial cream around the eyes can cause milia, or small whiteheads that are similar in nature to acne but are not caused by inflammation. This happens because petrolatum-based, heavily scented, preservative-laden eye creams usually clog narrow pores in the eye area. If you don’t use a cream with petrolatum, mineral oil, or paraffin in it, milia won’t stand a chance.

Let me address another traditional “don’t” of eye care: the one that says you should not apply a facial cream around the eyes if you wear contact lenses. I cannot imagine that a sensible woman would apply an eye cream at night without first removing her contact lenses or would start her morning beauty routine with her contact lenses on. Don’t rub the eye cream into your eyes and keep it away from your eyelids, and your contact lenses will be safe.

It’s true, however, that rich face moisturizers are prone to migrating into your eyes and causing irritation. To avoid this, use cream very sparingly and apply it a good one-quarter inch away from the lash line. There are many wonderful natural moisturizers that won’t travel or migrate into the eye sockets. They will firm and moisturize, provided you use a small amount and keep it away from the lash line and inner corners of your eyes.

It’s not that I am against eye creams. During my last twenty years of diligent use of eye creams, I’ve owned a few brilliant organic creations, and I regularly blend a jar of antioxidant-rich, depuffing, soothing concoction that I apply every night. For emergencies, I have a vial of lightweight gel-serum that I store in the fridge and apply in the mornings to reduce redness and puffiness resulting from entertaining my active toddler into the wee hours every other night.

There are many wonderful natural moisturizers that won’t travel or migrate into the eye sockets. They will firm and moisturize, provided you use a small amount and keep it away from the lash line and inner corners of your eyes.

So what makes a good green eye cream? First of all, let’s see what makes a horrible eye cream: mineral oil, paraben or formaldehyde preservatives, artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, propylene glycol, tri-ethanolamine, and petroleum-derived silicones. So, any cream that contains none of the above is worth considering.

Good green eye products should be based on water, beeswax, vegetable glycerin, or plant-derived emollients. Many natural eye creams contain vitamin E as a versatile antioxidant and vitamin C, which strengthens capillaries. Plant extracts helpful to the eye area include green tea, eyebright, aloe vera juice, cucumber, and chamomile extracts. A rich eye cream, Burt’s Bees Beeswax & Royal Jelly Eye Crème, even contains magnesium-rich Epsom salts that are known for their ability to soothe any swelling or aches. Some vitamins are a no-no. Even though vitamin A is a good antiaging active, it can be too irritating for use around the eye area. Novel ingredients helpful in preserving the naturally youthful look of your eyes include antioxidant coenzyme Q10, various peptides that stimulate the formation of collagen, yeast, oat beta glucans, Indian frankincense extract (
Boswellia serrata
), antioxidant proanthocyanidins from grape seed, moisture-boosting hyaluronic acid, and chrysin that virtually eliminates dark circles. You can read more about these ingredients in Chapter 5.

Green Product Guide: Eye Care

Finding a very effective green eye cream is not an easy task. Most often, natural eye creams are hardly different from face creams but cost significantly more. Wou aren’t likely to find peptide molecules, hyaluronic acid, epidermal growth factor, and coenzyme Q10, not to mention idebenone. That’s why the best way to reap the benefits of these ingredients and stay green is to buy a relatively inexpensive eye product and add these ingredients yourself. Most of the products mentioned in the guide allow you to customize them. Just be careful to use active ingredients for use around the eyes very, very sparingly. The following are my recommended eye-care products, rated from one to three leaves, with three being my favorite.

Organic Pharmacy Lip and Eye Cream
is a very nourishing, almost greasy eye cream,more suitable for use in the winter. Formulated with eye-bright, antioxidant bilberry, and water-draining fennel, the cream does a perfect job moisturizing the eye area, but tends to stay on the surface and travel into the eyelashes, no matter how diligently you avoid applying it away from the lash line. Thanks to a DIY-friendly jar, you can adapt the formulation according to your needs.

REN Lipovector Peptide Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream
provides deep moisturizing with proteins from wheat and plant collagen from yeast, while beta-carotene works against superficial lines. Almost scentless and very lightweight, this eye lotion works best for younger eyes or on top of an intensive eye serum. The airtight bottle doesn’t allow any messing with the product.

Avalon Organics Revitalizing Eye Gel
can become your lifesaver if your nights involve more dancing, web surfing, or diaper changing than actual sleep. Keep it in the refrigerator for a morning boost of icy goodness. Loaded with calming lavender, depuffing green tea, soothing chamomile and licorice, antioxidant grape extract, moisturizing hyaluronic acid, and age-fighting peptides, this liquid gel penetrates almost instantly and can be reapplied without stickiness. I would have given it three leaves if not for the arnica extract (may be irritating) and phenoxyethanol (definitely not green).

Lavere Ultimate Eye Care
cream is a godsend to those who need to deal with the double whammy of wrinkles and puffiness. Formulated with moisturizing collagen, rose hip and evening primrose oils, caffeine, grape seed, and ginseng extracts, this cream penetrates quickly and leaves the skin taut, not sticky. This cream cannot be modified with skin actives of your choice, but believe me, you really don’t have to bother.

Aubrey Organics Lumessence Rejuvenating Eye Crème with Liposomes
is a real gem. Packed with plant proteins and amino
acids, deep-penetrating liposomes with vitamins and humectants, and more vitamins, the lightweight, nourishing, yet not greasy cream also contains a plethora of plant extracts and oils that form the basis of every decent eye cream: aloe vera, evening primrose oil, rose hip oil, white tea extract, and not one but two seaweeds (laminaria and carrageenan). The airtight bottle does not allow adding any more actives, but this cream is great as it is.

Green Solutions for Dark Circles

Most green eye treatments moisturize and prevent wrinkles, but not many can handle the problem of under-eye puffiness and darkness. A mineral concealer may temporarily mask the problem, but the underlying issue will still exist.

There’s a common notion that dark circles under the eyes form because of waste products accumulating around the eye area. This is not exactly true. The under-eye area is not a bladder or any type of bodily waste dump. Neither are dark circles caused by stress or fatigue. Dark circles are caused by a very complex physiological mechanism. Here’s the skinny: fine, almost transparent skin under the eyes is meshed with capillaries, or tiny blood vessels. These capillaries are so narrow that red blood cells sometimes have to line up to get through. Sometimes red blood cells break through the walls of capillaries and leak into the surrounding skin. Special enzymes break down the red blood cells, which turn dark blue-black in color. So your dark under-eye circles are actually caused by leaky capillaries. It’s the same mechanism that produces bruises when we are hit by something.

What can you do to prevent dark circles from forming? Actually, there isn’t very much you can do. The thickness of the skin under the eyes and the leaking abilities of blood vessels are hereditary. People with darker skin have more visible dark circles because of the natural pigments in their skin. If you have deep-set eyes, natural shadows contribute to the dark circles under the eyes, making them more visible. Also, some medications that cause blood vessels to dilate may result in darkening circles around the eyes. Lack of sleep can make dark circles under the eyes more visible because fatigue contributes to poor circulation and your skin looks paler.

One thing you can do is get your blood moving. Try simple lymph drainage by dry brushing your body at least every other day. Use a soft, natural fiber brush with a long handle and a removable head with a strap, so that you are able to reach all areas of your body. Long sweeping strokes should start from the bottom of your feet upward, and from your hands toward your shoulders, and on the torso in an upward direction to help drain the lymph back toward your heart. Stroking away from your heart puts extra pressure on blood and lymph vessels and can make matters even worse. Now take a shower as usual.