Eye Care Mistakes You're Probbaly Making

If you're someone who cares about prematurely aging, chances are, you've already incorporated the necessary treatments and moisturizers into your skincare regimen. If caring for your eye area isn't a main concern of yours already, it probably should be. The skin around the eyes is much thinner and therefore more delicate than other areas of the body. This delicate nature of the under eyes means they are more susceptible to damage from outside aggressors, which is why if you haven't slept long enough the night before, your eyes might be puffy even if the rest of your skin appears normal.

Of course there are general ways to help make sure the skin around your eyes is in optimal health, including getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and eating well. But there are some other things you may not realize have an effect on your eye health. If you want to be able to cut back on (or avoid) the heavy dollops of firming eye-cream or the large doses of under-eye concealer, it's all about optimizing what you're doing for your eyes (and the skin around them). So to keep your eyes from prematurely aging, be sure to not make these common mistakes.

1. Rubbing Eyes

I know it's hard to resist rubbing the sleep from your eyes when you wake up, but this action can cause a lot of damage to not only the surrounding eye area but the eyes themselves. The action of rubbing eyes can tug on the sensitive skin surrounding the eyes, causing it to stretch out and fine lines to form. Rubbing too hard can even break blood vessels around your eyes, contributing to dark circles. And as far as the eyes themselves? Rubbing can cause infection or even damage your vision.

2. Not Wearing Sunglasses

You probably wear sunglasses in the summer, but if you're not wearing sunglasses whenever you have prolonged sun-exposure (sunlight reflects off snow!) you could be damaging your eye area. Because the skin around the eyes is thinner than skin on other areas of the body, it's easier for it to burn if not properly protected. And as we know, too much unprotected sun exposure can lead to premature wrinkles and even skin cancer, so make sure to wear those sunnies! Oh, and fashion sunglasses don't count. Make sure yours explicitly say they offer 100 percent UV protection.

3. Swiping On Cream or Concealer

Maybe you already knew not to rub your eyes. But if you're applying eye cream and/or concealer in a swiping motion on a daily basis, you could be doing similar damage. Instead of rubbing in your products, pat or dab them into the skin. Your delicate eye area will stay more firm and line-free with light touches instead of smearing motions. Also make sure to use your ring finger when applying your products. It has the softest pad of the fingers for an even more delicate touch.

4. Not Removing Makeup

If you regularly sleep in makeup, you could be facing a couple different problems. One is that sleeping in makeup can cause premature aging and wrinkling because the skin is not given a proper chance to recover during those prime snoozing hours. Even if you only wear a touch of mascara instead of the whole under-eye concealer shebang, sleeping in it can still be harmful. This is because the product can be rubbed into the eyes, causing irritation; or it can clog small follicles and oil glands in the eye, causing styes. So make sure to always remove your makeup before going to bed.

5. Improperly Removing Makeup

Removing makeup is another time we frequently don't realize we're tugging too much at the skin around our eyes. Instead of pressing down while rubbing to sweep all of that waterproof goodness away, there are a couple other ways to more gently remove eye makeup and prevent premature wrinkles. The first is to saturate a cotton pad with makeup remover and hold it against closed eyes for 10 seconds each. Being patient here will help loosen the makeup so it can more easily be swept away without pulling at the skin. Another option is to saturate cotton swabs and roll them over the makeup that needs to be removed. The rolling action will effectively clean off makeup without tugging at the skin.

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