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By HealthWatch, August 7, 2009

You can usually tell how old someone is by looking at their eyes. They’re more than just ‘Windows To The Soul’ but also a way to show your age. Why is this so? Your area around your eyes will typically be the first to start sagging and becoming wrinkled which is natures sign of aging. You have to keep in mind that the body has three main types of skin on it. The skin around your eyes is the thinnest, most delicate skin. The skin on your face is more like the paper found in business cards and the skin on the rest of your body is more like file folder paper.

Think about how easily tissue paper is damaged or wrinkled. The very same type of thing happens to the thin skin around your eyes, which is why you should not treat the skin around your eyes the same way you would treat the skin on the rest of your face, or especially the skin on the rest of your body! Have no fear, there are simple routines that are easy to start and if you do them often (once a day is recommended) you can prevent and even reverse some of these signs of aging!

1. Do not rub your eyes!!. Rubbing your eyes either with your fingers or a wash cloth can wrinkle the skin around your eye area. When your are touching your eye area, use the pad of your ring finger, which is the weakest, softest finger on your hands and pat the area, instead of rubbing it. This holds true for applying moisturizer, concealer, or any other eye product. Eye makeup should ideally be applied with an appropriate cosmetics brush. When removing your eye makeup, use a cotton ball to prevent the pulling and tugging that may occur with a wash cloth or your fingers.
2. No Regular Soap For The Face. Most soaps are made to clean the “file folder” skin on your body and are not always gentle enough for your eye area. In addition, many soaps have a high ph, which can lead to irritation or dryness for normal to dry skin or even increased oil for combination to oily skin. Many soaps also contain lards or fats that can block pores and lead to increased acne. Be sure to use a gentle cleanser, specific to your skin type on your face and an eye makeup remover formulated specifically for your eye area.
3. Apply daily moisturizer around the eye area daily. It’s important to use a moisturizer on your face to help trap the moisture so your skin looks more like a firm grape than a weathered tennis ball! Since the skin around your eyes is so thin and doesn’t have much fat, it’s important to use an eye cream that not only moisturizes, but strengthens and firms the skin in that area and also encourages collagen and elastin production. Your body stops producing any significant amount of collagen on it’s own after the age of 16, but thankfully, there are moisturizers on the market that can actually help this process along and diminish and prevent wrinkles. If you already have poor skin try using something like Res-V Youth, it’s been promoted on many popular TV programs as a relatively inexpensive way to get rid of wrinkles and other signs of aging.
4. Get your beauty sleep. Researchers say that your body ideally needs 8 hours of sleep per day. While your sleeping, your body is working to repair sick and damaged skin cells. So, the more sleep you get, the more time you’re giving your body to naturally fight the signs of aging. It is literally the least expensive, most natural way to get that fresh, relaxed glow we’re all after.

These basic tips, if followed, can help reverse (also prevent) the area around your eyes from a lot of the damage that time will cause. The “Before” picture in this article is a picture of my eyes when my daughter was 4 months old, I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t taking care of my skin. Flash forward to the “After” picture, just 8 months later on my daughter’s first birthday. This was taken after I’d been fully rested and happily back on my daily skin-treatment routine. If I can do it, anyone can!  Start following these 4 simple steps and I guarantee you will notice a difference. This is safe for all ages, all skin tones, all body types! Don’t show your age!