Summary: The delicate, thin skin around the eyes is often the first to show signs of ageing, necessitating a dedicated eye cream rather than a regular face moisturiser, which may be too heavy or lack specific ingredients. 2026 is the year you should start using an eye cream early to address concerns like dark circles and puffiness, selecting a formulation with ingredients like hyaluronic acid for dryness, vitamin C for brightness, retinol for wrinkles or caffeine for puffiness.

As the windows of the soul, our eyes often communicate more to the outside world than our mouths do. If you are genuinely happy, it’s your eyes that will give you away when they light up. They are also the place that most people will focus when talking to you so it is worth giving your eye area as much consideration in your skincare routine as your cheeks, forehead, chin and neck (areas we hope people aren’t staring at).

The skin is at its thinnest around your eyelids and eyes. They are also the most active area of your face (think of all the blinking, squinting, staring, laughing and crying you do). This all adds up to make the eyes one of the first places to show signs of ageing so they deserve a little extra TLC.

We’ve answered some of the questions we are asked about eye care products here, including the ingredients you should look for in an eye cream that will address your specific skin concern. If your particular question isn’t answered here, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

Do I Need a Separate Eye Cream?

As the skin around the eyes is the thinnest and more delicate and sensitive than the rest of your face and body, it's best to opt for separate eye products. While you can use your face moisturiser around your eyes, you’ll be looking for different results for your face than your eye area, and the texture probably may not be light enough. Heavy creams can increase fluid retention and the appearance of puffiness, the very thing we are trying to avoid around the eyes. There are also specific eye concerns that may not be treated by your regular moisturiser, such as dark circles and puffiness.

When Should I Start Using Eye Cream?

Using eye cream is more about addressing your particular skin issues than how old you are. Eye area concerns can be experienced at any age, such as dark circles and puffiness, so we think you should introduce an eye cream into your skincare routine from your late teens or early twenties. It could still be beneficial to use an eye cream that has anti-ageing properties as the process of ageing can be slowed, but not reversed. This means that prevention will be more effective than repair when it comes to addressing the signs of ageing in the skin around your eyes in later life.

What Should I Look for in an Eye Cream?

Eye creams come in a variety of textures and formulations, including gels, serums and creams. Consequently, determining which eye cream is the right one for you can be confusing.

Which product you should reach for depends on your skin-specific concerns, whether that is dark circles, puffiness, fine lines or crow’s eyes. You probably don’t need to look in the mirror to know which of these concerns apply to you, and we are all aware that many of these are exacerbated by lifestyle circumstances. Your eyes reveal a lot about your health, from puffiness and dark circles due to a lack of sleep or too much salt, caffeine or alcohol, to wrinkles from sun damage. Whether you’ve had one too many late nights as a result of a heavy work schedule, parenthood or a busy social life, or if you want to tackle or prevent the advanced signs of ageing, there is an eye cream that can help.

Take a look at your specific skin concern to learn what ingredients you should look for in an eye cream:

Dry Skin

Those with dry skin will want to hydrate and nourish the eye area, particularly as dry skin can augment the appearance of wrinkles. Look for ingredients such as shea butter, glycerin, rosehip oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E.  Hyaluronic acid is not only incredibly hydrating but it is also a powerful anti-ageing ingredient. It draws moisture from the air and plumps up dry skin, giving it a more youthful appearance and minimising wrinkles.

Dark Circles

Mica is a light-reflecting ingredient that helps camouflage dark circles and vitamin B3 (niacinamide) can also help reduce discolouration and strengthen the skin's barrier, locking in moisture. Likewise, vitamin C can reduce darkness as well as brighten the undereye area. It is a powerful antioxidant and anti-ageing ingredient that stimulates the production of collagen, which helps to support, firm, tone and strengthen skin.

Fine Lines & Wrinkles

Vitamin A (retinol) works to improve elasticity and stimulate collagen formation to strengthen skin, reduce fine lines and ensure that skin is smooth, firm and taut.

Vitamin C is an ideal ingredient for your morning eye cream as it not only protects skin from sun and environmental damage that causes wrinkles and fine lines, but it also rejuvenates and revitalises skin. It makes the perfect pick-me-up to go along with your morning coffee.

Puffy Eyes

Caffeine is also included in many daytime eye creams as it helps to decrease puffiness. Adopting a lymph drainage massage on a regular basis will help drain trapped fluid around the eye area, which helps to reduce puffiness and improve eye health.

What TEMPLESPA Eye Cream Is Best for Me?

If you are looking for a hard-working daily eye cream that reduces puffiness and dark circles, nourishes the eye area and softens the appearance of fine lines, then we recommend 

WINDOWS OF THE SOUL Hydrating Eye Treatment Gel-Cream

A lightweight yet hydrating gel-cream formula with echinacea, eyebright, cucumber and edelweiss to soothe, refresh and revitalise eyes, reduce inflammation and protect skin against damage from free radicals.

EYE TRUFFLE 24-Hour Eye Rejuvenation 

An intensive anti-ageing eye cream that is designed to treat the common eye problems that we all battle with, eye puffiness, under eye dark circles and fine lines, whilst nourishing and soothing the delicate eye area. With kombucha, phytic acid, sapphire and champagne extract, it works to increase brightness and radiance and give your eye area that ‘happy news’ glow.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the eye area ages 5-10 years faster than the rest of the face so thank your lucky stars if fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes are yet to be a concern! Regardless of your age, you may have other eye area concerns, such as dark circles or puffiness. Moisturisers tend not to be formulated to address such concerns, so adding an eye cream to your routine is essential for treating these issues.