It goes without saying that the eye area is a specific skin area for everyone. Indeed, the application of an eye contour treatment settles down to be an essential step to obtain a complete beauty routine. The skin is mostly considered thinner, more sensitive, dehydrated and dry. In this article, we will detail each characteristic associated with the eye area so that you can understand the importance of having specific care for this skin area. 

The skin is thinner

 " The skin around the eyes is thinner ." This is the specificity best known to the general public. This is, indeed, scientifically proven. It is considered 3 to 5 times thinner because it measures on average 0.40 mm unlike 1 or 1.6 mm on other skin areas of the face. This thinning is caused by a loss of density on all of its different skin sublayers : the epidermis (the most superficial), the dermis and the hypodermis (the deepest). Indeed, each is impoverished in its main skin constituents: 

• The epidermis : Slowing down of cell renewal and loss of adhesion (cohesion) of cells. This is caused by the decrease in lipid synthesis that impairs the proper functioning of skin cells.
• The dermis : Decrease in collagen and elastin fibers (fibers responsible for the elasticity and tone of the skin) but also in glycosaminoglycans (macromolecules responsible for moisturizing the skin)
• The hypodermis : Decrease in adipose tissue caused by the low presence of adipocytes.

The skin is more dehydrated :

The low presence of glycosaminoglycans in the skin around the eyes causes severe dehydration. Indeed, let's take the example of hyaluronic acid which is the main molecule of this molecular group. It initially has the ability thanks to its structure to capture water molecules and ions thus allowing to retain up to 1000 times its weight in water. Considered as the water reserve of the skin, its decrease causes skin dehydration, clinically visible by the appearance of dehydration fine lines.

The skin is drier :

Naturally, black, matte and mixed skin lack ceramides in the skin of their face and therefore the eye area as well. This small amount of lipid cells dries out the skin, alternates the protective barrier function of the skin and accentuates its dehydration by increasing insensitive water losses.

In addition, the skin around the eyes contains very few sebaceous glands. This limits the presence of sebum (lipid body for the skin) which accentuates its dryness and the consequences mentioned above.

This is why we do not recommend applying a mattifying treatment on the skin around your eyes, but preferably opt for a moisturizing and nourishing care.

The skin is more sensitive :

The eye area is highly exposed to external aggressions and especially to the sun.

In addition, all of its natural protective barriers are altered. Indeed :

• Its mechanical barrier, constituted by the cohesion of its skin cells , is weakened.
• Its hydrolipidic film is less abundant. The sebaceous and sweat glands are less numerous and the skin has a strong tendency to dehydration. Thus, its constituents such as the eau, the sebum, the sueur are reduced which decreases its effectiveness.
• Its skin flora is also slightly different from other areas of the face because its environment influenced by water, sweat and sebum are negatively impacted.  

All this accentuates its strong sensitivity to other skin areas of the face or body.

The skin is more reactive :

The skin around the eyes is one of the most reactive areas because it contains a high amount of mast cells. These inflammatory cells cause an immune reaction as soon as the skin is attacked. This is manifested by redness, swelling, pain, etc. They are thus responsible for the frequent appearance of intolerances or allergies on the eye area.

The causes can be various :

• Using makeup that is too irritating
• Use of inappropriate cosmetic care
• Contact allergy
• Eyelid eczema

The skin is very solicited :

Did you know that we blink an average of 10,000 times a day ?

The eye area contains a total of 22 muscles, 14 of which are perpetually in motion. They are responsible for this natural reflex that aims to maintain permanent hydration in the cornea.

However, with these 10,000 blinks per day, skin fibers are deteriorated more quickly. The skin then becomes less firm and thus reveals the first wrinkles of expression or old age over time.  

The skin is highly vascularized :

The skin around the eyes is richly vascularized to ensure the proper functioning of the eye.   There is a double microcirculation, blood (which drains the blood) and lymphatic (which drains the lymph). Unfortunately, these are very often in slow motion. This phenomenon is partly explained by the thinness of the skin around the eyes.

Indeed, the wall of blood and lymphatic vessels consists of :

• An inner tunic: endothelium cell lining the inner surface of the vessel
• A medium tunic: smooth muscle fibers and elastic fibers
• An external tunic: fibrous tissues and collagen fibers

As a result, the skin around the eyes has fewer elastic and collagen fibers. This alternates the tone of the vessels and which slows down the blood flow

Several external factors can negatively accentuate this phenomenon, which leads to the appearance of dark circles and bags around the eyes. The realization of draining self-massage is therefore strongly recommended when applying your eye contour care in order to benefit from its venotonic and decongestant action.

Therefore, we understand from the various scientific studies conducted on the skin around the eyes that it is quite distinct from the skin of the face. It therefore requires specific care with the primary objective of being plumping, venotonic moisturizing and safe (safety) so as not to develop tightness, tingling and / or other skin or eye problems.