Getty Images/Mark Mainz The skin around your eyes is much more sensitive than the rest of your face.
• Eye cream can be necessary, according to a dermatologist.
• It's formulated differently than regular anti-aging cream.
• But you can use regular lotions around the eye area.
Eye cream has always seemed like a money grab to me.
As someone who uses anti-aging products and cream already, I figured why bother buying an eye cream version of the product I was using when I could just apply it around my eye area?
But not so fast, says Dr. Rebecca Kleinerman, a dermatologist practicing in New York City.
According to Kleinerman, some of the night creams we use contain ingredients that can be irritating to the sensitive skin around the eyes.
"A lot of night creams that have retinol and alpha hydroxy in them can be a little irritating to the eye area," she told INSIDER. "So that's why they often make more gentle eye creams."
Eye creams are also often specially formulated for the skin round your eyes and tend to be thicker and contain more oil, according to dermatologist Patricia Farris, MD, speaking to Web MD. And this area of your face can use the extra moisture - it's often more prone to dryness as well as fine lines and wrinkles, whether from sun damage or aging.
Kleinerman said her preferred brand of eyecream is YsthéAL Eye and Lip Contour from Avène for its ingredients, including Retinaldehyde, which is similar to retinol, but less irritating for sensitive skin, and Pre-Tocopheryl, which provides anti-oxidant protection.
But just because anti-aging creams should be handled with care around the eye area doesn't mean all moisturizers are bad. Kleinerman says it's mostly those with the most potent active ingredients, such as retinoids, which are very common in anti-aging products.
"It depends on what kind of night cream or moisturizer you're using. If you're using an anti-aging night cream you may want to be gentle and not put it around the eye area, but if you're using just a bland emollient then you can probably use it around the eye area as well," she said.
So perhaps the next time I'm at Sephora, I'll give their eye creams a try.