At I risk disappointing you and seeming unamusing, but according to a very serious study... eyes! It it must be said that the eye is a very intriguing organ, did you know that the record for the largest eyes in the world is held by… the squid (1) ! Each of its eyes can be up to 25 cm in diameter, the size of a large watermelon, quite practical for exploring the ocean depths.
This interest we have in eyes pushed us, as skin specialists, to focus on the eye contour area! The the skin around the eye is indeed very special and until recently I was watching a movie where the main heroine was worried about the small wrinkles forming around her blue eyes when she smiled. And yes… because the first important point you’ve probably already noticed: the eye contour is the part of the face where wrinkles appear first wrinkles (with the contour of the lips) !
1, 2… 15 000 TIMES PER DAY !
I I’m not talking about how many times you’ll look in a mirror or rearview mirror to see if your fine lines have disappeared but about the number of blinks you do every day! Yes about 15,000. In fact, since the beginning of this article, you must have blinked more than 10 times. The the eye contour is the most mobile area of the face, and these daily micro-contractions cause fine lines that become visible from the age of 25 years (2) !
Besides, apart from creating fine lines and having your eyes closed in photos, what is the point of blinking ? To hydrate and clean. With each blink, like a windshield wiper-eyelid, the eyelid cleans the eye and spreads the tear fluid so that the eyeball doesn’t dry out.
DON’T LET IT FALL, IT IS SO FRAGILE !
During due to genetic evolutions, the eye contour hasn’t inherited only good traits… because in addition to being subjected to many daily contractions, it is a particularly sensitive area. The epidermis around the eyes is 3 times thinner than that of the face (0,33-0,36 mm against 1-1,6 mm) ! It yet there isn’t much distance between the two ! And it's not over... the hydrolipidic film, this protective film made of lipids and moisturizing elements that protects our skin, is almost absent around the eye (2) ! This leaves the field open to dehydration and external aggressions.
YOU SEE ALIENS EVERYWHERE, THAT’S NORMAL !
You You have thousands of bacteria in and around your eye, but don’t be afraid; this is also true for all your skin. You Have I reassured you? More seriously, it’s called the microbiota ocular (3). This are “good bacteria” that live in harmony on your eyes and the skin around the eye and notably protect you from “bad bacteria” that would like to settle there. They take up all the space and use all the available nutrients, so pathogenic bacteria cannot develop there. Some good bacteria like those with the gentle name of Corynebacterium mastitidis can even produce antibacterial peptides to destroy bad bacteria trying to settle in the tear fluid (4)! A a real territorial battle that good bacteria win most of the time... However, if you use cosmetic products containing many preservatives, you will destroy part of this flora. The Preservatives don’t discriminate; their goal is to destroy everything that moves ! I mean all bacteria, whether good or bad for us.
This is one of the reasons that pushed us to avoid using preservatives in all our product lines, without exception ! Commitment zero preservatives, always.
If if you want another tip, avoid constantly touching your eyes with your hands, because otherwise bacteria from the skin flora on your hands could easily get into your eyes and cause an imbalance.
HAVE-YOU HAVE BUSINESS CLASS SYNDROME ?
You you wonder what’s behind this condition that seems unfamiliar to you… yet, I couldn’t finish an article about the eye contour without mentioning it. Imagine, you wake up and once in your bathroom… disaster: bags ! You Do you have swollen under-eye areas? It usually fades during the day, but sometimes not fast enough for you ! These under-eye bags are due to lying down during the night: water distributes throughout your body and insufficient lymphatic and venous drainage leads to this unsightly water retention.
My tip to get rid of them easily ? A massage the eye contour with sweet almond oil followed by the application of the Contour of the Eyes Lifting Radiance previously kept cool !
And finally, why is it called-t-this is the business class syndrome ? Because you can sleep lying down, so the risk of waking up with bags increases… Comfort or under-eye bags you have to choose !
You As you have understood, YOUR EYE CONTOUR IS PRECIOUS, and a specific area means specific products. Feel free to take a closer look at these products on our website, your eyes will already thank you. !
L'essential
Did you know? We blink up to 15,000 times a day! The skin around the eyes is therefore very mobile, but it is also one of the most fragile: three times thinner than facial skin, no hydrolipidic film... We must take special care of it, otherwise the consequences are inevitable: wrinkles, redness, dryness. The poor eye contour accumulates all the troubles!
And it’s not over, as the cherry on top, bags appear in this series of annoyances. Our tip to make them just a distant memory? Massage the eye contour with sweet almond oil then apply one of our eye contour creams and get doe eyes!
(1) TheOBS. (2008). The Calm colossal has the largest eyes in the world. Retrieved on L'OBS.
(2) CosmeticObs. (2012). Eye care is becoming more sophisticated. Retrieved from cosmeticobs.
(3) Suzuki T, Sutani T, Nakai H, Shirahige K, Kinoshita S. The Microbiome of the Meibum and Ocular Surface in Healthy Subjects. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020 Feb 7;61(2):18
(4) St Leger AJ, Desai JV, Drummond RA, Kugadas A, Almaghrabi F, Silver P, Raychaudhuri K, Gadjeva M, Iwakura Y, Lionakis MS, Caspi RR. An Ocular Commensal Protects against Corneal Infection by Driving an Interleukin-17 Response from Mucosal γδ T Cells. Immunity. 2017 Jul 18;47(1):148-158.e5
