Here’s Why You Need an Eye Cream

The thin, delicate skin around the eyes needs a little extra love. Here’s why you need and eye cream, and why Eighteen B’s new Defend + Nourish Eye Cream covers all your bases.

You might have noticed: the skin around your eyes seems to age faster than the rest of your face. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you – this skin often is the first to wrinkle thanks (but no thanks) to a few unique circumstances.

Here’s why.

1. The skin around your eyes is THIN.

The skin around the eyes, also known as periorbital skin, is the thinnest skin on your face. And we mean thin – up to ten times thinner than the rest of your face. That means it lacks the cushy collagen and elastin that keep skin looking plump and healthy.

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this skin keeps thinning. As we grow wiser, our skin starts to produce less collagen and elastin. These fibers that connect to the epidermis get weaker, which means our skin begins to show wrinkles.

2. This skin is not very good at moisturizing itself.

Our skin naturally creates oils and lipids to keep itself moisturized and protected. However, the skin around the eye has far fewer sebaceous glands, which means it produces less natural moisturizer on its own. These lipids are very important to the skin barrier function, which provides essential protection from the elements.

As we age, our sweat and oil glands also become less active, which makes the skin even drier. Of course, fine lines and wrinkles look more obvious on dry and dehydrated skin.

3. Your eyes are always on the move.

Think about it – you spend all day smiling, squinting, blinking, winking back at hotties on the subway. Scientists estimate that we move our eyes approximately three times per second, which adds up to 100,000 times each day. That’s a lot of action for such delicate skin! You need to do all you can to protect it.

Okay, the skin needs some serious protection. But why do I need an eye cream AND a moisturizer?

A fair question! Here’s the answer: You want an eye cream to be rich enough to deliver the moisture you need, but you don’t want it to be overpowering. The skin around the eyes is delicate. It’s easily irritated and your eyeballs themselves are very sensitive. (Our Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream and our Defend + Nourish Eye Cream are both opthamologist-tested, meaning they’re safe to wear close to the lashline. ) For some people, an overly nourishing cream can cause milia (little bumps under the eye).

That means an eye cream needs to strike a delicate balance. It needs to be potent with a high density of active ingredients, but it also needs to be lightweight and gentle. As many people top their eye cream with concealer or foundation, it also needs to layer well with makeup.

Got it: I need an eye cream. Why does Eighteen B’s Defend + Nourish Eye Cream fit the bill?

Eighteen B goes where other eye creams haven’t gone before: we defend the delicate skin around the eye by supporting the skin barrier. Defend + Nourish Eye Cream is packed with B-silk™ Protein, our one-of-a-kind polypeptide that delivers powerful ingredients to this delicate skin while skillfully defending your natural skin barrier. B-SILK™ PROTEIN (silk protein for skin) forms a lightweight, protective barrier that keeps active ingredients close to the skin so they can do their work. The result? Smoother, more rested looking eyes with less visible wrinkles and faded dark circles. In other words, it’s the eye cream that breaks barriers by building yours. 

As for those active ingredients, B-silk™ Protein carries some seriously powerful ingredients to the skin. Hydration comes courtesy of potent emollients and humectants like Squalane, Jojoba Oil, and Hyaluronic Acid. Jasmine Flower Extract helps improve circulation to banish the appearance of dark circles. Finally, Watermelon Rind Extract, Lentil Fruit Extract, and Apple Extract hydrate and replenish skin to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and crepiness. You won’t believe your eye cream. This silk eye cream is the best. There is a reason why this best eye cream has won THREE Beauty Awards.

PS: You’re going to love the texture. 

The rich texture quickly absorbs but leaves a presence, meaning it lays a great foundation for concealer (if you even need it).

Felicia Walker, the skincare and beauty expert behind the award-winning blog ThisThatBeauty, gave us her hot take on Defend + Nourish Eye Cream. “Defend + Nourish Eye Cream plays very well with concealer, which is not true of a lot of eye creams. Some of them need time to set. Some of them pill or roll-off once you put the makeup on. It plays well in the sandbox with your cosmetics.”

“The texture feels very cloud-like, with a plump, cushiony feel. It absorbs fast, but it leaves a presence. That’s what I want in an eye cream. I don’t want to be glistening like a disco ball, but I do want a bit of reflective quality.”

Felicia let us in on one of her favorite eye cream tips: “One little hack that I like to do is create a BB cream with my concealer. I’ll mix a little bit of the eye cream and concealer together to give the makeup a bit more bounce. Then the concealer moves with your skin, versus settling into those creases and fine lines.”

We were able to achieve that texture the clean way. Defend + Nourish Eye Cream is opthalmologist-tested, EWG Verified, Leaping Bunny Certified, Vegan, and formulated without Silicones, Parabens, Mineral Oil, or Petrolatum.

And it really works.

How do we know? Because we put this best-selling silk eye cream to the test. In a consumer trial across 100 women over 28 days, participants saw smoother wrinkles, reduced crow’s feet, and a more nourished appearance in just 7 days. Over time, results got even better. How is this possible? Our proprietary B-silk™ Protein. It’s that good.

Do you have questions? Comments? Topics you want us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at thelab@eighteenb.com.