Tightening my lower eyes and upper eyelids had never been a concern for me until I was in my early twenties. As I started etching closer to my 30s, I gradually began to lose fat and collagen around my eyes, causing them to look more sunken, droopy, and tired. They often asked me if I was getting enough sleep. (Or worse, they told me he looked exhausted.) But it had nothing to do with the dream. Instead, my fresh, youthful, plump eyes had been replaced with a permanent baggy look. It was then that I embarked on a search for the best eye tightening cream.
Before this fateful change to my skin, I was concentrating on acne, hyperpigmentation, and sun damage reversal. Incorporating an eye tightening cream was never a priority. I rarely used an under-eye cream, let alone a hyper-focused one.
So when it came to finding the right solution to tighten my eye area (and address the fine lines that had been appearing), I tried a plethora of creams, serums, and tools to help slow the signs of aging. To be clear, this was just the beginning. Incorporating hydration, tools like gua sha, microneedling, and microcurrent, healthy sleep habits, and supplements along with an eye cream is what I found to be the holy grail for tightening and lifting eyes. If I strayed from not combining all of these things, I noticed a huge difference in appearance.
Featured image by Kristen Kilpatrick.
The experts in tightening eye creams
I asked Dr. Nancy Samolitis, co-founder of Facile, and Kerry Benjamin, esthetician and founder of Stacked Skincare, why we actually need eye creams, best practices, and their favorites when it comes to tightening the eye area. .
Dr. Samolitis explained that the skin around the eyes often shows signs of aging before other areas of the face or body. This is often due to a loss of collagen and elasticity (which is what he was experiencing), leading to a darkened appearance, dull, wrinkled skin, and fine wrinkles. Some people genetically carry excess fat under the skin of the eyelids and this can also become more pronounced with aging and sun damage, creating the appearance of “bags” under the eyes.
What to look for in an eye tightening cream
Because the skin around the eyes is so much thinner and more delicate than the other skin on the face, Benjamin shared that this area is also prone to dehydration, but generally requires lighter moisturizers due to the risk of milia: tiny skin. White, hard-to-remove pimples that can occur by using rich moisturizers around the eye area.
The Skinny on Eye eye serums
He recommended investing in an eye serum loaded with active ingredients. Eye serums have a lighter texture, which means they penetrate the skin and deliver anti-aging ingredients more effectively. They also typically contain a higher concentration of active ingredients than eye creams, which means you’ll see results faster.
Tips for use and application
Both Dr. Samolitis and Benajmín emphasized starting sooner rather than later when it comes to preventative treatments. Incorporating a tightening cream in your mid-20s could prevent you from needing intensive treatments in the future. As for the frequency of use, twice a day is recommended unless there is an active ingredient like retinol that can cause irritation.
But what is the best way to apply the eye cream? The reason behind using your pinky or ring finger to apply your eye cream is due to the importance of a gentle motion rather than pulling at the skin, explains Dr. Samolitis. And Benjamin agrees. If you tug or tug when applying the eye cream, it can lead to bags and sagging.
Treatments to firm the eyes
Beyond eye creams, Dr. Samolitis often uses in-office medical treatments such as microneedling, laser resurfacing, and PRP treatments that can improve the skin under the eyes by repairing sun-damaged cells and producing collagen. again to thicken delicate tissue.
Benjamin suggests at-home tools to pair with your cream or serum, like a derma roller to help stimulate collagen and plump up the skin along with an ice roller to give you a temporary tightening effect while reducing puffiness.
The best eye tightening creams
Each product is handpicked by our editors and we’ll always give an honest opinion, whether we’re giving it away or buying it ourselves. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Why we love it: This eye tightening cream is so good, it’s taken TikTok by storm. I was skeptical at first, but it actually works! It’s like having an IRL filter for your eyes. The cult favorite instantly, in three minutes or less, helps tighten, firm, and smooth the look of the eye area, temporarily minimizing the appearance of crow’s feet, fine lines, deep wrinkles, and puffiness. The formula also includes three skin tightening silicates and seaweed extract that provide an instant temporary tightening and firming effect that helps give that temporary tightened look.
- Size: 3.4 fluid ounces
- Benefits: Firms, calms, softens
- Main ingredients: Antioxidants, panthenol, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E
Why we love it: Not all products that are good for the eye area are marketed as an eye cream! Facile Destress Calming Serum has ingredients that help soothe sensitive skin and protect facial and eyelid skin from harmful environmental elements. I recommend mixing it with a drop of Dew You to maximize hydration. The dermatologist-formulated serum will give your eyes the drink of water they need. Bonus: it works as a brow conditioner, too! — Dr. Nancy Samolitis
- Size: 30ml
- Benefits: Anti-inflammatory, builds collagen, protects
- Main ingredients: Niacinamide, Ashwagandha Root Extract, Phytosphingosine
Why we love it: This eye cream contains skin-repairing heparin sulfate analogues, wrinkle-firming peptides, and provides instant gratification with light-reflecting particles. — Dr. Nancy Samolitis
- Size: 15ml
- Benefits: Reaffirms, repairs, calms
- Main ingredients: Niacinamide, jojoba, peptides
Why we love it: The Firming Eye Complex is a lightweight serum packed with anti-aging actives, including de-puffing caffeine, firming peptides, and astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant that supports skin repair. Helps give your skin a firmer look in just five minutes while helping to minimize the appearance of fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness. —Kerry Benjamin
- Size: 15ml
- Benefits: Reduces the appearance of fine lines, crow’s feet, and dark circles.
- Main ingredients: Astaxanthin, Peptide Mix, Chrysin Complex
Why we love it: I love this eye cream because for only $16 it gives you the best bang for your buck. Packed with vegan squalene and a multi-peptide formula to help hydrate, lift, and prevent wrinkles, this is a better starter eye cream for someone in their twenties.
- Size: 15ml
- Benefits: Moisturizes and smoothes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Main ingredients: Multi-peptide blend, squalane, hyaluronic acid
Why we love it: This product is lightweight and easily penetrates the skin with visible tightening results. Key benefits of this product include a decrease in puffiness, dark circles under the eyes, and the appearance of crow’s feet. —Kerry Benjamin
- Size: 20ml
- Benefits: Firms the eye contour and fades dark circles
- Main ingredients: Lipochroman Antioxidant, Marine Algae Peptides, Chromabright
Why we love it: This product is packed with key ingredients that boost skin hydration leaving it soft and supple. With ingredients like green tea, caffeine, peptides, and golden chamomile, skin looks and feels hydrated and radiant. —Kerry Benjamin
- Size: 30ml
- Benefits: Plumps, hydrates, increases radiance
- Main ingredients: Green tea extract, caffeine, glycerin
Why we love it: The first time I tried this eye balm I saw the results immediately. My ‘tired’ eyes lifted up, brighter and more resplendent. This energizing eye balm infuses the eye area with revitalizing green coffee beans oil, omega 3 and 6-rich hemp seed oil, and antioxidant-rich kahai oil, leaving tired eyes brighter and more energized. . Restore the youthful look of your eyes, diminish puffiness and fine lines. Use daily to help prevent moisture loss, decrease the risk of environmental damage, and increase shine and radiance.
- Size: 0.5 ounces
- Benefits: Brightens, diminishes puffiness and reduces the appearance of fine lines.
- Main ingredients: Omega 3 and 6, and vitamin E
Why we love it: This product offers a nice creamy texture that feels great on the skin. Provides instant hydration while lifting, tightening and brightening the skin. Full disclosure, I love Thrive products and almost exclusively use their makeup bars. —Kerry Benjamin
- Size: 30ml
- Benefits: Plumps, hydrates, increases radiance
- Main ingredients: Green tea extract, caffeine, glycerin
Why we love it: I love that it has retinol in it, and it comes in a stick for easy application. It is a quality product at a great price and I have seen amazing results in firming the under eye area. —Kerry Benjamin
- Size: 4g
- Benefits: Brightens the skin around the eyes, improves skin texture and the appearance of fine lines and dark spots
- Main ingredients: Retinol, peptides and bakuchiol
Why we love it: This eye cream is a more intense treatment as it contains an encapsulated retinol. If you are looking for great wrinkle reduction as well as tightening and brightening, this is the perfect combination. Encapsulated retinol absorbs 5x more deeply with an 8-hour continuous release blended with peptides and niacinamide to help smooth, brighten and de-puff while keeping the delicate eye area hydrated.
- Size: 0.5 ounces
- Benefits: Smoothes, brightens and eliminates bags around the eye area.
- Main ingredients: Retinol, peptides and niacinamide
Why we love it: Certified 100% Organic with an active blend of 5.5% stabilized Vitamin C and natural sources of Vitamin C to combat the appearance of aging for firmer, more youthful-looking skin around the delicate eye area. I also love the added antioxidants, like kangaroo paw flower, kakadu plum, blackberry, red ginseng, and quinoa, which give you an instant boost of radiance while reducing the appearance of fine wrinkles. Plus it smells amazing! (And you know if Miranda Kerr swears by it, it’s got to be good.)
- Size: 0.5 ounces
- Benefits: Firms, reduces inflammation and lightens dark circles
- Main ingredients: Kangaroo paw flower, stabilized vitamin C, kakadu plum, blackberry, red ginseng and quinoa peptide
This post was originally published on October 24, 2021 and has since been updated.
