We’ve said it plenty of times, but it’s worth repeating: Your eye area is one of the first places on your face to show signs of aging. There are a few reasons for this. For one, the skin around your eyes is thinner than anywhere else on your body. It also lacks fat and tends to have less oil than other regions on your face. These characteristics make the eye area more vulnerable to the effects of environmental stressors, like air pollution and chronic UV exposure, and prone to unique age-related skin concerns, like dark circles. Caring for your eyes requires choosing products formulated specifically for the eye area’s specific qualities. Enter: Eye serum.
Much like eye creams, eye serums can help address visible signs of aging and hydrate the eye area to keep it looking and feeling its best. But eye serums also boast other benefits that many eye creams do not. Here, we’ll clue you in on why eye serum deserves a spot in your skincare routine and introduce you to three lightweight Kiehl’s formulas you can use for smoother, brighter-looking eyes. Read on for your Kiehl’s guide to eye serums and their benefits for your skin.
What Is an Eye Serum?
Eye serums are lightweight skincare products formulated specifically for use around the eye area. Like eye creams, most eye serums are designed to help address eye-area skin concerns, such as dark under-eye circles, crow’s feet, or puffiness. Creams and serums differ primarily in their texture. Eye creams are thicker and often contain emollients to help soften the skin and promote a smoother skin texture. Eye serums, by contrast, are lightweight, often water- or gel-based formulas that absorb quickly to provide hydration without a heavy or greasy feel.
3 Benefits Of Eye Serum
Eye creams and eye serums are both valuable tools to have in your skincare arsenal, and neither is universally better than the other. That being said, eye serums do offer several benefits that many eye creams do not. Here, we’ll review three benefits of using an eye serum in your daily skincare routine. You’ll also learn a little bit about our best eye serums and how to use them for smooth, healthy-looking eyes, no matter your skin type or concerns. Read on to discover why eye serum deserves a permanent spot in your skincare routine.
Eye Serum Benefit #1: Eye Serums Are Layerable—Even Under Makeup
As we mentioned previously, eye serums are often water- or gel-based and non-greasy. This allows them to be layered with other skincare products or makeup without leaving the skin feeling heavy or slick.
If you’re looking for a layerable eye serum, we recommend Powerful-Strength Dark Circle-Reducing Vitamin C Eye Serum. This potent eye serum, formulated with hydrating hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and tri-peptide, instantly smoothes and moisturizes the under-eye area to refresh the appearance of tired-looking eyes. It’s clinically-demonstrated to help reduce the appearance of several eye-area concerns, including puffiness and crow’s feet, and helps visibly diminish both blue and brown under-eye circles in seven days.* The lightweight serum is dermatologist- and ophthalmologist-tested for safety and suitable for all skin types, even sensitive skin. Apply it around your eyes morning and night to help promote a brighter, fresher-looking eye area.
*Clinical grading of the full panel tested in an eight-week study.
For extra hydration when your eye area feels dry, layer Avocado Eye Cream over your eye serum. This Kiehl’s classic, which contains avocado oil and creamy shea butter, immediately nourishes the skin with lasting hydration to improve the look and feel of your under-eye skin. It helps defend against aging stressors, such as blue light, and is clinically-demonstrated to reduce puffiness by 32%.* The rich yet ultra-gentle formula is free of synthetic dyes, fragrances, silicones, and parabens, and is suitable for even the most sensitive skin. After applying your eye serum, use your ring finger to pat a small amount of the cream onto your under-eye area and orbital bone to lock in hydration, prime for makeup, and give your eyes a smoother, brighter appearance.
*Results based upon expert grading evaluated with the product in a four-week clinical test.
Eye Serum Benefit #2: They’re Highly Concentrated To Address Specific Concerns
Like face serums, the biggest boon of eye-area serums is that they’re highly concentrated. Their potency, along with their ability to be paired with heavier eye creams, means eye serums are highly effective in managing eye-area concerns like puffiness and crow’s feet.
Super Multi-Corrective Eye-Opening Serum
Address the visible signs of aging around your eyes with an anti-aging eye serum, such as Super Multi-Corrective Eye-Opening Serum. It’s infused with moisturizing humectants and botanical extracts to visibly smooth and firm the eye area within just one week.* With continued use, it helps diminish the appearance of age-related concerns, like under-eye wrinkles and dark circles, and helps visibly restore the eye’s youthful shape. You can apply this eye serum morning and night as part of your anti-aging skincare routine for smoother, younger-looking eyes.
*Based on consumer evaluations after four days of use.
At night, apply eye cream, such as Midnight Recovery Eye, over your anti-aging eye serum. This luxurious, lavender-scented nighttime eye treatment is formulated with a blend of skin-friendly emollients, including sunflower seed oil and evening primrose oil. It helps strengthen and restore the eye area while you sleep (at least eight hours!) and helps diminish the appearance of dark circles and puffiness. Gently pat the indulgent eye cream on over your serum before bedtime for fresher, more youthful-looking eyes come daybreak. For the best results, pair it with Midnight Recovery Concentrate Face Oil, a replenishing nighttime oil.
Eye Serum Benefit #3: Eye Serums Are Lightweight and Absorb Easily
The defining characteristic of a serum is its consistency. Serums are liquidy, while creams are, well, creamy. This fluidity allows eye serums to absorb into the skin easily with a weightless feel. As such, serums are particularly beneficial for those with oilier skin types who need skincare products that hydrate without adding weight.
Hydro-Plumping Hydrating Serum
If you have oily skin, try keeping your eye area moisturized with a lightweight serum, like Hydro-Plumping Hydrating Serum. Though this serum isn’t exclusively for the eye area (you can use it all over your face and neck), it is gentle enough for the delicate under-eye skin. It’s made with our unique epidermal hydration filler and helps encourage the skin’s natural hyaluronic acid production, plumping the skin and promoting a smoother, more even appearance.
Like our other eye serums, this mild formula can be paired with a classic eye cream for added hydration. For men’s eye-area concerns, try Eye Fuel, which contains energizing caffeine and vitamin B3, also known as niacinamide. The lightweight formula refreshes tired eyes with cooling hydration, relieving puffiness and helping to diminish the look of dark under-eye circles over time.
Powerful-Strength Dark Circle Reducing Vitamin C Eye Serum
