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Do You Really Need Eye Cream? Or Is It a Scam?
Do you really need an eye cream? We think so, which is why we’re so excited to announce the arrival of Active Eyes, our specialized retinol peptide eye serum. More than just another moisturizer, Active Eyes is a powerful (yet gentle) age-beautifying serum that reduces the look of lines around the eye area. It also nourishes for firmer, smoother, brighter and hydrated skin, and is suitable for all skin types. Shop Active Eyes But, what if your beauty counter is already overflowing with serums, moisturizer, cleansers and toners? Is it worth your time, effort and money—not to mention the real estate on your bathroom counter— to add an eye treatment to your skin care routine? The answer may surprise you. What Is the Purpose of Eye Cream? An eye cream is a treatment that’s been specifically formulated to target skin concerns under the eye, on the eyelid and the skin around the eye. Some of the ingredients may be like those you’ll find in other creams or serums designed to be used on the face, but they may be present in a lower concentration to ensure that it’s safe for the delicate skin around the eyes. Skin isn’t just skin, and different parts of your body are covered with different types of skin. Eyelid skin is thinner and more fragile than the skin on the rest of your body and because of this, it shows signs of aging sooner than other areas of your face. It also doesn’t have any oil glands so needs more moisture to prevent dryness. Gentle care is non-negotiable. Active Eyes Serum What Ingredient Is Best for Under Eye? Choosing the right ingredients depends on your skin concerns. And whether it’s dark circles, fine lines, crepiness or undereye puffiness, if you’re starting to notice changes to your undereye area, then you should consider using a dedicated treatment. 1. How Can I Remove Dark Circles Under My Eyes? Lack of sleep, but also allergies or the natural aging process may be the reason for dark circles, which also tend to be more common amongst people of color. They may look purple or blue to dark brown or black in color, and while they’re rarely cause for concern, you may want to reduce their appearance for cosmetic reasons. Getting adequate sleep or changing your diet can improve dark circles. But, if they’re a result of aging, due to a loss of thinning skin, reduced fatty tissue, hyperpigmentation, or sun damage, you’ll need a treatment with ingredients that help to brighten the area. Niacinamide, antioxidants like vitamins C and E, and specialized brightening agents, like white bark extract (found in Active Eyes) are just a few examples of ingredients that can help. 2. How Do I Get Rid of the Wrinkles Under My Eyes? The best ingredient to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines is a retinoid. Active Eyes contains a stable, encapsulated form of retinol, at a concentration suitable for the delicate eye area. It helps to boost the production of collagen and increases the skin’s natural renewal process, helping to smooth the appearance of wrinkles, and improve firmness as well. The formulation is supported with peptides, that further help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and deliver smoother skin. 3. How Do You Get Rid of Eye Bags? Eye bags are a result of the natural aging process, when the tissues and muscles around your eyes, weaken, leading to puffiness. A build-up of fluid can make this look worse. There aren’t many ingredients that can help to eliminate under eye bags long-term, but you can try the following for temporary results: Cold compresses Reduce fluid consumption or salt Sleep with your head slightly raised to prevent fluid accumulation Eliminate allergens that can contribute to eye bags What About Caffeine? Caffeine helps to shrink the size of blood vessels and can help to reduce the appearance of eye bags. But, the effect is temporary. So before forking over $$$ on a product, considering applying cool, wet teabags instead. They work just as well! Shop Eyes Are Eye Creams Harmful? As long as they’re formulated well, eye skin care products are not harmful. But, as with starting any new skincare product, exercise care. Retinoids and exfoliating acids may appear in concentrations that are too harsh for the eye area. Moisturizers may be too heavy, possibly leading to clogged pores and milia—tiny, milky-white spots, which appear just beneath the surface of your skin. Although harmless, the appearance of milia may bother you. If in doubt, a patch test is always a good idea. Apply a small amount to an area daily for three to five days and monitor for any unwanted reactions. What Can I Use to Moisturize Around Eyes? You can absolutely use your face moisturizer to treat the skin around your eyes. If it doesn’t irritate your eyes and provides a sufficient amount of moisture, you’re good. Take care to avoid very heavy products, which can lead to blocked pores. Our Daily Infusion Moisturizer is a fantastic option if you need further hydration around the eyes. However, if you’re using a dedicated eye treatment, you may not need a moisturizer. Active Eyes contains glycerin, a highly hydrating humectant, which helps to draw moisture into the skin. What Is the Correct Way to Apply Eye Cream? Wash your hands. Freshly washed hands minimizes the chance of introducing germs around your eyes. Use the right amount. In general, a pump or half a pump of eye cream or serum per eye should be enough, because they tend to be super concentrated and also because you are treating a very small area. We prefer pump application to keep your product safe from contamination. Squirt or dab the appropriate amount of serum onto the back of your hand. Use your ring finger. Dip a finger into the serum and use it to make a semi-circle of small dots, along the bone under your eye. Gently tap in. Dot cream between the edge of your eye and your temple (on the side of your eye, where fine lines and wrinkles often appear first). Gently tap in. Dot cream/serum in a semi-circle under your brow line. Gently tap in. If it’s ok to apply to your eyelids, do that and then gently tap in. (Test first if you’re not sure it’s suitable for this area). Use as directed. Most eye creams are designed to be used both morning and night and will be most effective when used consistently. If you prefer to apply your eye serum just once a day, do it at night, which is a good time for your skin to repair and regenerate. Don’t Forget | Additional Eye Cream Tips Sunscreen is safe and essential to ensure protection against sun damage, even around the eye area. It’s important to use it every day. Sunscreen can sting and burn eyes so you may have to try several formulations before landing on one that works for you. Mineral based sunscreens (with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide), powder formulations or sticks may be good options. Last, cleanse. But do it gently!
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5 Wellness Tips That Will Nourish Your Body & Mind Now
The wellness tips that matter when times are normal just don’t make sense right now. So, in this post, we’re NOT going to tell you how to eat well or exercise more. The world is going through a traumatic experience, together. Kindness matters more than ever, both to ourselves and to others. SHOP RADIANT SKIN SET Here are 5 wellness tips to help nourish your body & mind, because it’s what we need now. We hope you find them useful. 1. Be Mindful The future has never been more uncertain. No amount of worrying is going to change that so let’s try and focus on what we can control – the here and now. If you can go outside, feel the sun and wind on your face and notice the air you breathe. Embrace who you are and take time to enjoy the things that bring you joy. Be grateful for what you have. Many of us are so fortunate to have a roof over our heads, a fridge stocked with food and people who care about us. 2. Calm Down There’s a lot of uncertainty so it’s not surprising to feel more anxious. Meditate, take up journaling, listen to soothing music, sleep more. All these have been shown to help reduce stress, which makes you feel more relaxed and less fearful. 3. Take Comfort Whether it’s childhood foods, favorite movies or relaxed clothing, allow yourself to indulge a bit. Enjoy the food you eat, savor the wine and welcome the sweatpants. Now’s not the time to be too hard on yourself. 4. Maintain Routines and Rituals Our days may have been turned upside down, but routines and rituals help to maintain a sense of normalcy. Research has found that they help with self-control, can alleviate disappointment after hearing difficult news, and may even reduce anxiety before stressful tasks. Here at Apothekari, we’re enjoying our morning coffee while checking emails, practicing yoga (thanks to live online classes) and keeping up with our morning and nighttime skincare routine, which includes the two serums in our Radiant Skin Set. These everyday practices help us to feel some calm, when things most definitely are not! 5. Connect We spoke to Certified Life & Business Coach, Kristine Irving about the importance of social interaction, especially during times of crisis. “Humans are hard wired for connection and this is especially important during times of heightened stress, anxiety, and uncertainty.” said Kristine. “It’s never been more important to reach out to others in whatever way feels best for you. Video chats have become increasingly popular for good reason.” Coach KI – Certified Life & Business Coach We may not be able to see our favorite humans in person but we’ve found ourselves turning to Facetime, Zoom and other applications to keep in touch. Hands up if you’re doing the same! What about you? Any other wellness tips you’d add to this list? It may seem that this quarantine will never end, and it can be scary to think of what happens when it’s over. But, it’s important to remember that this is temporary. It will pass and we’ll go back to feeling free, safe, busy, and connected in the days ahead. Until then, stay safe and healthy. And let us know if there is anything we can do to help.
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How to Look Younger With This 1 Step At Night
Who doesn’t want their skin to look younger? Desiring younger looking skin doesn’t mean that we want to look like we’re twenty, but that we want skin that’s healthy and beautiful, and which reflects how young we feel inside. In this post, we’ll discuss how this 1 step at night – adding a retinoid, to your nighttime skincare routine, can help you look younger without much effort at all. Shop A Is for Anti-Aging Serum (Our Retinoid Formulation) Our favourite retinoid is retinaldehyde, which you’ll find in our A is for Anti-Aging Serum, because it delivers results without the irritation associated with most other retinoids, including retinol and prescription retinoic acid. It’s a topic we’ve discussed before: Why Retinaldehyde Is a Better Option for Skin How to Reduce Wrinkles With Retinaldehyde Read on to learn more about how the regular use of A is for Anti-Aging can improve your skin’s appearance, below. Look Younger With Fewer Lines and Wrinkles Wrinkles and fine lines may be a natural part of aging, but they make us appear older. Our genes are partly to blame, but external factors like sun exposure, pollution, smoking and facial expressions, also contribute to their development. As we get older, our bodies produce less collagen and elastin, fibers which give skin strength and flexibility. Additionally, UV rays and free radicals from sun exposure and pollution, also break down these tissues. It’s one of the reasons that wrinkles appear more prominently on our face, neck and hands, areas which are more frequently exposed to the sun. Retinoids, like retinaldehyde (found in our A is for Anti-Aging Serum), give us a fighting chance. Obtained from Vitamin A, studies have shown that retinaldehyde not only helps to preserve existing collagen, it also helps to increase the production of collagen leading to fewer fine lines and wrinkles and skin that is firmer and more elastic. Retinoids Lead to Smoother & Brighter Skin Our skin cells naturally turn over every 28 days on average, but as we age, this process takes longer. Retinoids increase the rate at which skin cells on the outermost layer of skin turnover, resulting in the appearance of new cells at the surface. These new skin cells have fewer age spots, are more evenly toned and brighter and feel smoother as well. Retinaldehyde Also Fights Acne Retinaldehyde balances oil production, which helps to prevent pores from getting clogged and inflamed. It is also antibacterial. These two properties make it a useful tool in the fight against acne, helping to minimize blemishes. While there are a range of retinoids to choose from, including prescription only retinoic acid to over the counter retinol and retinyl palmitate, we’ve chosen to formulate our A is for Anti-Aging Serum with retinaldehyde. Studies have shown that it is the most gentle of all retinoids, making it suitable for all skin types. If you’re interested in reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, improving the firmness and elasticity of your skin and minimizing blemishes, consider incorporating it into your nighttime skincare routine.
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