In any face-to-face exchange, we communicate with our eyes even more so than with words. To a large degree, this communication is out of our control: the pupil instantly constricts when we feel repelled, and dilates when we see something we like, making us seem receptive, sexy. To achieve this latter effect, women of the Renaissance courts flared their pupils with drops of Deadly Nightshade (the common name is “belladonna”, meaning “pretty woman”). And today, there’s the craze for the “Korean” contact-lens which gives us “Manga” eye, or “big eyes”, where a dark disc in the center of the lens gives the wearer the look of a very wide-awake cartoon character.

If you’re a fan of silent films, you’ll see that the actors and actresses use their eyes like chess-pieces. Rudolph Valentino often remarked that his famously darting, smoldering on-screen glances were learned in his hometown in Southern Italy, where inappropriately direct or lingering eye-contact with a young woman—nothing more—could result in a visit from the young lady’s father and uncles, followed by a prompt wedding to absolve the bride’s reputation.

Our eyes speak for us. And while some of their messages may be involuntary, correct skin care helps to keep this expressive hot-zone healthy. The skin around the eye-orbit is thin, and, compared with the rest of the face, poorly supplied with lubricating sebum. Free-radical assault, notably constant UV exposure, traumatizes this delicate tissue over time, and it just starts to lose its snap, tone, elasticity. Fine lines may appear here before they are visible anywhere else.

Also, as we age, our skin (everywhere) thins and becomes more transparent. Under the eyes, this can create an area which looks almost bruised, and definitely fatigued. No wonder blepharoplasty – lifting and firming the upper and lower eyelids—is perhaps the most common cosmetic procedure in the world.

Well, hold that scalpel (or laser). Dermalogica’s new AGE REVERSAL EYE COMPLEX addresses the most common complaints we have with our eyes, starting with that collapsed, fatigued look which results from the collagen and elastin passing their biological expiration-date.

One of the key actives, pure Vitamin A or Retinol, is used in a strength of 0.1%, which is sufficient to reverse UV damage and trigger epidermal cell proliferation, yet is more gentle than the aggressive concentration associated with retinoid dermatitis (scaling, redness, itching and photosensitivity). We’ve kept the pH in a comfortably acidic range. You see, many eye products use AHAs which are on the alkaline side, and this can irritate this rather finicky area of the skin with long-term use.

This formula combines Yeast Extract, Algae Extract and other non-sensitizing ingredients to gently microexfoliate the eye-area. You’ll experience more refined texture, along with a more robust lipid barrier—this means that your skin can keep itself better-hydrated. And, a stabilized Vitamin C derivative and antioxidant Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, protects skin from future free-radical assault. By speeding up the cell turnover process, stimulating collagen production and thickening the cell layers in this area, skin appears plumper, fuller and smoother, with fewer wrinkles, and consistent pigmentation distribution.

AGE REVERSAL EYE COMPLEX restores, refreshes, protects. You’ll still need those big, dark sunglasses for UV protection—you’ll just have less to hide.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 12:11 pm and is filed under under my skin with jane wurwand, founder of dermalogica.