Here Is Exactly Where Eye Cream Should Go In Your Skincare Routine

Introducing a new product into your skincare routine can be exciting, but it can also be confusing if you're not quite sure when to use it in your routine. If you're thinking about adding an eye cream, it will definitely reap many benefits for your skin. Eye creams are created to protect and maintain the health of the sensitive skin near your eyes. Often, these creams are formulated with beneficial ingredients that target the collagen, strength, moisture, color tone, and puffiness of the skin around your eyes.

Ingredients in eye creams like vitamin C, peptides, or retinoids have been proven to help boost collagen. Other ingredients found in eye creams include ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and other vitamins that help retain the moisture of the skin (via Healthline). It is often hard to figure out whether an eye cream goes before or after your facial moisturizer because they have similar benefits.

Eye creams are thicker in texture than a moisturizer because they are specially formulated for the thinner, more sensitive skin around your eyes. This sensitivity makes it more susceptible to aging, dryness, puffiness, or other environmental damage. This is where the goal of an eye cream steps in as it targets restoring or maintaining the health of your skin. It is formulated to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles to improve the skin's elasticity and collagen. It can also help with puffiness or dark circles, depending on the ingredients of a particular eye cream (via WebMD).

"It's about maintaining the health and thickness of the eyelid skin. Improving the skin quality in this area early on ensures that the eyelid skin does not easily lose laxity and its smooth appearance later on," board-certified dermatologist Dr. Annie Chiu tells Dermstore. Some of the damage around this area, as with the rest of your skin, can also happen from the sun. This is something to consider if you will also be using a daytime eye cream. "You can further protect the delicate skin around your eyes by choosing an eye cream with SPF or applying sunscreen every day," Dr. Chiu adds.

To get the most out of your eye cream in your skincare routine, many dermatologists say you should use it after cleanser and toner, but before your moisturizer. This gives the active ingredients in your eye cream more direct contact with the skin it is meant for. "You don't want products with active ingredients having to fight through another product in order to target the skin properly," dermatologist, Dr. Brittany Carter-Snell, tells Bustle. Additionally, this helps protect this sensitive skin area from other products that may contain "harsher" ingredients.

Eye cream application is fairly easy. Using your ring finger, gently pat the eye cream onto the area around your eyes. This product should be used every night, but can also be used twice a day. Dermstore recommends a skincare routine in the following order: cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, spot treatment, moisturizer, and sunscreen during the day. However, any product you use usually depends on the needs of your skin, but just about anyone can use an eye cream. Your skincare routine may look different, so it is easier to remember to apply an eye cream after your cleanser and before your moisturizer.