After publishing an article on the causes of dark under-eye circles and how to naturally reduce them, I wanted to turn my focus to another common complaint when it comes to the delicate skin around the eyes: fine lines and premature aging.
I love all things natural beauty and skincare, so much so that I developed my own line of organic skincare crafted from nature (say hi to Hello Joyous!). My mission is to educate and inspire my community on the simple steps they can take every day to nourish and protect their skin while harnessing the healing power of nature. This post will explain the common causes of premature aging and fine lines around the eyes plus my favourite natural solutions to help your eyes sparkle!
What Causes Premature Aging and Fine Lines Around the Eyes?
Before we get into my top natural solutions for preventing premature aging and fine lines around the eyes, it’s important to understand some of the root causes. Wrinkles appear when there is either a breakdown in the collagen and elastin matrix of the skin or DNA damage caused by free radicals. They damage your skin cells and cause premature wrinkling.
These are the top causes of collagen & elastin breakdown and DNA damage:
- A diet that lacks antioxidants to prevent free radical damage.
- UV rays from the sun that damage unprotected skin.
- Physically pulling or rubbing the eyes, which stretches the skin and causes elastin breakdown.
- A lack of topical antioxidants to protect the skin.
- Environmental pollution that can cause free radical damage.
- A lack of moisture and hydration in the skin–from the diet and externally.
- Slowing collagen production–as we age, our ability to produce collagen diminishes. This is why we start to see lines around the eyes from repetitive facial expressions as our skin is no longer able to spring back.
- Genetics–some people may be genetically predisposed to fine lines or premature aging. However, there are lots of dietary and lifestyle tips you can incorporate that are more likely to impact signs of aging.
There are many factors at play when it comes to fine lines around the eyes and premature aging and many of them are within our control. Keep reading for my top tips on nourishing and protecting the delicate skin around your eyes.
Top 7 Ways to Prevent Fine Lines & Premature Aging
To help protect the delicate skin around your eyes from fine lines, wrinkles, and premature aging you’ll want to support your skin internally and externally in the following ways.
1. Eat an Antioxidant & Phytonutrient-Rich Diet
Support healthy skin from the inside out by eating a diet rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants to help prevent oxidative damage to skin cells. A great way to increase your intake of these nutrients is by filling your plate with fresh fruits and veggies! I’ve got loads of plant-forward, anti-inflammatory recipes to incorporate into your diet on my blog and in my three cookbooks!
2. Add Collagen to Your Routine
Adding collagen to your diet is another way to help build healthy skin. I like drinking collagen-rich elixirs and refreshers or snacking on my favourite Collagen Chocolate Chip Snowballs to get my fix! To help increase collagen production in the skin, you can also incorporate lots of vitamin C rich foods such as peppers, strawberries, citrus, and broccoli. This delicious Broccoli & Cranberry Salad has a burst of citrus from the lemon in the dressing to support supple skin!
Hydrated skin tends to look plumper and healthier, so staying hydrated is super important for preventing premature aging and fine lines. The skin holds water within its outer cells and it gets drawn out by the dry air through osmosis. Dry air literally steals water from your skin! This can leave your skin dry, itchy, and more prone to wrinkling.
Support hydrated skin by drinking lots of water and other hydrating beverages, like these ones from the blog! I'm also a huge tea lover and have a whole line of organic, functional wellness teas that boost hydration while infusing the body with nutrients. My Pure Radiance Tea is specially formulated to support healthy, glowing skin from the inside!
You can also hydrate your skin from the outside by using a toner rich in skin-nourishing hydrosols and botanicals that balance pH to support a healthy skin barrier. Spritz your skin with the ultra-hydrating Magical Mist Facial Toner from Hello Joyous any time you need an extra burst of hydration.
4. Use a Natural Sunscreen & Wear Sunglasses
It’s no surprise that UV damage can cause premature wrinkling, so always make sure you put on your natural sunscreen before heading out for the day–even when it’s cloudy! Some of my favourite brands are Coola’s Rōsilliance® Tinted Moisturizer Organic Sunscreen SPF 30 or their Classic Face SPF 50 Fragrance Free Lotion. I also love Green Beaver’s Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40 Sport and Consonant's Perfect Sunscreen. For Vienna, I use Green Beaver’s Mineral Sunscreen SPF 27 Spray KIDZ.
To prevent squinting on bright days and to protect the delicate skin around your eyes, make sure you wear UV blocking sunglasses.
5. Avoid Rubbing Your Eyes
The skin under and around the eye is incredibly thin and delicate. That means it is sensitive to being overly stretched from constantly rubbing your eyes. If you rub your eyes regularly it can stretch the skin and lead to a breakdown of the elastin, which can cause those pesky fine line under and around your eyes. When applying eye serums and creams make sure to follow these tips and gently massage the delicate skin to prevent stretching and damaging the collagen/elastin matrix.
6. Use Organic, Antioxidant-Infused Skin Care
To nourish your skin on the outside, I always love turning to mother nature and her amazing plant-botanicals! Some of my favourite skin-nourishing plants include:
- Apricot kernel oil: infuses the skin with nourishing fatty acids plus antioxidant-rich vitamins A & E. This synergistic combination helps the skin repair its cellular structure to fight signs of aging while combatting free radical damage that causes fine lines and wrinkles.
- Calendula extract: is super rich in anti-inflammatory phytosterols and beta-carotene that bring softness and tone while regenerating the skin.
- Rosehip oil & jojoba: these nourishing oils deeply moisturize without clogging the pores while infusing the skin with antioxidant nutrients vitamins C & E + beta-carotene.
Hello Joyous created a new organic Eye Elixir Serum that includes all of these amazing functional plant botanicals in one luxurious product to nourish and protect the delicate skin around the eyes. Not only that, it also contains green tea extract which is rich in tannins and vitamin K to help reduce the appearance of dark under-eye circles and puffiness [learn more about the causes of dark under-eye circles here!].
Sleep is vital for healthy skin. Not getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night accerlates the aging process. When you're in the deep phase of sleep, this is when repair happens. Growth hormones elevate and repair damaged skin cells. Melatonin is another hormone released while your sleeping and this is protective for the skin since it acts as an antioxidant. This is why you can go to bed with a giant pimple or a scrape and it looks much better in the morning.
I hope this information inspires you to nourish your beautiful skin with the bounty of Mama Earth!
Xo Joy
