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[music] Hello, I’m Dr. Neal Schultz
[pause]
and welcome to DermTV.
Today’s topic comes from one of Siobhan’s viewers from the Letz Make Up
YouTube channel, that’s L-E-T-Z M-A-K-E U-P and the question’s a real
important question because it concerns, is there a special technique to use
when applying skincare products to that special area around your eye,
especially the area below the eye and next to the eye. Because most people
understand that that skin is special skin compared to the skin on the rest
of your face, its thinner, it’s much more sensitive and you’ve heard me say
many times before with skincare products in general that less is more and
nowhere else does that apply as it does here. So, this is how to put on
your eye area skincare products. First of all take a very small amount, you
see how much I have here, and dab it gently first starting in the crows
feet area next to the eye, then the lower lid and then right down to the
bone below the eye which is called the orbital bone and very gently massage
it in for just a few seconds until it absorbs or sets and if you can still
see the product after you’ve finished massaging it in then you’ve put too
much on and that’s all there is to it. Then people say, “what about the
upper lids? Can we put skincare products on the upper lids?” and generally
speaking I don’t recommend it because regardless of what you put up there,
in the course of the day when you sweat, or just from normal activities,
some of it can leech down off the skin of the upper lid, get into the eye
and irritate inside the eye. Having said that, some people feel that they
have dry skin of the upper lid so moisturizers which are very mild and
gentle usually are okay but I wouldn’t use antioxidants or exfoliants and
not even sunscreen on the upper lid. Now you just heard me say not to apply
sunscreen, you’ve never heard me say that before. First of all if it’s
sunny out, wear sunglasses. Second of all, most of the skin of your upper
lid when your eyes are open, and I hope they’re open when your outside,
when your eyes are open it’s retracted underneath another piece of skin and
the little part that is showing, it’s actually shadowed and protected by
the bone up here which is also the orbital bone. So, the bottom line is you
really don’t need sunscreen on the upper lid. Most skin cancers are caused
by sun exposure, I’ve been treating patients for over 25 years and I’ve
seen skin cancers of the lower lid but never in 25 years have I even seen a
skin cancer of the upper lid. So the bottom line when applying eye area
skincare products is, less is more and apply it very, very gently.