The 15 Best Treatments for Under-Eye Wrinkles of 2023 That Smooth and Soften
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It’s a notoriously sensitive area, but with the right blend of antioxidants and vitamins, the under-eye area can be refreshed and revived.
InStyle / Brian Kopinski
Let’s start with the cold, hard facts: Our eyes are surrounded by thin and delicate skin, making it one of the first places to reveal signs of aging. While growing older and celebrating another year around the sun is a beautiful thing, it’s also totally normal to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles if they bother you. If you've already tried all of the at-home remedies for under eyes (we’ve all decorated our eyes with cucumbers or tea bags at one point or another), then it might be time to incorporate an anti-aging eye treatment into your daily regimen.
If you’re looking to soften the look of wrinkles and fine lines, starting with a nourishing skincare regimen, complete with an under-eye treatment packed with nutrients, minerals, and anti-aging properties is essential.
Related:After Over 100 Hours of Testing, We Found the Best Under-Eye Concealers
Charlotte Tilbury Refillable Magic Eye Rescue Cream with Retinol
Best Overall
What We Love: This creamy formula features a gentle, slow-release retinol.
What We Don’t Love: It doesn’t pair with makeup very well.
For an all-around eye cream that targets wrinkles and fine lines, Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Eye Rescue comes highly recommended by Dr. Rachel Nazarian, an NYC-based dermatologist.
“The formula contains a time-released retinol, which delivers the ingredient over a longer period of time and decreases the risk of irritation while smoothing and firming the skin,” she explains, adding that those looking to treat wrinkles should “look for retinol to stimulate collagen production.”
The rich cream is also filled with skin-loving ingredients, including the brand’s proprietary botanical eye contour complex and a winter daphne stem cell extract. The plant extracts work to reduce dark circles and puffiness, and will also firm and brighten the skin around the eyes over time. Plus, the refillable glass packaging and creamy consistency make for an extra luxe product.
Price at time of publish: $65
Key Ingredients: Time-released retinol, botanical eye-contour complex, winter daphne stem cells extract | Size: 0.5 oz
The Inkey List Retinol Eye Cream
Best Budget
What We Love: Retinol is the hero ingredient here to minimize fine lines and speed up collagen production.
What We Don’t Love: Without a chorus of complementary ingredients, you might want to layer this with other products for skin concerns.
For age reversal on a budget, we’re turning to The Inkey List’s Retinol Eye Cream. The brand is known for its simple, no-frills formulas and this affordable treatment features a stabilized retinoid compound that is strong enough to be effective without any of the usual retinol side effects. The slow-release formula can be used nightly and it layers well with other products, courtesy of its lightweight consistency and ability to absorb into the skin quickly.
Pro tip: Apply SPF daily when using retinol-filled products because the ingredient causes the skin to become more sensitive to the sun.
Price at time of publish: $13
Key Ingredients: Retinol, glycerin | Size: 0.5 oz
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Overnight Wrinkle Treatment
Best Splurge
What We Love: This treatment has a blend of four anti-aging ingredients of retinol, bakuchiol, rambutan, and ferulic acid.
What We Don’t Love: It's recommended for night use only.
This overnight treatment from Dr. Dennis Gross offers a mixture of anti-aging hero ingredients to camouflage, crow’s feet, UV damage, and other visible signs of aging. Featuring both retinol and the plant active bakuchiol, the formula acts as a one-two punch to support and speed up collagen production.
Even better: Rambutan, a botanical extract filled with antioxidants, minimizes the look of wrinkles while simultaneously improving the skin’s elasticity. Ferulic acid rounds out the list of actives, protecting skin against cell damage, and in turn, slowing down the aging process on a cellular level.
The lightweight serum seeps into the skin easily, and glycerin and niacinamide leave it looking soft and supple.
Price at time of publish: $87
Key Ingredients: Retinol, bakuchiol, rambutan, ferulic acid | Size: 1 oz
Related:The 15 Best Eye Creams of 2023
RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
Best Nighttime
What We Love: This overnight eye cream is effective and affordable.
What We Don’t Love: It may be too strong for sensitive skin.
A top recommendation from Dr. Morgan Rabach, a board certified dermatologist in New York City, RoC is an absolute steal in terms of value — without compromising an ounce of efficacy. A heavy dose of retinol is at the forefront of this drugstore favorite.
“Retinol helps build collagen and reduce fine lines and wrinkles,” explains Dr, Rabach, who adds that the night cream’s pure retinol targets deep wrinkles and fine lines, firming and smoothing the skin as you sleep.
With the addition of squalene and glycerin, this cream also offers hydrating benefits to give the skin a lovely, radiant glow. To top it off, the multitasking product also supercharges collagen production, which improves skin elasticity over time.
Price at time of publish: $28
Key Ingredients: Retinol, squalene | Size: 0.5 fl oz
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream
Best Hydrating
What We Love: This eye cream hydrates and plumps wrinkles.
What We Don’t Love: Although the formula is hydrating, it doesn’t offer collagen-supporting ingredients.
Another top product pick from Dr. Nazarian, Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Gel Eye Cream is rife with hydrating ingredients, including superstars hyaluronic acid and glycerin. “Hyaluronic acid can draw in water to hydrate and plump the skin, improving wrinkles with daily use,” she says of the cream’s hero ingredient.
The gel consistency is lightweight and imparts a nice cooling sensation when dabbed around the eye area, which as a bonus, helps to de-puff the area. Acting as a tall glass of water for the skin, the boost of hydration that this treatment delivers will lead to an improvement in wrinkles instantly and over time.
Price at time of publish: $23
Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, glycerin | Size: 0.5 oz
Tatcha The Silk Peony Eye Cream
Best Priming
What We Love: This non-pilling formula layers perfectly under makeup.
What We Don’t Love: Although faint, the cream has a floral scent.
If you’re looking for an eye cream that can layer seamlessly underneath your makeup, while also blurring telltale signs of aging, then Tatcha’s do-it-all Silk Peony Eye Cream may be for you.
This eye primer-skincare hybrid is crafted with the brand’s signature Hadasei-3, which is a double-fermented blend of Japanese superfoods filled with nutrients and antioxidants to support the skin barrier and seal in moisture. The balm is bouncy and airy, melting easily into the delicate eye area to deliver a soft, subtle glow. It also features a complete silk protein along with Japanese white peony extract, both of which work to protect against future skin damage.
Price at time of publish: $62
Key Ingredients: Hadasei-3, Japanese white peony extract, silk protein | Size: 0.5 oz
Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx Collagen Hydra Gel Face Patches
Best Patches
What We Love: These patches are filled with skin-enhancing ingredients and come in multiple shapes for a variety of areas.
What We Don’t Love: The patches designed for the mouth area slide off easily, so you may want to use them while lying down.
Peter Thomas Roth’s FirmX Collagen Hydragel Patches are specifically formulated with antiaging ingredients, boasting a potent formulation featuring seven unique forms of collagen and collagen-supporting ingredients. The impressive formula also has ingredients like hyaluronic acid, squalene, niacinamide, a proprietary peptide complex, and caffeine, just to name a few.
Each gel patch is made with a trio of different forms of collagen — pure marine collagen, plant collagen, and hydrolyzed collagen — to strengthen the skin’s elasticity and firm up any sagging areas.
It’s also infused with hyaluronic acid, which Dr. Onyeka Obioha, a board-certified dermatologist, calls a “miracle hydrator that draws in water like a sponge, helping the under-eye skin appear supple.”
No one wants to look sleepy, and with the addition of caffeine, you definitely won’t have that problem with these patches. We love that the patches come in a range of different shapes so they can be used all over the face for a complete anti-aging treatment.
Price at time of publish: $65
Key Ingredients: Collagen, hyaluronic acid, squalene, niacinamide, caffeine | Size: 90 patches
Caudalie Premier Cru Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream
Best for Dark Circles
What We Love: This creamy formula reconciles heavy under-eye bags with the help of a cooling applicator.
What We Don’t Love: The cream takes some time to fully absorb into the skin.
For those of us with dark circles underneath our eyes, Caudalie’s Premier Cru Eye Cream is specifically formulated to correct signs of aging such as wrinkles, fine lines, dark spots, and elasticity, all while simultaneously treating stubborn bags and dark circles.
Caudalie partnered with Harvard genetic researcher Dr. David Sinclair to create a signature plant extract technology that directly targets enzymes responsible for aging. Alongside the patented TET8™ technology, the cream targets dark circles at the source via a splash of hyaluronic acid to plump the skin and natural pearlizers to brighten and correct discoloration.
The packaging is also a major perk, designed with a metal applicator that feels nice and cool against sensitive skin while also aiding absorption and reducing puffiness.
Price at time of publish: $85
Key Ingredients: TET8, 100% naturalizer pearlizers, hyaluronic acid | Size: .5 oz
Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream
Best Smoothing
What We Love: This cream moisturizes and instantly smooths wrinkles upon application.
What We Don’t Love: While it does a great job of hydrating and smoothing the skin, it doesn’t do much for dark circles.
This luxe under-eye treatment from Shiseido works overtime to smooth and promote youthful skin. The velvet-like cream houses the brand’s signature KOMBU-Bounce Complex which is composed of green, brown, and red algae to tone and balance rough texture, along with chlorella extract to diminish and smooth the look of fine lines. And for an extra smoothing element and preventative measure, aqua peptide softens the skin to slow future wrinkles.
Not to mention, hyaluronic acid and squalene team up to provide the skin with a deep dose of hydration to round out this multi-faceted anti-aging recipe.
Price at time of publish: $64
Key Ingredients: KOMBU-Bounce Complex, squalane, aqua peptide | Size: 0.5 oz
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright+ Vitamin C Eye Crème
Best Brightening
What We Love: The formula brightens the under eyes for a youthful glow.
What We Don’t Love: It may be too strong for super sensitive skin.
Vitamin C is the star of the show in this popular eye cream from Ole Henriksen. Developed with antioxidant-rich plant extracts and an advanced vitamin C complex, the cream brightens, tightens, and reduces inflammation. The product has a gold delivery system (yes, with real gold) that also features ascorbic acid and antioxidants. This concoction creates a complex that helps the formula penetrate further into the skin to boost the effectiveness of vitamin C and deliver anti-aging properties at a more advanced level.
And created with light-reflecting minerals, the cream illuminates and color corrects so effectively, it can even be worn on its own, making the application of under-eye concealer optional.
Price at time of publish: $42
Key Ingredients: Triple vitamin C complex, bioflavonoids, hardy orange extract | Size: .5 oz
EltaMD Renew Eye Gel
Best Depuffing
What We Love: This multitasker targets puffiness and wrinkles.
What We Don’t Love: The product is slightly difficult to pump out of the bottle.
You might recognize EltaMD as the mastermind behind the dermatologist and celebrity-loved sunscreen, but they also make one of our favorite depuffing eye treatments. The cool gel consistency soothes puffy eyes while vitamin B3 (aka niacinamide) tamps down on discoloration. Additionally, peptides work to rebuild the skin barrier and promote collagen production, and hyaluronic acid and vitamin C derivatives simultaneously reduce signs of aging by making the area appear plumper and brighter.
Plus, this oil-free treatment is super lightweight and easily absorbs into the under-eye area, allowing the formula to penetrate into the skin to deliver all of its top-notch hydration, brightness, and collagen-building ingredients.
Price at time of publish: $62
Key Ingredients: Vitamin B3, hyaluronic acid, peptides | Size: 0.5 oz
Lancôme Rénergie Lift Under Eye Correcting Cream
Best with Caffeine
What We Love: Formulated with caffeine, eyes will appear refreshed and youthful.
What We Don’t Love: It has a subtle scent.
With energizing caffeine and plumping hyaluronic acid, Lancôme’s Renergie Lift Under Eye Cream is the skincare equivalent of a large cup of coffee for your eyes.
Caffeine is a key element to look for in an eye cream for tired eyes, according to our experts. Dr. Obioha explains that “caffeine is a perfect ingredient for under-eye creams due to its ability to constrict blood vessels under the skin, reducing puffiness under the eyes.”
Dr. Rabach also recommends an eye cream with caffeine due to its power to “help reduce dark circles,” which makes this product especially terrific for a morning skincare routine. Plus, it’s super lightweight so it pairs well with other skincare or makeup products in your regimen.
Price at time of publish: $82
Key Ingredients: Caffeine, hyaluronic acid, linseed extract | Size: 0.5 oz
Colorescience Total Eye 3-in-1 Renewal Therapy SPF 35
Best Multipurpose
What We Love: This multitasking eye cream conceals, corrects, and protects all at once.
What We Don’t Love: The shade range could be more inclusive.
We love when our products target a variety of skin concerns, and this three-in-one eye cream from Colorscience is the epitome of a skincare-makeup hybrid. Half eye cream (with SPF) and half, part SPF, part concealer this eye cream is loaded with peptides, vitamins, and hydrating plant extracts to improve lines, dark circles, and puffiness, while the SPF protects the delicate area from sun damage.
The formula is also pigmented, offering subtle coverage to hide skin discoloration or imperfections. Available in four shades, the creamy texture is blendable and buildable, so you can both cover and treat the skin.
Price at time of publish: $79
Key Ingredients: Peptides, vitamin C, zinc oxide | Size: 0.23 oz
Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum
Best Firming
What We Love: This lightweight serum can be used morning and night.
What We Don’t Love: The formula might not be ideal for acne-prone or oily skin.
This under-eye serum from Drunk Elephant is filled with skin-firming, antioxidant-rich agents, including copper peptides and Edelweiss Meristem Cell Culture to strengthen skin density and improve elasticity, along with black tea ferment to smooth uneven texture and roughness, and vitamin B3 to restore firmness.
The lightweight serum sinks into the skin easily to promote hydration and leaves the under-eye area looking smooth and firm. In a two-week consumer study, 92 percent of testers agreed their eye area looked smoother and 88 percent believed their periorbital fine lines looked softer.
Price at time of publish: $60
Key Ingredients: Copper peptides, Edelweiss Meristem Cell Culture, niacinamide, black tea ferment | Size: 0.5 oz
SkinCeuticals Physical Eye UV Defense SPF 50
Best with SPF
What We Love: This SPF-filled eye cream prevents wrinkles and sun damage.
What We Don’t Love: It works better for protection and prevention rather than treatment of current wrinkles.
Sun exposure is a prime culprit in causing wrinkles and can accelerate the skin’s aging process, however applying “sunscreen and treatments with SPF for morning creams can reduce UV-induced degradation of collagen and elastin,” says Dr. Obioha. The SkinCeuticals Physical Eye UV Defense treatment works proactively to protect the gentle eye area from early signs of aging caused by UV exposure.
Armed with UV-ray protecting ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which are the two most common types of sun protection, this formula provides broad spectrum SPF 50. The impressive defensive ingredient list also boasts ceramides which nourish and renew the delicate area around the under eyes by locking in moisture and protecting the skin barrier.
Price at time of publish: $32
Key Ingredients: Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, ceramides | Size: .3 oz
What to Keep in Mind
Ingredients
Depending on what you want your under-eye treatment to accomplish, there are different ingredients to look for. “Eye creams can address multiple concerns affecting the eye area: wrinkles, puffiness, pigmentation,” says Dr. Nazarian.”Each issue has a different hero ingredient (or multiple hero ingredients) that can help.”
To address existing signs of aging, look for high percentages of retinol, hyaluronic acid, peptides, and niacinamide, which all deliver benefits to the eye area.
Retinol
“Retinol fights visible signs of aging by increasing cell turnover, stimulating collagen production, and inhibiting collagen degradation,” explains Dr. Obioha. If you want to begin incorporating retinol into your daily routine for youthful skin, we suggest a slow-release and gentle formula like Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Eye Cream.
Overnight eye treatments like Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Overnight Wrinkle Treatment or ROC Retinol Deep Wrinkle Night Cream will supply stronger doses of the collagen-stimulating ingredient.
Hyaluronic Acid
“Hyaluronic acid helps pull water into the skin,” explains Dr. Rabach, which is ideal for plumping skin indentations, like fine lines, crow’s feet, and wrinkles for a more supple appearance. Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Gel Eye Cream and EltaMD Renew Eye Gel are both great sources of hydration that will keep skin looking and feeling youthful.
Peptides
“Peptides serve as building blocks of collagen to help firm the skin under the eye,” says Dr. Obioha, who adds that they can lessen signs of aging by speeding up cell turnover in the skin.
Niacinamide
“Niacinamide is a natural way to strengthen the skin barrier and retain hydration, generally improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles,” explains Dr. Nazarian. It is also known for brightening skin tone and refining uneven texture.
Skin Type
It is also imperative to keep in mind your skin type when selecting an under-eye treatment. Those with dry skin should look for moisturizing ingredients and a thicker consistency, like the Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream.
Oily skin reacts best with lightweight serums or gel formulas, such as the Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum. And if you struggle with sensitive skin, you should avoid using a high concentration of retinol, especially without using SPF protection.
Your Questions, Answered
How often should I apply an eye treatment for wrinkles?
According to Dr. Nazarian, “most eye creams are ideally used 1-2 times daily for wrinkles.” For the morning, you should opt for a formula with SPF, such as SkinCeuticals Physical Eye UV Defense, or caffeine like Lancome Rénergie Lift Under Eye Correcting Cream. For a PM treatment, look for thicker formulas with retinol.
How do you apply an under-eye treatment for wrinkles?
Each product will have specific application instructions, but experts recommend gently tapping the product into the under-eye area using your fingertip, beginning in the inner corner and gradually moving outwards towards your ear.
Why Shop With Us
Jasmine Hyman is a commerce producer and writes for publications including InStyle, People, and Byrdie. To find the best under-eye treatments for wrinkles, she spent hours researching different brands, products, and ingredients. Jasmine also consulted board certified dermatologists Dr. Rachel Nazarian, Dr. Onyeka Obioha, and Dr. Morgan Rabach about the best ingredients, tips, and products for under-eye wrinkles.
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