Page 59 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants September 2020

SKIN FIX 57
I’m going to begin this feature with a confronting fact: your 20s are not too early to start worrying about aged skin. There, I said it.
“We lose one per cent of collagen reserves [per year] after the age of 20,” Sukin and Andalou Naturals Product Trainer and Skin Specialist Cathy Galileos said.
If that’s enough to make you want to spit out your water, then you’re not alone.
‘I already knew that’, you may be saying to yourself. However, the reason for this revelation comes after exploring the topic of eye creams and the skin around the eye area. On the shelves of a retail pharmacy you’ll see a vast range of eye creams, promising an array of benefits, such as ‘reduce dark circles and puffiness’, ‘create a brighter look’, ‘age rewind’ and so on. This got me thinking: Are all of these promises a marketing tool? And is it necessary to focus on the skin around the eyes so much?
You can’t beat the clock
The eye area is one of the first places where you’ll see premature ageing, says Ms Galileos.
“Eye creams are formulated to gently treat the delicate skin around the eye, with a mix of anti-ageing ingredients that everyone’s skin needs: antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients and skin-restoring ingredients,” she said.
“As I mentioned, collagen levels start to decrease in your 20s. With the other contributing factors like dehydration, stress, diet, lifestyle and genes, it’s essential to incorporate the regular use of an eye cream at any age to target specific concerns.
“It’s never too early to start a good eye care routine – the use of preventative anti-ageing products for a more youthful appearance.”
Skating on thin ice (or skin)
The skin around your eyes is different compared with the skin elsewhere on your face or body, and is “usually much thinner than the rest of the skin”, according to Ms Galileos.
“The eye area has no oil glands and minimal underlying fat cells,” she said, “so it’s more susceptible to dryness, fine lines and wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles.
“An eye cream helps to hydrate, smooth skin texture and visibly firm, brighten and help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, some types of puffiness and dark circles.”
Ingredients to catch your eye
Recently I tried Sukin’s Antioxidant Eye Serum, which claims to “help fight the signs of ageing and improve skin texture with aloe vera, cucumber and burdock”.
One of the key ingredients in this product is Cucumis sativus, also known as cucumber. For a long time, I assumed the women sitting in day spas with cucumbers over their eyelids were doing so to block out children from their sight. It turns out that humble
cucumber holds many benefits for the skin, especially skin around the eye area.
Cucumber extract, rich in vitamins, including A and C, and antioxidants, has proven benefits for the skin, such as soothing irritated areas and moisturising, being anti-inflammatory, and inhibiting sebum secretion and melanin synthesis.1
In addition to cucumber extract, the ingredient arctium lappa root extract, also known as burdock root, is also used in the Sukin Antioxidant Eye Serum. Burdock root is a vegetable used in holistic medicine to treat a variety of conditions.2
In terms of skin care, burdock root contains a high level of powerful antioxidants, including quercetin, luteolin and phenolic acids.2 Burdock root is often used to treat skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis and eczema.2
Additionally, in a 2008 study, it was found that the burdock root significantly improves the metabolism of the dermal extracellular matrix and leads to visible wrinkle reduction, hence its regular use in eye creams.3
Further adding to the types of ingredients that can help in eye care, Ms Galileos notes the kinds of ingredients used at Andalou Naturals.
“The Andalou Naturals Luminous Eye Serum is enriched
with fruit stem cell complex, vitamin C and goji glycopeptides,” she said. “These support dermal vitality for a lighter, brighter and tighter looking appearance, while green coffee works to promote circulation and to energise the tired-looking eye area.”
Andalou Naturals offers a range of eye creams promising results in terms of reducing wrinkles, utilising ingredients such as resveratrol and coenzyme Q10. Another of the brand’s eye creams is for hydrating and plumping, using coconut milk, oil and water, electrolytes and kelp extract.
Eyes on the prize (and in pharmacies)
With technology evolving, discoveries being made daily and new products constantly being launched, it’s important to sift through the full range of eye products available, to help customers achieve their desired result.
Ms Galileos says that for those unsure about the reliability of a product, education is always the best option.
“It’s always important to be well informed and understand each product’s ingredients and their benefits,” she said.
“... Confidence and knowledge are necessary for them
[pharmacy workers] to successfully assist and recommend specific eye creams to consumers.”
References:
1. Nguyen VK, et al. 2019. ‘Fermentation of cucumber extract with hydromagnesite as a neutralising agent to produce an ingredient for dermal magnesium products’. Accessed 11/8/20. Available at: mdpi.com/1996-1944/12/10/1701/htm
2. Healthline, 2017. ‘Burdock Root’. Accessed 12/8/20. Available at: healthline.com/ health/burdock-root
3. Knott A, et al. 2008. ‘Natural arctium lappa fruit extract improves the clinical signs of ageing skin’. Accessed 12/8/20. Available at: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/19146605/
RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • SEP 2020