Above the Mask: Skin Care Tips for Your Eyes and Upper Face

Most of us wouldn’t say that masks are our favorite necessity right now. Let’s be real, smelling your hours-old breath particles that have gotten stuck in the mask is…not great.

Masks do have their perks, though (on top of, you know, getting a deadly global pandemic under control). For all of us who are self-conscious about some lines around our mouths or some emerging jowls, the mask offers a bit of reprieve.

Still, you don’t want to get too comfortable. You need to take care of your skin so that when the masks come off, you don’t look like you’ve aged ten years in 2020 (though no one would blame you). Plus, your eyes and upper face are still fully visible in any mask and you want them to look as stunning as ever.

To maximize your mask look, try these top tips designed for the skin that still shows above your mask.

1. Be Careful Around the Eyes

Your eyes are the key focal points on your face, so everyone’s gaze will be drawn to them and you want them to look their best. Unfortunately, though, that area is tricky when it comes to skin care.

The skin around your eyes is extremely thin and delicate, so it ages faster than other areas of your face. At the same time, because the skin is so delicate, you can’t go overboard with age-defying skin products because they could irritate the skin.

To make sure your anti-aging efforts don’t do more harm than good, you need to follow two rules. First, only use products that are specifically made for the area around the eyes. Second, limit yourself to one product for your eyes at any given time, like a nice eye contour cream.

2. Give Your Skin the Spa Experience

Keeping your daily skin care routine simple will give your skin what it needs without going overboard and creating inflammation. At the same time, sometimes your skin needs an extra boost.

Every week or two, give your eyes an at-home trip to the spa with an eye mask. These masks often come as pre-soaked pieces shaped like crescents to perfectly fit the area under your eye.

There are plenty of eye masks to choose from, so look for one that has the same priorities you do. Some focus on reducing puffiness, treating dark circles under your eyes, or tightening the skin. Whatever your flavor might be, this can be a great way to add some “oomph” to your skin care without irritating your skin.

3. Get a Retinol in Your Routine

As important as your eyes are to your facial experience, don’t forget about their neighbor to the north: your forehead. If you’re like most of us, your forehead has at least the early stages of some horizontal creases.

If you want to fight back against those wrinkles, a great start is to incorporate a retinol product into your skin care routine. Retinol is a well-known hero among skin care professionals. It’s an anti-aging powerhouse that supports cell renewal for smoother, firmer, younger-looking skin.

Start by choosing a retinol product like my personal favorite, the Biopelle KNR Serum. Serums are particularly effective because their particles are small enough to reach deeper levels of your skin.

Follow the instructions on your product but start slow. Retinol can irritate some people’s skin. Begin by using it once a week and work your way up if it doesn’t cause inflammation.

4. Give Your Brows Some Love

Your brows are always a noticeable feature of your appearance, but now that the entire bottom half of your face is covered, the brows step into center stage. Now more than ever, you want those brows looking bright, vivacious, and well-sculpted.

Did you know there are products specifically made for that purpose? If you haven’t tried the RevitaBrow Advanced Eyebrow Conditioner, allow me to introduce you to the new love of your life.

The conditioner strengthens your eyebrows against breakage and hydrates the hairs so your brows look fuller (if you fell victim to overplucking during the early 2000s like I did, this one’s for you). It also gives your brows more of a healthy shine.

5. Consider a Two-Pronged Approach

Let’s talk about forehead wrinkles in a bit more depth. As you may have noticed, your forehead wrinkles mirror the way your skin wrinkles when you furrow your brow while making certain facial expressions.

When you make those expressions, it contracts the muscles under your forehead in a specific way. Over time, those muscles eventually stay partially contracted all the time instead of relaxing and smoothing out between expressions. That crease in the muscle creates a crease in your skin too.

Skin care products are a great way to fortify your skin against those wrinkles and they can make a powerful difference, especially in the early stages of aging. If you want a more comprehensive improvement, though, the real key is to treat the muscles and the skin at the same time.

You can do that with a combination of great skin care and wrinkle reduction injections like Botox. Those injections work by smoothing out that semi-contracted muscle, releasing the pinch that the muscle has created in the skin. Combining these injections with a strong skin care routine will create a more comprehensive result and make it last.

Making the Most of Your Mask

Whether we like it or not, it looks like we’ll be wearing masks in public for a while. You might as well make sure your game is on point by giving your eyes and upper face the top priority in your skin care. Use the tips above to make your visible skin look even more glowing and gorgeous than it did before.