Hi everyone, I thought of doing a post on this topic which does not relate to cosmetics directly but is more important and often ignored. Eyes are a precious gift that we have received to experience this world on a physical level alongwith our other sense. So even before we go into smokey eyes, mascaras, tight-lining and false lashes, we need to take care of the very thing we are trying to beautify. So let’s talk about eye care tips!

So here a few of the things I do to take care of my eyes:

1. Remove makeup completely as soon as you come home or at least before going to sleep.

A lot of people do not clean their waterlines properly (I know some of them personally) and a few of the Youtubers I watch have confessed to sleep without removing makeup due to fatigue.
There are times when this can be low on the priority list but I usually keep hygiene above all else and consider this non-negotiable.
If you spend 10 minutes applying makeup, use 5 to remove it!

2. Use a separate towel for face and eye area.

This is a no-brainer in my opinion but I added this just to emphasize that having a separate face towel is better than using the same towel we use after bath. Hygiene reasons!

3. Wear quality sunglasses during the day.

I must confess that I used to wear sunglasses for style during my college days. I used to buy cheap ones and I changed them often. They were just an accessory. But after reading a long article on damage that sun rays can do to the eyes, I invested in one sturdy pair of sunglasses that provided 100% protection against UV rays.
It saves me from the headaches I used to suffer from due to squinting.

4. Blink your eyes.

I worked in the IT industry for 4 years and by the end of first year, I noticed that my eyes were getting drier and they would get irritated easily. I searched online I found out that people working on laptops/computer, playing games or watching TV blink fewer than once every 5 seconds. So I started consciously blinking my eyes every 3 seconds. It sounds funny but I saw a lot of difference within 3 months. I sometimes forget to keep up with normal blinking when I am writing my posts but whenever I remember, I go into a Blink-a-thon (blink as fast as I can for 2 minutes. It helps wake up the skin around the eyes too and helps with tired eyes.

5. Wash your eyes with fresh (or mineral water).

I have always followed this advice after reading it in a book on Ayurvedic home remedies. The first thing I do when I wake up is wash my face with slightly ole water. Since I do not trust the water quality in the tap, I have started using filtered water (kept in the fridge in summer) to give myself a good wake up, I splash most of the water on my eyes (closed). A lot of people say you should do it with open eyes but I find closing my eyes more comfortable.

6. Use a gentle eye makeup remover.

I started doing this recently. I use a cleaning cream (Nature Republic Purple cleansing cream) to remove my makeup but I always remove my eye makeup with Bioderma Sensibio H2O. If I have not worn a heavy makeup (which I don’t for at least half of the week), I just run a Q tip soaked with Bioderma Sensibio H2O to remove my eyeliner on the upper and lower lashline since that is the makeup I do most often.

7. Go eye makeup free.

This may not be practical for a lot of people but I think most of us can commit to being nice to out eyes and go eye makeup free at least once a week.
I do makeup only on the days I go out now so it is usually never more than 4 days a week. I do not wear makeup for grocery shopping or walking in the park or going to my neighbour’s house. But when I was working, I was working 5 days a week and taking classes on saturday. So of course I went out on Sunday. This way I’d have to wear makeup everyday but I didn’t. I strive to go makeup free even an eyeliner atleast once a week.

8. Get your eyesight checked.

When my eyes were getting irritated easily, I got an eye checkup done and I was told I had minor sight problem alongwith a slight dry eye problem. I was shortsighted. I think the power of the glasses was 0.25 or -0.25 (whichever for distance) but i wore my glasses at all times while working in front of the computer. I also wore it while watching TV (which I anyway did very less of). I also got my doctor to prescribe an eye drops to restore the fluid.
He prescribed a generic eye and ear drops which I used consistently over 2 months alongwith washing my eyes with clean water in the morning, blinking more and using gentle cleansers.
Within one year, my eyesight improved (which was probably deteriorating only because of dry eyes) and i got rid of my glasses. I also used to (sometimes) do eye exercises.
Eye exercise – Hold a pen/pencil near the tip of the nose. Look at it. Keep staring at it and then move it away slowly. Move it to your right as far as you can see it with your eyes. then bring it in the center again. Repeat on the left.

9. Throw away old items, sharpen eye pencils often.

I do this all the time. And I think I have always done this. I remove the uppermost layer of eyeshadows every week or so when i am going to use it with a clean paper towel.
I sharpen eye pencils getting rid of the outermost layer of the tip. I do not share my eye products with ANYONE. I throw away stuff as soon as I cannot remember the buying date or have not used something for a year.
Except for some very expensive eyeshadows that I may keep for over a year, I throw away everything else within a year from mascara, eyeliner of any kind.

10. Wear your glasses/ lenses.

If you have eyesight problems, wear your prescribed glasses (or lenses). My mother’s eyesight weakened because she refused to wear it as long as she could avoid it. And when she wore it, she did not get the eye checkup regularly to keep up with her diminishing eye sight.
It saddens my heart. She is 65 (turns 66 soon) and even after two laser operations cannot see properly with either of her eyes. My sisters are doing the same mistake. I don’t and I hope no one in their right mind will after reading this post.

11. Soothing tired eyes with Eye patch (mask?).

Gel eye masks are available in all drugstores very easily so buy a gel eye patch. Keep it in the fridge to cool it a little (do not freeze or read the instructions). Also wash it with a gentle soap before placing on the eyes and relaxing for 10 minutes.
I do not do this as often as I want to or should! But I love how peaceful I feel when my eyes are relaxed and rested.
Stay tuned for my next post where I share a few of my favorite home remedies for eye care!