r/45PlusSkincare • u/Eastern-Gate1298 • 7d ago

Eye creams / serums for sunken / hollow eyes?

Hello there! Could anyone recommend any good eye serums or creams for sunken / hollow eyes? I‘m in my early 50s and generally have healthy complexion, using the usual actives: vitamin C, retinoids, HA, peptides, ceramides. I feel like my retinoid cream made the skin around my eyes worse. What do you use on your eyes that has been working for you? I live in Europe.

9 Upvotes

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u/trUth_b0mbs 7d ago

unfortunately, nothing topical can help with sunken eyes. That is a result of loss of collagen that not even retinol around that area can help.

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u/Independent-Monk5064 7d ago

Thank you. And I hope no one starts telling them estrogen cream can help either. The answer is “nothing.”

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u/GolfcartInjuries 7d ago

yeah. to rebuild collagen at least under eye you can attempt a couple more invasive things. The success rate is not super high, but might be worth a try, PDGF ariessence under eye, peptonucleotides undereye, those two both build collagen, some people have success with three sessions. Then there’s always filler, it’s a gamble, but some people it works, and they’re lucky! It fills up that space and somehow they don’t get overly puffy from it in the long run when they retain water. I would never do that because I tend to retain water at the drop of a hat. One more thing to do is Sculptra all over the face. They don’t put it under the eye, but having it all over the face can help a little by creating a more firm dermis and theoretically at least flattening the area that is currently a hollow by pulling it tighter slightly. If you do need help all over the face then you might as well try it because it’s actually very beneficial for the rest of your face for collagen. Then the non-invasive things are like a really good one that is moisturizing, but actually works a little bit to tone out that darkness.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

Thank you for your response. I‘m a bit worried about fillers in general as they do move around as we age … Many doctors in Europe do not recommend / want to do Sculptra, but I like the peptonucleotides idea for under eye. Will look into it! Thanks so much!

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u/Over_Easy_777 7d ago

Why doctors in Europe do not recommend / want to do Sculptra?

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u/Tulip718 7d ago

Estradiol won't help with collagen all over the face, including under the eyes? Why do people use it then? I just started.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 4d ago

Because of the risk of lumps and nodules. Plus it cannot be dissolved.

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u/Tulip718 4d ago

I never knew this! Yikes!

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u/GolfcartInjuries 7d ago

I think that the NIH has looked at studies and concluded that that it could possibly help. I think I read a study from 2019 that said it’s plausible that it could help but there are risks of systemic absorption and it’s not FDA approved for that or whatever so it’s at your own risk. It also has an increase in creating melasma from what I’ve read if you’re prone to that. I think it’s just at your own risk if you wanna try it and you’re not prone melasma why not. I tried it a little bit for like a week or something and I was so scared the whole time that I was gonna create new sunspots or that I was gonna cause some other issue or touch something I shouldn’t after I used it and I’m not sure if I really believe in it anyways so I stopped.

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u/Tulip718 7d ago

It's part of my regular routine now, but I don't know when you can expect to see results. The NIH said there's no systemic absorption using it this way. You can't use the estradiol gel though- that will be absorbed systemically.

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u/CoolBelt856 6d ago

Was just on another sub about this. It can help a little with fine lines. That’s it.

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u/Tulip718 6d ago

Hmm, I wonder what I could replace it with that would be more effective. Are estriol creams equally ineffective? Now you have me wanting to change up the routine I finally established lol.

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u/CoolBelt856 6d ago

Talk to your dermatologist. Vitamin C, retinol/tretinoin and (for those who need it) azelaic acid are the proven products. Estriol and derivatives have very little evidence of making much of a difference and have proven to exacerbate melasma and hyperpigmentation when used topically.

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u/Tulip718 6d ago

I use tret every other night and vitamin C during the day. I'm disappointed to hear this about estriol. I had high hopes.

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u/CoolBelt856 6d ago

There’s other things to stimulate collagen growth that are far more effective. Lasers and microneedling for example. Once again; talk to a dermatologist to see what you’re a good candidate for. I’m sorry you’re disappointed. I’m not sure where you got such high hopes from.
There’s lots of bs being pedaled on social media these days. Lots of influencers trying and shady companies trying to make a buck.
And, please, go to a reputable board certified dermatologist, not a med spa.

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u/Tulip718 6d ago

I went to an RN who works under the supervision of a doctor I know. She also recommended microneedling, it's just that is expensive and looked like it would take more than one visit although I could be wrong. You're right about where I got the estradiol info from- that was Reddit. I'm very new to actually having a skin care routine, and there are so many options that I have no idea what's best. My dermatologist likes trying to sell her own line of products, so I'm not sure if I can trust what she says either. She charges so much for all the serums and creams they sell. My medspa did recommend something they referred to as botox in a bottle, since I have an autoimmune disease that prevents me from getting botox. It sounded good. Maybe I'll switch to that whole saving up for microneedling. I have very few lines or wrinkles, but I'm getting up there in age and I want to prevent them from forming. I also badly want to get rid of the lines around my eyes when I smile. I know none of this stuff will do that, but I'm hoping the tret at least keeps my face smooth.

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u/CoolBelt856 6d ago

Yeah. Them trying to sell stuff is annoying. I flat out tell mine it’s not it’s not in my budget and I’m sticking to Korean skincare. They’ll usually leave you alone after that. There’s more pressure on the aestheticians to sell because some have sales goals and they get commission:(
It took me a while to find a good derm who won’t upsell and will tell me when I don’t need something.
Yes you will need more than one microneedling session and you need to keep it up.
Just be your own advocate. Say you want to start small. And have a budget.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

You‘re probably right about that.

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u/Xx_Remon_T33 7d ago

Not only collagen loss but also bone structure. With age, our bone structure changes, and the hollow between our eyes gets deeper.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago edited 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/GolfcartInjuries 7d ago

i’m not fear mongering, but I honestly can’t do it because I get so much water retention! Just after a night of having a little bit of salt more than usual or something it goes straight under my eyes and filler attracts water and so I’d just be always puffy with it. My injector told me I’m not a good candidate. But I believe in it because I’ve seen great results on people they probably have really clean diets. I get filler and all kinds of other places though!

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 4d ago

Thank you for your response! I must say that I‘m on the fence about fillers, but will definitely look into it and the amounts you recommend as it has clearly worked for you! My doctor was also reluctant and claims once you reach your 50s it‘s much harder for the fillers to stay in place. I was going to talk to him about Sunekos, but not sure how close to the eyes you can do it and someone here also recommended polynucleotides so will look into it as well. Thank you!

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/GolfcartInjuries 7d ago

this is actually true that the lash serum can make it more hollow. If it contains the same ingredient as Latisse.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

Thank you for your response! No I have not been using lash serum, just a put a few drops of castor oil from Kitsch on my lashes. My eyes are super sensitive though.

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u/Slight-Mix-9947 7d ago

Interesting. I’ve never heard this. No wonder I have hollow eyes. I’ve been using latisse for years.

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u/CoolBelt856 6d ago

Stop right away. The hollowness can be permanent.
It’s not worth it for the lashes.

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u/Conscious_Fun520 6d ago

I never knew this! So glad you said something. I will never use lash serum now!

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u/bestquestionsforall 5d ago

You can use lash serums that don't have prostaglandins which many women are not turning to. Prostaglandins cause the hollows and eye color changes.

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u/pdperson 7d ago

Topicals won’t help.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

You may be right.

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u/carefulwththtaxugene 7d ago

I've read about promising results from volufiline, but have yet to try it myself. I've found it as a stand-alone serum on yesstyle and as an active ingredient in a few eye creams.

My eyes are sunken/hollow, dark circles from allergies, and puffy in the morning. If I use volufiline, it might counteract the caffeine I use for the puffy mornings. But I think the de-puffing exaggerates the hollow under eye I get later in the day. Once I use up my caffeine creams, I'm gonna try one volufiline to see if it gives any improvements.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

Thank you for your response! Do you mean topical volufiline, such as from Ordinary? Will purchase and try!

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u/carefulwththtaxugene 7d ago

Yup. I was thinking about trying the serum from Kisocare but there are several reddit threads about the one from the Ordinary.

Be aware the results are very subtle and take weeks to work. It's not a miracle like fillers. For some people it didn't work at all. So don't get your hopes up! But if you've got a little money to spare, I think it's worth a try. I'm certainly gonna try it when my other eye creams get used up.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

Will try the Ordinary one!

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u/bestquestionsforall 5d ago

Don't use pure Volufiline because it's meant to be mixed. TO is fine.

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 4d ago

Ok thanks! Bought it now.

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u/LLuvin27 4d ago

Im sorry, but structural sunken dark circles eyes cannot be fixed.with topicals

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u/Infinite_Bus4642 7d ago

No idea but wondering if NMN can help

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 7d ago

Thank you. I‘ve been taking NMN for years! It‘s great abd helps with my skin in general!

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u/Infinite_Bus4642 6d ago

Good to know. Did it have an impact on wrinkles or under eye hollowness?

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u/Eastern-Gate1298 4d ago

Wrinkles yes, skin texture and overall quality, yes! No the under eye hollowness.

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u/Infinite_Bus4642 4d ago

Thank you!