Dry Eye is a Skin Disease?
Dry eye disease is actually a skin disease, not an eye disease. I wanted to say something a little bit shocking to start off in this blog. I want to talk about something that maybe you have never heard before. You've been suffering from dry eye for a long time, you've been searching for someone who could tell you what to do about it, but you've never heard that dry eye disease comes from the skin, not the eyes. This is a new way of thinking about it.
Evaporative Dry Eye
Studies have shown that over 86% of dry eye sufferers have the evaporative type of dry eye. Evaporative dry eye means not producing enough oils in the tears, which would cover the tear film and prevent the watery part of the tears from evaporating out into the air.
These oils come from oil glands that line the inside of your eyelids, also called meibomian glands. There are about 30 of these glands on the lower lid and 20 of them on the upper lid.
When we blink, a little oil spreads out over the front surface of the eye and keeps your tears inside the eye instead of allowing them to dry out. If there were more oil in our eyes, 86% of us would have more moisture in our eyes. Let's talk about how to take care of your skin because those oil glands are living in your eyelid, which is skin tissue, right?
6 Tips for Healthy Skin
#1) Drink Water
Always have water with you so that you can stay hydrated. I personally prefer using a straw so, I can just sip during the day. I don't have to stop and chug it.
Rules have changed on how much water you need to drink to stay hydrated. It used to be a universal eight 8 oz glasses of water no matter what your size is. It's no longer acceptable just to drink eight, eight-ounce glasses of water.
Instead, you need to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water. So let's do easy math. If you weigh 200 pounds, you divide that in half, you get 100 ounces of water that you need to drink throughout the day to stay fully hydrated.
#2) Keep Your Skin Clean
I know that I have introduced you to my favorite beauty brand, EYES ARE THE STORY. This is a beauty brand that has a beauty regimen in it that was designed by five eye doctors. Every ingredient in their products is safe for your eyes. They developed these products with your dry, sensitive eyes in mind. That's why I love this brand so much.
Use a skin cleanser that is free of toxic ingredients to keep your skin clean. You want to stay away from harsh soaps that dry your skin. Your skin needs to retain moisture to keep looking young and healthy and to continue to function properly.
When your skin is dry it begins to break down and flake off. This leaves you more susceptible to infection and irritation. Try EYES ARE THE STORY skin cleanser it is gentle yet effective.
#3) Moisturize Your Skin
Followed the cleansing step by adding moisture back to your skin with a moisturizing cream or lotion. Again, the skin needs moisture to function properly. Without proper moisture, it begins to crack and flake away.
Try EYES ARE THE STORY moisturizer too. You know that all the ingredients are CLEAN and safe for your sensitive eyes.
#4) Remove Your Makeup Before Bed
This is my Golden Rule of makeup wear for all of my patients whether they have dry eyes or not. Removing your eye makeup before bed is the most important step of any beauty routine.
Allowing the makeup to remain on your eyes increases inflammation and irritation to your eyes and will also increase the signs of aging. Don't like red, puffy eyes or wrinkly skin? Make sure you are removing allow of your makeup every night.
If you do not yet have a favorite eye makeup remover, I would love to guide you. I have a guide called Makeup Remover Guide for Sensitive Eyes, download in here.
The guide breaks down makeup removers into five different classes, and it explains why you would choose one type of makeup remover over another for your sensitive eyes. Depending on your skin type, whether or not you are active, you like to travel, or what have you, there is a makeup remover in there for you. Get the guide.
EYES ARE THE STORY has these cute little cleansing pads that are safe to use on the eye. They are individually wrapped and fold out into a bigger sheet. You can scrub away all of your eye makeup easily even when you're on the go.
#5) Take A Dry Eye Supplement
A dry eye supplement, like HydroEye, contains nutrients and essential fatty acids to give your body what it needs to produce healthy tears. This anti-inflammatory supplement delivers a proprietary blend of omega fatty acids, antioxidants, and key nutrients. These all work together to support a healthy tear film and soothe the ocular surface.
Consider taking HydroEye twice a day, two tablets, to get healthier skin and whiter, brighter eyes. The benefits of this supplement go farther than just soothing your eyes, they bring down inflammation throughout your body as well.
#6) Use Makeup Products Without Toxins
Use only makeup products that are tried and true without toxins. The toxic ingredients found in our eye makeup and skincare products lead to increased inflammation and irritation in the eyes. The redness and swelling these toxins cause give increased signs of aging. So again, EYES ARE THE STORY, they have a wonderful mascara and an eyeliner that is absolutely safe to put on your lids and lashes.
If you would like recommendations for other makeup products that are also free of toxins that could be harmful to your sensitive eyes, then check out my CLEAN Makeup course. The course includes a list of eye makeup curated to be comfortable for dry or sensitive eyes.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it, dry eye disease is not only a disease of the eyes, but it involves the skin around your eyes. And it's important to take care of that skin so that you can have whiter, brighter eyes again.
Keep these oil glands surrounding your eyes healthy, and your eyes are skin will continue to look young and clear. The best practices to promote healthy skin and bright eyes are: staying hydrated, cleansing the skin, moisturizing the skin, removing your eye makeup before bed, taking an anti-inflammatory supplement, and staying away from makeup and skincare products containing toxins.
All right. And, if you are interested in ordering any of these products, like the facial cleanser, moisturizer, mascara, eyelid cleansing wipes, then you can go to www.eyesarethestory.com and use the code: winkwink to save 20% on any of these products.
