Does instant eye bag cream really work?
You’ve seen the commercials on TV or on Facebook where a person with huge under-eye bags has a cream applied to one side and within minutes the treated side is completely smooth. It looks too good to be true. Is it real?
As an NYC eye and face plastic surgery (oculoplastic) specialist I decided to do an objective test. The results are below, with actual video of the test.
How you can be mislead into spending a lot on eye creams
Two of the most common concerns I address for clients in my Manhattan office are under-eye bags and dark circles. Unfortunately by the time many people see me they have already spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on eye creams that didn’t work.
So how do intelligent people end up spending so much money on useless products? Much of it is misleading advertising.
And the products you can buy over the counter don’t require FDA approval so their claims and labeling are not under much regulation or scrutiny if any at all.
Trick #1: A “clinical trial” is quoted in a TV commercial or print ad for a skin cream. Guess who conducted the clinical trial? The company selling the cream. Are they biased? Absolutely.
Trick #2: Using a name for the product that seems to promise similar results as a prescription product or a medical procedure like a filler or a laser. See this list:
Two of the most popular eye bag creams tested
#1: Olay Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum
This Olay product claims to “instantly brighten the overall eye area and instantly softens the look of fine lines and wrinkles”. And it’s ophthalmologist tested. It also claims to “instantly work on the surface cell level”. Sound great. But did it deliver? See the video:
THE VERDICT: NOT VERY EFFECTIVE
This product had a reflective quality that looked a little too shiny. It did not create any instant tightening or change the eye bags at all.
#2: Instantly Ageless Cream
This is the product that is heavily promoted online and you may have seen on an infomercial or facebook ad.
It claims to “work quickly and effectively to diminish the signs of aging”.
It also claims to have a “revolutionary ingredient”, Argielene, a peptide that works like Botox without the needles. This claim is unsupported by scientific research and in fact does not make sense. Botox does not improve eye bags nor does it tighten skin- so you wouldn’t want a Botox-like effect for an under-eye cream. Luckily it’s probably not the actual active ingredient that gives the effect in this product.
Does it work? Watch this video:
THE VERDICT: SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
This product actually worked, sort of. It did give a feeling of tightening and it actually made the bag on the treated side look less noticeable.
The caveat: it left a white flaky residue that didn’t look great and it lasted for about an hour.
So this could be an option for a special event or photo event but it’s not a long term fix. In fact, it is likely that long term use can cause skin irritation.
Why does it work? It’s most likely the silicates (sodium silicate and magnesium aluminum silicate).
Before and after Instantly Ageless Eye Cream
on the left lower eyelid only
What really works for eye bags?
Instant eye cream can work temporarily but there are other options for a longer term and more-effective fix. These include the cannula eye lift (under eye filler) which lasts a year or more, and lower eyelid surgery which lasts for many years.
Click here to read about these two options and to find out which one makes the most sense for you.
Before and after cannula eye lift for eye bags-
results last a year or more
