How to have younger-looking eyes

Crow's feet, dark circles and puffiness...the eye area has its very own set of beauty concerns- not surprising when you consider the skin here is only about a quarter of the thickness of the skin covering most of the rest of the body.

‘Because the skin around the eye is so thin, it's easily damaged,' says Dr Nick Lowe, consultant dermatologist at the Cranley Clinic in London (020 7499 3223). ‘And as it gets damaged, it becomes even thinner, leading to crow's feet.' The thinner skin also means blood vessels show more easily, which can lead to dark circles.

Prevention is better than cure and as the main cause of skin thinning is sun damage, protection from UV rays should be your priority to keep skin looking younger for longer. But what to do about damage that's already visible? Read on to find out.

Crow's feet

At home: A lot of sunscreens can irritate the delicate eye area. Not so Dr Nick Lowe SPF15 Eye Cream, £14.55 for 15ml (www.boots.com), specially formulated to give the eye area the broad-spectrum protection it needs. It also contains skin-tightening and rejuvenating ingredients.

The treatment: A swell as muscle relaxers such as Botox and Dysport, Dr Lowe recommends fractional laser skin resurfacing to boost the collagen content in the area. ‘Fraxel Restore is fairly gentle, but for deep lines and wrinkles I'd use Fraxel Repair, which is more powerful.' Treatment costs from £500.

Puffy eyes

At home: Applying a cooling product before bedtime, such as the new gloTherapeutics gloSoothing Gel Mask, £17.75 for 60ml (0800 121 8116) will help combat morning puffiness. ‘Iced water soaks are good for reducing puffiness caused by fluid retention,' says Dr Lowe.

Using a soothing cleanser, such as Skin Wisdom Daily Care Gentle Eye Make Up Remover, £2.29 for 125ml (www.tesco.com), can help prevent puffiness, too. With green tea to protect and camomile to soothe, it should leave eyes feeling refreshed.

The treatment: Many of the big skincare houses offer de-puffing eye treatments as stand-alone therapies or add-ons to their regular facials. For example, Gerard's Collagen Eye, around £35-£45 for 30-45 minutes (visit www.gerards.uk.com or call 0208 202 2020), is designed to reduce puffiness around tired eyes and lessen signs of ageing.

Dark circles

At home: The new Beauty Bank Eyliplex-2, £27.99 (www.boots.com) has clinical data to back up its claims to improve dark circles by 20 per cent in four weeks- plus it tightens the skin around the eyes.

If you prefer to be organic, Neal's Yard Remedies White TeaToning Eye Gel, £20 for 10ml (01747 834634), has eyebright extract with toning witch hazel and is wonderfully cooling.

Or for a budget option, Q10Derma Intensive+ Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream, £1.79 for 30ml, is hard to beat. For coverage that stays put for hours without creasing, try Benefi t Erase Paste, £18.50 (www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk), or brighten shadows under the eye with Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch, £4.99 (available nationwide).

The treatment: Very dark circles can be treated with a ruby laser, which zaps the pigment under the skin. It's virtually pain-free, but the skin around your eyes is likely to look red, sore and puff y for a few days after treatment. It costs from around £500, but results should last for years.

‘This treatment should only be carried out by a trained doctor,' says Dr Lowe. ‘You should never go to a beauty salon or allow a nurse to carry this out - it really must be a qualified medic.'

Eye bags

At home: Nivea Visage Expert Lift Eye Cream, £17.61 for 200ml (available nationwide), is designed to give you noticeably tighter, firmer, redefined and smoother skin around the eyes. Formulated for more mature skin, it has SPF15 protection and gives instantly plumper and smoother skin in just one hour, plus long-term firming with regular use.

The treatment: Tear-trough filler- a groundbreaking treatment designed to fill out the hollows that appear around the eyes as we age- can also be used to treat eye bags. ‘Loss of volume in the skin tissue makes pockets of fat visible under the eyes,' say Mr Raman Malhotra, a leading consultant oculoplastic surgeon who pioneered this technique in the UK (01883 712888).‘In most cases you can reverse the problem by replacing this lost tissue with a filler such as Restylane, which is far less invasive than surgery.' Treatment costs from £800 and results should last a year or so.

Lovely lashes

Lash extensions are unbeatable for a wide-eyed, youthful look - try Jinny Lash High Curl (around £150 per set; visit www. jinnylash.com or call 020 7495 8385). Or get a similar effect by curling your lashes with NYC Eyelash Curler, £2.99 (from Superdrug), heated with your hairdryer on low for a minute or two, then applying Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal mascara, £6.99 (available nationwide), which promises up to seven times more volume.

Make your own lashes both fuller and stronger with new Future:sk Triplelash XL, £39.99 (www.futuresk.com or call 0845 279 7207), an overnight treatment that guarantees longer lashes within 21 days. After 42 days, the results of clinical trials found an 89 per cent improvement in eyelash fullness, visibility, thickness and health.

Perfect eyebrows

As our brows tend to thin as we get older, having a full-looking brow will make you look younger. Wet n Wild Brow Essentials, £3.90 (from www.wnwbeauty.co.uk) has all you need to shape, fill and define your brows - though you'll probably be better off with larger, precision tweezers. With its own built-in light, TweezLight, £7.99 (from Superdrug or www.amirose.com), is fantastic for helping you spot stragglers.

‘When your brows turn grey, the face looks drained, so shape and shade them with a soft brown brow pencil,' says celebrity makeup artist Chase Aston. ‘This will instantly take five years off you!'

Another option is a salon brow tint, or do it yourself with Colorsport 30 Day Mascara in Dark Brown, £7.25 (www.boots.com). Start by leaving the dye on for less than the stated 10 minutes- go too dark and your brows will look fake.