Under-Eye Wrinkles: What Helps, What Does Not

Under-eye wrinkles come mainly from thin skin that loses collagen with age, sun exposure, dryness, rubbing and the way you sleep. The things with real evidence are daily sun protection, a gentle retinoid and a good moisturiser; massage and eye exercises don’t reduce wrinkles, but a feather-light routine can feel calming and may help with morning puffiness. Below is a quick way to tell lines from bags and dark circles, what helps, what is mostly marketing, and when to see a dermatologist.

Why you get wrinkles under your eyes

The skin under your eyes is thinner than almost anywhere else on your face, so it shows dryness, sun damage and age first. Several things add up:

• Age. Skin makes less collagen and elastin over time, so it becomes thinner and less springy. Cleveland Clinic describes wrinkles as a normal part of aging (Cleveland Clinic).
• Sun. UV light breaks down the skin’s support structure and is one of the biggest drivers of early skin aging (AAD).
• Squinting and smiling. The ring of muscle around each eye contracts thousands of times a day. Over the years, repeated squinting can etch lines, which is how crow’s feet form at the outer corners; our guide to crow’s feet covers that area in detail.
• Dryness. Dehydrated skin shows fine, crepey lines that often soften once it’s moisturised again.
• Rubbing. Tugging at the eyes when they itch, or scrubbing off eye makeup, puts repeated friction on very delicate skin.
• Sleep position. Pressing your face into a pillow night after night creases and distorts the skin (more on that below).
• Smoking. The AAD lists quitting smoking among the ways to slow premature skin aging (AAD).

Wrinkles, bags or dark circles? A quick self-check

Under-eye wrinkles, eye bags and dark circles often appear together but have different causes, so they respond to different things. In daylight, try this:

• Gently smile. Lines that deepen and fan out are expression lines; fine crisscross lines that stay when your face is still are texture lines.
• Look up at the ceiling. If a bulge under the eye flattens or shifts, it is more likely a bag than a wrinkle.
• Check in the morning and evening. Swelling that’s worst on waking and fades by lunch is fluid, not wrinkles.

	Under-eye wrinkles	Eye bags	Dark circles
What it looks like	Fine lines or crepey, crinkled texture	A soft bulge below the lower lid	Darker or shadowed skin under the eye
Main causes	Thin skin, collagen loss, sun, dryness, rubbing	Fat pads moving forward, looser support tissue, genetics	Thin skin showing blood vessels, pigment, shadows, allergies
What helps	Sun protection, retinoid, moisturiser	A dermatologist or eye specialist if it bothers you	Sleep, sun protection, concealer; a dermatologist if persistent

Mayo Clinic explains that bags form when the tissues supporting the eyelids weaken and fat moves forward (Mayo Clinic), while Cleveland Clinic notes that thin under-eye skin lets blood vessels show through as dark circles (Cleveland Clinic). If puffiness is your main concern, read our guide to puffy eyes in the morning; this page sticks to lines and texture.

What has evidence

Three habits have the best support for under-eye wrinkles: protecting the skin from the sun, using a retinoid carefully and keeping the skin moisturised.

Sun protection

Sunscreen is the best-studied way to slow visible skin aging. In a randomised trial in Nambour, Australia, adults under 55 who applied sunscreen daily showed no detectable increase in skin aging over four and a half years, while the group using it as they chose aged measurably more (Hughes et al., 2013). The trial measured the backs of the hands, but the skin under your eyes gets plenty of sun too.

• Use a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher every morning and take it right up to the bone under the eye. If your usual sunscreen stings, try a mineral formula for that area.
• Wear sunglasses outdoors. The AAD notes that they protect the skin around your eyes and cut down on squinting, which can etch lines over time (AAD).
• Our morning skincare routine shows where sunscreen fits.

Retinoids, carefully

Retinoids are the most studied skincare ingredients for wrinkles. A review of clinical trials found that tretinoin in particular improves fine wrinkles from sun damage, with irritation the main side effect (Mukherjee et al., 2006). Cleveland Clinic suggests looking for ingredients like retinol and peptides if you choose an eye cream for wrinkles (Cleveland Clinic).

Around the eyes, go slowly:

• Start gentle. The AAD suggests choosing the gentlest formula you can find, applying it in the evening and using it every other night at first (AAD).
• Use a tiny amount on the bone, not on the eyelid or close to the lash line, and patch test before you start.
• Buffer with moisturiser. If your skin gets dry or irritated, the AAD suggests using less, using it less often or applying moisturiser first.
• Pregnancy: the AAD advises against retinoids during pregnancy. Check with your doctor if you’re pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding.
• Wear sunscreen daily while you use a retinoid.

Our nighttime skincare routine includes a simple weekly schedule for starting a retinoid.

Moisturiser

Moisturiser can make fine lines look softer straight away. The AAD explains that it holds water in the skin, which gives it a more youthful look (AAD). The effect lasts only as long as the skin stays hydrated, so apply it morning and night. Your regular face moisturiser is fine under the eyes if it doesn’t sting; a separate eye cream is optional.

What has little evidence

Some popular under-eye products and tools are pleasant to use but have little evidence for wrinkles.

• Expensive eye creams without active ingredients. A rich cream will moisturise, but price and packaging tell you little. Check the label for a retinoid instead.
• Jade rollers for wrinkles. A cool roller can feel soothing and may help morning puffiness look calmer for a while, but there’s no good evidence that rolling reduces lines. Our comparison of gua sha vs jade roller goes through what each tool can do.
• “Instant” tightening serums. Some products leave a thin film on the skin that makes it feel tighter and look smoother for a few hours. It washes off.
• Eye exercises. A 2025 systematic review of facial exercise and massage (12 studies, 321 women) reported some improvements, including around the eyes, but the authors judged the evidence insufficient (systematic review, 2025). Our article on whether face yoga works looks at the research in more detail.

Gentle under-eye massage

A light massage is a calm way to apply your eye cream or moisturiser and may help morning puffiness, but it won’t reduce wrinkles. Use your ring finger, the weakest one, and barely move the skin; never stretch or drag it.

1. Dot and pat (about 20 seconds)

Place a rice-grain amount of moisturiser or eye cream in three small dots along the bone under each eye. Pat it in with your ring fingers, lightly, from the inner corner outward.

2. Raindrop tapping (about 30 seconds)

Tap softly along the bone under the eye, from the inner corner to the outer corner, as if raindrops were falling. Repeat three or four times. Stay on the firm ridge of bone, never on the eyelid.

3. Press and release (about 30 seconds)

Rest your ring fingers flat on the bone, press so lightly you hardly feel it, hold for a breath, then lift and move a finger-width out. Work from the inner corner to the temple, two or three times.

4. Sweep to the temples (about 20 seconds)

Glide your ring fingers along the bone out to the temples, five times, then rest your fingertips on your temples for three slow breaths.

Safety: stop if your eyes water, sting or feel sore. Skip the routine on irritated skin, with a stye or eye infection, or after eye surgery, fillers or other treatments around the eyes until your clinician says it’s fine. Don’t massage over a retinoid you’ve just applied, as that spreads it toward the eyes.

If you’d rather follow along, Gluvy’s Eye Area Revitalizing Massage and Morning De-Puffing Massage are among its gua sha and facial-massage video courses, with a timer on every step, and the face yoga video workouts include eye-area moves. Learn the gentle under-eye technique with Gluvy’s guided eye-area massage: download Gluvy on iPhone.

Sleep and habits

How you sleep and how you treat your eyes during the day matter more than most products.

• Sleep on your back if it’s comfortable. A review of sleep wrinkles describes how pressing the face into a pillow when sleeping on your side or stomach compresses and distorts the skin, and suggests this may add to facial aging over time (Anson et al., 2016).
• Silk or satin pillowcases feel smooth and may create less friction, but there’s little evidence that they change wrinkles. Use one if you like it.
• Don’t rub your eyes. Take off eye makeup by holding a soaked pad on the lid for a few seconds, then wiping gently.
• Manage allergies. Itchy eyes lead to rubbing. If yours itch in pollen season or around pets, ask a pharmacist or doctor about suitable treatments.

When to see a professional

See a dermatologist if under-eye lines bother you and haven’t changed with a few months of sunscreen, moisturiser and a gentle retinoid. They can check whether you’re looking at wrinkles, bags or pigment and suggest options that skincare can’t match. These include prescription retinoids and laser resurfacing; Cleveland Clinic lists fine lines and wrinkles under the eyes among the concerns laser resurfacing is used for (Cleveland Clinic). The AAD also lists chemical peels, fillers and botulinum toxin among treatments for sun-damaged skin, and notes that lasers carry downtime and possible side effects (AAD).

See a doctor promptly for under-eye changes that appear suddenly, affect only one side, or come with itching, a rash, pain or vision changes. For more on other areas of the face, browse our facial exercises by area.

Caring for the eye area with Gluvy

Gluvy’s skincare lessons include short guides such as Skincare Rituals and an article course on how to use retinol, and you can set a night routine reminder so the retinoid and moisturiser steps actually happen. Pair them with the gentle eye-area massage videos when you want a few calm minutes, and keep expectations honest: sunscreen, a retinoid and moisturiser do the heavy lifting for under-eye wrinkles.

Sources

• American Academy of Dermatology: 11 ways to reduce premature skin aging
• American Academy of Dermatology: Retinoid or retinol?
• American Academy of Dermatology: How dermatologists treat sun-damaged skin
• Hughes MCB, Williams GM, Baker P, Green AC. Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2013.
• Mukherjee S, et al. Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: an overview of clinical efficacy and safety. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2006.
• Anson G, Kane MAC, Lambros V. Sleep Wrinkles: Facial Aging and Facial Distortion During Sleep. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2016.
• Systematic review of facial exercise and massage, Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum, 2025
• Cleveland Clinic: Wrinkles
• Cleveland Clinic: How to choose the right eye cream
• Cleveland Clinic: Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing
• Cleveland Clinic: Dark circles under eyes
• Mayo Clinic: Bags under eyes