It’s not too long ago that getting your hands on an eye cream meant stealing from a female relative or heading to a makeup counter with the discretion of an MI5 operative for fear of being spotted by your mates.

What a time to be alive – today blokes can’t move for choice. Which is handy, seeing as if you drink, smoke, eat salt, stay up late, stare at screens or are just generally subject to the same ageing process as everyone else, the effects will show on your face.

The downside to that is the mind-boggling array of eye products on offer can make it pretty confusing to find the right one. That’s why we spoke to London-based skin specialist and founder of Zelens skincare, Dr Marko Lens, to find out how to banish every bag, ditch every droop and put an end to every puffy spot.

Why Use An Anti-Ageing Eye Cream?

Given where on the body your eyes are, you’d be forgiven for thinking an ordinary face moisturizer would do, but that’s not the case. “Eye creams have different activities to regular face creams, and target different problems associated with the area,” explains Dr Lens. “The skin around eyes is thinner than on the rest of the face and is more vulnerable to external aggressors. Also due to the muscle contractions of the orbicularis muscle, it is more prone to wrinkles.”

Aside from the fact that our peepers come with their own unique set of problems (the type that causes work colleagues to say “damn, Terry, you look like crap today”), regular face creams are often too harsh, greasy or just simply don’t work.

More than just snake oil, there’s a reason eye creams are in a grooming category of their own. Use them daily, and you can expect to see fewer dark circles and, over time, reduce the speed at which your vices show.

What To Look For In An Eye Cream

Hydration is key to swerving panda eyes, so it’s important that any eye cream you use acts as a good moisturizer (duh), but it should also tackle specific face-based issues.