HOW I TROUBLESHOOT OILY EYELIDS

You have oily eyelids. When you apply your eye makeup, you feel like it just gets really smudgy super fast. It's super annoying. I'm a UC Berkeley trained optometrist. This is how I troubleshoot oily eyelids. Oily skin. It's definitely genetic, but there's certain things that you could be doing that could be irritating that eyelid skin and causing that oiliness to come out.

FIRST. Is that eyelid skin actually dry or is it just dehydrated? Possibly both? If it's dry, you want to pick an eye cream that's going to help that lipid layer.

If it's dehydrated, you definitely want to pick an eye cream that's going to add water and hydrate. Possibly you might need some of both.

SECOND. Always troubleshoot the face washing and eye washing especially if you are removing makeup from the eyes and or face.

I move my patients with cases like this to the double cleanse method for eyes and face, and also have them stop washing their eyes in the morning. Instead, in the morning use a face towel. Just use warm water to wipe away any eye crusties.

THIRD. Troubleshooting the face care products you're using that can migrate into that eyelid area. Whether you're unintentionally rubbing it into your eyelids or it's happening through your pillowcase.

FOURTH. My patients always have the instinct. Oh yeah, I have really oily eyelids so I am going to use powder to dry out that oil. I know that makes intuitive sense, but using powders actually creates more dehydrated skin which can cause your eyelid skin to secrete more oil to compensate. Moving from an eyeshadow in powder form, for example, and moving to a cream stye eyeshadow stick can certainly help troubleshoot oily eyelid skin. And then of course, if you are using a finishing powder, just avoid that eyelid area.

Dr. Tanya Gill, OD