By the time your big day rolls around, you’ve likely spent weeks (if not months) committed to a dedicated skincare routine. All that’s left for you to do is sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor (i.e. fresh, glowing skin). But there’s one last minute product that you can pull out of your back pocket as you prep for all of the wedding festivities—under eye patches.
While they’re not an absolute skincare must-have, they can be very helpful for maximizing delivery of ingredients to the under eye area and are a great quick fix, says Dr. Fatima Fahs, a board-certified dermatologist in Michigan. They’re also a top choice to have on-hand both for the wedding day, and the time leading up to it. “For brides, under eye patches can be particularly helpful for the wedding week itself. Alcohol consumption, a lack of sleep, and stress can all make the under eye area appear puffy and dark,” says Dr. Fahs. “An under eye patch can hydrate, as well as reduce inflammation and swelling. Your makeup will go on smoother and you will look bright-eyed for all your photos.”
With so many under eye patches today, it can be hard to know which ones actually work and give you the results you are looking for. So with Dr. Fahs advice and our own experience, we researched the best under eye patches for a variety of issues and skin types. We looked for high quality ingredients, effective designs, and portable packaging, so you can take these on your honeymoon and beyond.
The majority of eye patches out there tend to skew more toward the hydrating/soothing/depuffing department, making these anti-aging ones all the more noteworthy. They’re a top pic for Dr. Fash, who likes that the star ingredient is retinol, one of the most tried-and-true wrinkle smoothing ingredients of all time. The vitamin A derivative is proven to stimulate collagen production, resulting in smoother, more youthful skin. “I’d recommend using these at night to work on fine line reduction, as well as the appearance of dark circles,” she says. (The arnica in the formula helps with the latter.) AKA keep these on your nightstand to pop on post rehearsal-dinner.
Key Ingredients: Retinol, peptides, arnica | Quantity: 5, 15 or 30 | Benefits: Smooths wrinkles, minimizes the look of dark circles
