If you've got beauty questions, Cosmopolitan.com's beauty editor, Carly Cardellino has the answers. Email your beauty Q's to ccardellino (at) hearst (dot) com or tweet your questions to @carlycardellino.
Q: Do I need to wear sunscreen around my eyes? I hate when it gets inside and burns.
A: One hundred percent, and here's why: "The skin around your eyes represents less than 1 percent of the skin's make-up, but 10 percent of skin cancers occur in that tiny area," says Julie Woodward, M.D., chief of ocular facial surgery at Duke University Medical Center. A lot of cancers occur in the lash and lower lid areas because people don't take the time to protect that skin and the eyes protrude outward, so the skin around your eyes tends to absorb more UV rays. Not to mention, your eye skin is 10 times thinner than the rest of your skin, making it more susceptible to UV damage.
So how do you avoid being a statistic? Apply SPF! Look for a mineral-based sheer formula with ingredients like zinc and titanium dioxide (chemical sunscreens with ingredients like oxybenzone or avobenzone can sometimes irritate the skin) that offers at least an SPF of 30. You can use the same one you're using on your face, but any eye-specific SPF is your best bet for proper protection, since it won't sting if it transfers into your eye and it's made for the thin skin in that area. One to try: SkinCeuticals Physical Eye UV Defense SPF 50
Also, don't forget to line your eyes! "Eyeliner originated with the Egyptians because black pigments reflected the sun's harsh rays," Woodward says. "So applying liner, especially along your lower lash line, will help ward off harmful rays and protect your eyes."
Lastly, throw on some shades. It's also important to wear good quality sunglasses that offer up 100 percent UV protection to help shield your eyes, too, so don't leave the house without them.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images
Carly Cardellino was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you follow her Instagram, then you know she'll try just about any beauty trend or treatment once (the pics of her purple hair are on IG to prove it). But her favorite part about being in beauty is finding the most effective products, and then sharing that intel with others—because who wants to spend money on stuff that doesn't work? No one, that's who. Her most recent discovery: De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment, which will change your blemish-clearing game! Hopefully through the beauty stories she writes—and the experiences she shares—you can see exactly why she's in this business.
