Caffeine is a wonderful ingredient. While many of us consider it a staple of our morning routines (in the form of a delicious drink), dermatologists believe it can also do a range of incredible things for your skin. It’s particularly great if you struggle with dark circles, loose skin, and puffiness around the eye area.
Caffeine is a powerful antioxidant that can help protect skin from damaging free radicals that can cause premature lines, sagging skin, and photodamage. According to board-certified dermatologist Brendan Camp, MD, caffeine is also a vasoconstrictor, meaning it causes blood vessels to constrict or tighten, helping with the appearance of sagging skin, discoloration, and fine lines.
I don’t know about you, but the above statement was all it took to inspire me to start searching for the best caffeine eye creams money can buy. And lucky for you, I also asked Camp to share a few of his favorites. Keep scrolling—there’s something for every budget.
“In addition to caffeine, this lightweight eye cream contains retinol to help treat fine lines and hyaluronic acid to keep skin hydrated.” — Brendan Camp
“The caffeine in this eye cream helps minimize the appearance of swelling and dark circles, while copper and calcium improve skin elasticity and hydration.” — Camp
“Caffeine and other ingredients work to make the skin around the eyes appear brighter and reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.” — Camp
This hydrating and lightweight option from The Inkey List helps combat puffiness. Plus, it contains Matrixyl 3000, a potent peptide that helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area.
Youth to the People offers one of my favorite options for caffeine eye creams. It brightens your under-eye area like no other with caffeine and vitamin C. A peptide complex reduces dark circles and fine lines, and synthetic mica adds an extra glow.
Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost+ Eye Cream contains caffeine, hyaluronic acid, and a peptide complex that all work together to reduce puffiness and dark circles. It’s also fragrance free, making it great for those with skin and eye sensitivities.
At just $9, this concentrated eye serum from The Ordinary gets the job done. With caffeine and green tea catechin, it helps reduce pigmentation and puffiness around the eye area fast.
While this SkinCeuticals eye cream is definitely a bit pricier than other options on this list, I can vouch for its effectiveness. It has a thick balm-like texture that improves the appearance of puffiness, dark circles, and crow’s feet typically associated with advanced glycation in the skin. Peptides, Pro-Xylane, blueberry extract, and caffeine add radiance to tired eyes.
If you love BeautyStat’s Universal C Skin Refiner, you’ll also love this eye cream. It contains a patented stable formula of vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties that calm, revitalize, and reduce puffiness.
As its name suggests, this eye cream is packed with a high dose of caffeine to reduce puffiness and hydrate, firm, and tighten the skin around the eye area.
With three key ingredients known to help dramatically improve the look of dark circles, Herbivore’s Super Nova Eye Cream is another great option. It contains caffeine, vitamin C, and turmeric root, ingredients packed with antioxidants that help even skin tone and brighten the under-eye area.
French skincare brand Typology packed this eye serum with caffeine, Albizia julibrissin extract, and niacinamide—ingredients that boost circulation and restore radiance to the eye area.
