The holidays are full of friends, family and fun. But this time of year can also leave you overwhelmed and overstressed.
Your already busy schedule ends up on overload…
Plus the cold, dry winter weather takes a toll on your skin.
It all adds up. You end up with tired, dry, sagging eyes. Wrinkles become deeper, circles get darker. You look like you haven’t slept in a week. And it adds years to your appearance.
That’s why this time of year you need to pay special attention to this area. You see, the skin around your eyes is extremely fragile. It’s 10 times thinner than the rest of your face and it ages 36% faster!
It’s no wonder it’s the first place you see the signs of aging.
You might be tempted to try covering up the damage with one of Big Beauty’s concealers. But don’t waste your money. They just compound the problem.
Instead I help my patients use miracle remedies from Mother Nature to tighten up the skin around their eyes. In a moment I’ll share with you the secret to having fresh bright eyes all year long.
Let me explain…
The skin around your eyes never rests. It works with every eye movement, smile and squint. It even works while you sleep, not to mention the 10,000 plus times you blink every day.
That constant flexing and stretching dries out delicate skin. Add to that the sun’s UV rays, wind and chemicals in soaps and cleansers and you have really dry, aging skin. Your skin cells
stop building skin-toning collagen and elastin. They don’t replenish your epidermis to keep it looking young, smooth and soft.
The secret to reversing that aging is restoring moisture. But I’m not talking about the greasy creams in most eye products.
I’m talking about an exotic plant I found growing in the rainforest in Bali. My Balinese friends call it “voodoo lily.” But the more common name is konjac (Amorphophallus konjac).
For more than 1,500 years the Japanese have been eating the konjac root. They call it konnyaku. You see, the root contains about 40% glucomannan.
This compound has powerful “hygroscopic” properties. In other words, it acts like a sponge. When it comes in contact with water in your belly, glucomannan can expand up to 17 times in size. It helps stabilize blood sugar, supports weight loss and regulates bowel movements.
But voodoo lily doesn’t just work in your stomach. When you apply konjac root to your skin, it penetrates the upper layer of the epidermis. There it captures water that pushes up from the deeper dermis layer.
As it soaks up water in the epidermis, glucomannan increases in volume. That extra moisture plumps up skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. It leaves you a smoothed surface with long-lasting hydration.
Like magic, glucomannan changes the appearance of your skin so wrinkles, lines and bags are simply smoothed away. It appears to plump and smooth the skin around your eye area. This is exactly the kind of holiday “magic” you need to erase the signs of aging around your eyes and restore your sparkle.
Make Voodoo Lily Work for You
- Take it internally. Eating the powdered root is a good way to increase fiber in your diet. Traditional Chinese medicine uses the root this way to detoxify the body.1 In that way it helps cleanse your skin from the inside out.
Look for powdered konjac glucomannan in your local health food store or online. Add it to your morning smoothie or green drink.
You can also take a konjac supplement. Look for one standardized to 95% glucomannan. But make sure to buy capsules instead of tablets. The tablets may start dissolving in your throat and cause swelling and choking. The capsules stay intact until they reach your intestines so they go down smoothly.
Take one gram of konjac glucomannan three times a day before meals with 8 to 10 ounces of water.
- Apply it topically to your skin. When you apply konjac root to your skin, it soaks up and holds onto moisture.
In laboratory tests, konjac retained so much water it increased the thickness of the protective stratum corneum layer of the skin.2 That’s important to boost the strength of the delicate area under the eyes. I’ve created a see-through gel that has a soft and pleasant feel on your skin. And I’ve added it to my new eye-lift gel. It provides a natural way to create a gel without using chemical thickeners.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1 Chua M et al. “Traditional uses and potential health benefits of Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch ex N.E.Br.” J Ethnopharmacol. 2010;128(2):268-78.
2 Schaefer K, “Konjac Root Wrinkle-filling-Spheres” Cosmetics AndToiletries.com. Retrieved 12/5/17.