Cucumbers in beauty usually paint images of a nondescript woman in a face mask with cucumbers over her eyes. Veria Id utilizes this long-standing tradition in its Veria Id Look Alive Eye Gel ($20, amazon.com). Its much boasted about ingredients are cucumber extract and beech tree bud extract, with supporting roles played by hyaluronic acid and panthenol. But does this combination of ingredients really make eyes “look alive”? Beech Tree Bud Extract While there are a number of claims that this extract is an anti-aging ingredient that smoothes wrinkles, there was no scientific data that I could find to support […]
Cucumbers in beauty usually paint images of a nondescript woman in a face mask with cucumbers over her eyes. Veria Id utilizes this long-standing tradition in its Veria Id Look Alive Eye Gel ($20, amazon.com). Its much boasted about ingredients are cucumber extract and beech tree bud extract, with supporting roles played by hyaluronic acid and panthenol. But does this combination of ingredients really make eyes “look alive”?
Beech Tree Bud Extract
Beech tree bud extract has little data behind it beyond that it’s a good source of antioxidants.
While there are a number of claims that this extract is an anti-aging ingredient that smoothes wrinkles, there was no scientific data that I could find to support them. However, beech tree bud extract, from the Fagus sylvatica, was found to have a high antioxidant capacity (Romanian Biotechnological Letters).
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a natural moisturizing factor (NMF), which means that it mimics the moisture within the skin. This allows the skin to operate at optimal levels and provide protection against environmental damages (Murad). Hyaluronic acid is also a humectant moisturizer; it works by pulling water away from the atmosphere to hold up to 1000 times its weight in water.
Humectant moisturizers can sometimes pull water from within the deeper layers of the skin, but when paired with an occlusive moisturizer (in this case, glycerin), hyaluronic acid only pulls water from the environment (10 Minutes, 10 Years, Dr. Leslie Baumann, M.D.). Luckily, hyaluronic acid can do this in both high- and low-humidity environments (In Cosmetics).
Hyaluronic acid can also speed up wound-healing from oxygen free-radical damage in mouse skin, but researchers are still unsure if it has antioxidant activities as a free-radical scavenger (International Journal of Tissue Reactions).
Panthenol
Panthenol is another popular ingredient in skincare products because of its activities as a humectant moisturizer (see above). It has been proven effective in wound-healing because it increases the proliferation of cell fibroblasts (Drug & Cosmetic Industry). It has been shown to decrease signs of aging, particularly when paired with niacinamide, meaning it should help to revitalize your eye air by plumping the skin (Indian Journal of Dermatology).
[Read More: Spotlight On: Panthenol]
Cucumber Extract
Cucumber has few vitamins compared with other fruits and vegetables, but in concentrated forms, products can make the most of its ascorbic acid.
According to Mosby’s Handbook of Herbs and Natural Supplements, traditional use of cucumbers has been to treat hypertension and inflammation. It is typically valued for its high water content, its decent source of fiber, and low number of calories; when compared to other vegetables, however, it has a relatively low number of vitamins and other nutrients (Cambridge World History of Food).
To compensate for its low vitamin content, cucumber is typically used as a concentrate in cosmetic products because it contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which works as an antioxidant, increase collagen, reduces wrinkle formation, and can even help with hyperpigmentation. One study shows its skin-brightening and anti-aging effects, while another shows it as a significant DPPH and superoxide radical scavenger (African Journal of Biotechnology, Archives of Dermatological Research).
Additionally, cucumber extract has shown possible inhibition of hyaluronidase and elastase enzyme activity, which are responsible for the degradation of hyaluronic acid and elastin, respectively (Archives of Dermatological Research).
Overall Rating: *
Despite the cooling cucumber, this eye gel stung my eyes so much that I had to wash it off.
I’m definitely a fan of the ingredients listed above; as beech tree bud extract has provides antioxidants, hyaluronic acid and panthenol will “plump” your skin, and cucumber extract will help with signs of anti-aging. Based off of the ingredients, I expected to be more of a temporary fix to puffy eyes after a night of little-to-no sleep.
But when I applied Veria Id Look Alive Eye Gel, the area around my eyes burned so much that I had to wash it off. I’m not allergic to anything in the ingredients, so I’m not entirely sure what could have caused it. While I’m sure this isn’t a typical reaction to the gel, I can’t really recommend this product based on my experience.
Ingredients: Purified Water, Aloe Barbadensis (aloe Vera) Leaf Juice•, Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Pca, Panthenol, Allantoin, Soy Protein, Myrtus Communis (myrtle) Extract, Fagus Silvatica (beech Tree) Bud Extract•, Tetrahydropiperine (black Pepper), Cocos Nucifera (coconut) Extract, Aesculus Hippocastanum (horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Emblica Officinallis (amla) Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (sugarcane) Extract, Roman Anthernis Nobilis (chamomile) Flower Water•, Camellia (green Tea) Sinensis Leaf Extract•, Cucumis Sativus (cucumber) Fruit Extract•, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Algin, Hydroxyethyl Cellulose, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin. Fragrance-free
• Organic Ingredients
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