Kacie asks…How about Neutrogena rapid wrinkle repair eye cream? What ingredients are supposed to be brightening my dark circles?

The Right Brain responds:

This product claims to do the following:

• Fade the look of stubborn crow’s feet
• Brighten and even under eye area
• Smooth fine lines & texture
• Reduce the look of dark cirlces

The “magic” ingredient here is retinol. As we’ve noted before, you need to be careful not to be fooled when deciding which retinol product is right for you because there are different types of retinoids and not all of them work the same. The best retinol containing products use a time-released form which ensures there’s enough of the ingredient delivered to your skin to help increase cell turn over without being irritating. This Neutrogena product contains a “sustained release” form of retinol which claims to do just that.

Water, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Dimethicone, Glycerin, PPG 15 Stearyl Ether, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Trisiloxane, Ceteareth 20, Isohexadecane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ammonium Acrylyl Dimethyltaurate / VP Copolymer, C13 14 Isoparaffin, Polyethylene, Polyacrylamide, Chlorphenesin, PTFE, Myrtus Communis Leaf Extract, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid), BHT, Laureth 7, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Retinol, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide

Image credit: http://www.cyberlawcentre.org/