Cucumber eye gel is a cosmetic product for that eyes that contains cucumber as an ingredient. This product is sold at department store cosmetic counters, in variety store skin care aisles and in some grocery stores, and is usually used to improve the appearance of the area around the eyes. Many different cosmetics and skincare brands manufacture cucumber eye gel. Usually, cucumber eye gel is transparent or translucent and smells like cucumbers. This type of product can be sticky or oily when it dries, requiring it to be rinsed off, or it can soak completely into the skin as a leave-on treatment.
Like other types of eye gel, cucumber eye gel usually contains water with a mixture of fragrance, nutrients and other additives. In contrast with eye cream which is creamy and white or off-white, cucumber eye gel is usually clear. It most frequently comes packaged in a squeezable tube or small screw-top jar. Some cucumber-based eye gel also contains extracts of other skin-friendly plant ingredients such as chamomile, green tea and aloe vera.
Cucumber is commonly used as a treatment to improve the appearance of the eyes. A well-known beauty practice involves placing cool slices of cucumber over closed eyes to give them a refreshed look, which is widely attributed to a reduction in swelling caused by the moistness and coolness of the cucumber. Cucumber eye gel can be more convenient to keep on hand than slices of cucumber, since eye gel can be stored much longer than fresh cucumber and requires no slicing before it is used. It is considerably more portable than a cucumber, making it a preferred choice for use while traveling or outside the home.
The right cucumber eye gel can be more effective than cucumber slices because they contain a mixture of other nutrients designed to improve the skin. One disadvantage to cucumber eye gel is that it contains multiple ingredients. This can increase the chance that an individual who is not sensitive to cucumber alone might have an adverse reaction to one of the other ingredients.
Many people keep cucumber eye gel in the refrigerator because the coolness helps reduce swelling around the eyes, which can make them appear puffy. This can help mimic the therapeutic effects of the coolness in slices of refrigerated cucumber. Some people still prefer the classic pampering experience of resting with cool slices of cucumber on their eyes.