- As the skin ages, certain compounds in the skin decrease in production. Elastin, a protein that helps the skin to keep its shape, decreases as a person ages. This decrease means that skin begins to sag as the person gets older and the elastin no longer keeps the connective tissue in the skin tight.
- As elastin decreases, the constant movement of the skin around the eyes begins to create more wrinkles. Constant movements, such as frowning, smiling and other facial gestures, stretches the skin around the eyes, creating the small lines known as "crow's feet" that appear at the sides of the eyes. Though gesturing wrinkles often appear elsewhere, such as around the mouth, the eye area is especially vulnerable to these wrinkles because this skin around the eyes is thinner and more delicate than the skin on other areas of the face.
- Sun exposure also increases the likelihood and depth of the wrinkles that appear around the eyes. Sun exposure causes the generation of free radicals in the skin. While the skin is equipped to combat some free radicals, excessive sun exposure results in too many free radicals for the skin's defenses. The result is cellular damage done by those free radicals, which results in wrinkles and sagging skin. Because many people avoid their delicate eye area when applying sunscreen, sun exposure to the thin skin around the eyes is often harsher on that portion of the face.
- Gravity is another cause of wrinkles around the eyes. As the skin ages, it begins to sag from the long-term effects of gravity. Around the eye are, this can lead to droopy eyelids and bags and wrinkles under the eyes as the skin stretches downward.
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