It’s not uncommon to see beauty products come with claims like “Botox in a bottle” or some overly promising equivalent. And while most of the time we’ve learned to temper our expectations when it comes to the skin care purchasable in a tube, one video on TikTok showing an over-the-counter eye treatment in action had me reconsidering what is possible.
In the un-doctored video, a woman with prominent under eye puffiness and visible sagging applied Peter Thomas Roth’s Instant Firmx Eye treatment to the area of concern. Almost instantly the nondescript cream appeared to lift, firm and visibly smooth her under eyes in a way that I could describe as nothing short of magic. Or at the very least, in-office-treatment-worthy.
Curious to get to the bottom of these results, I sought the guidance of Dr. Omer Ibrahim, a board-certified dermatologist at Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology. He explained that the Firmx’s instantly tightening results are most likely due to sodium silicates, which are listed fairly high on the product’s list of ingredients.
“These ingredients form a film on the skin that contracts once it’s dried. It essentially pulls the skin tight once the product dries down, which only takes a few seconds,” Ibrahim said.
He said that throughout the day, as the skin naturally generates more oil, the film will start to wear off, losing the tightening and de-puffing effects.