Do you have puffy eyes, dark under-eye circles, or both?
Whether the cause is a few long days or too many restless nights, you have probably delt with both at one time or another.
What can cause dark under eye circles?
Dark circles or bags under your eyes have many causes.
These include:
- Increased melanin (also called hyperpigmentation)
- Fat loss beneath the eyes
- Broken blood vessels
- Hard living- too much caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and too little sleep, lots of things can lead to puffy eyes-from too much or too little sleep from eating poorly
- And yes! Just getting older
8 solutions and strategies to prevent, reduce puffiness, and dark under the eye circles:
- Get enough sleep- sound sleeping is an inexpensive, way to help minimize dark under-eye circles, no matter what the cause, sleep not only helps keep your eyes bright it also aids your body in repairing cells damage to your skin, sleeping eight hours a night is highly recommended.
- Dehydration–Avoid alcohol and caffeine- though they may perk you up in the mornings short term, caffeine and alcohol in-take don’t do the same for your skin. They can cause mild dehydration, making dark circles more obvious. Drink-water and stay well hydrated it also helps overall skin tone to firm and give a fuller look
- Conceal–Go a shade lighter with your concealer than your skin tone is this can help disguise under eye circles. Minerals or concealer made with natural ingredients is best, with it being so close to your eyes.
- Cut back on salts- retaining body fluid can cause puffy eyes it also helps to reduce the tendency for retaining fluid. Reduce the processed foods in your diet and cut back on soda.
- Use cool compresses- Try de-puffing of chilled green tea bags, cucumber slices, putting eye cream in the refrigerator, or a gel- eye mask you can keep in the freezer is great.
- Eye creams- If the dark circles under your eyes are due to too much melanin, creams containing lightening agents such as retinol, hydroquinone, kojic acid, green tea, vitamin C, K, caffeine or soy can be helpful, Also Consider skin lighteners and skin bleaching agents- and avoid the sun and use sunscreen daily.
- Check out injectable fillers – A plastic surgeon may administer which would be best for you. Filler can be used to help if fat loss is the cause of your bags under the eyes. Fillers can help if collagen and elastin breaks down causing surrounding skin to pouch out, it can make puffiness look smaller and minimized while at the same time filling out lines.
- Laser treatments that are made pacifically for the eye area – Laser treatments may reduce the look of dark circles due to broken capillaries or darkness. Lasers can also exfoliate dead cell build up and smooth the skin while also building your natural collagen. My favorite is a fractional CO2 added with a laser eye peel on top. This exfoliates, smooths and builds collagen at the same time!
