Your eyes are the romance of your soul! Why cloud the clear crystals with dark circles?
Many factors lead to these ocular bruises and they can be quite difficult to treat. To win the battle against the dark detractors and bring light and brightness to your face, you need to arm yourself with knowledge and the right products.
Here are the many ways you may experience dark under-eye circles and all the essential tips you need to defeat them, all from the privacy of your home:
The Many Causes of Dark Under-Eye Circles
Many of the factors that contribute to dark under-eye circles can be thankfully lessened, but one definitely cannot (we’ll give you a hint – it’s the first bullet point below). The biggest causes of this skin condition include the following:
- Genetics – Your genes can dictate whether you are predisposed to dark circles, especially if you have any thyroid issues in the family. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
- Aging – The thin skin and muscle surrounding the eyes become even thinner due to a decreased production in collagen and elastin. Remember, the skin around your eyes is the thinnest in your body to begin with!
- Lack of sleep – Even just staying up a few hours past your bedtime can cause dark circles to form!
- An imbalanced diet – A diet with fewer vegetables, less protein, and more junk will cause your skin to look thin and lackluster.
- Dehydration – When your body doesn’t receive the right amount of water, your skin definitely suffers. Your eyes will look sunken and the skin surrounding them will look dull and tired.
- Allergies – Rubbing your eyes can give you puffiness and bags, and allergic reactions themselves – to anything – trigger your body to release histamines, which can deepen and darken the discoloration.
- Dark skin tone – If you have more melanin, the circles under your eyes will appear darker.
Think of dark under-eye circles as a 90s Backstreet Boys hit: they don’t care who you are or where you’re from – they are all-inclusive and can affect anyone. Fortunately, you can help reduce their appearance by doing just a few simple things. Try these science-backed tactics:
Get Serious with Dr. Koo’s Products
An A+ eye product can instantly help you look more bright-eyed and revitalized – I have three of them. My Replenishing Eye Serum is specifically designed to increase firmness and diminish puffiness, redness, and darkness around the eyes. This lightweight, creamy gel is full of hand-selected, skin-friendly phytonadione and peptides, which stabilize those vascular conditions that often lead to ocular bruising and dark circles.
You can further diminish the darkness with the pH-Optimum Retinol Sustaining Level 1, which arrests and minimizes lines and creases while maintaining firm, smooth skin. Lavish your peepers with this delicate retinol product, whose anti-irritation factors work hard to reduce redness and roughness and tap the collagen and elastin mechanism to give you plumper, healthier eyelid skin.
Finally, my Anti-Oxidant Vitamin Serum will deliver an infused medley of optimized vitamins, ceramides, and Jojoba esters to your face and eyelids, reinforcing your own unique NMF while lightening the dark pigment and helping your cells function at their best. It’s THE must-have, game-changing product that will make your delicate skin happy, bouncy, and healthy!
Vitamins C, D, E, F, and K visibly illuminate and fill sallow eyelids with radiant light, particularly for those with darker skin tones.
Take care of the skin you’re in, and it will return the favor. You will experience silkened textures and create a luxurious, indulgent, uplifting experience and exceptional results with my sequence of expertly designed, powerful, high-performance recommendations.
Be Cool
Nope, those little slices of cucumber aren’t there for decoration. They have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce puffiness. Other cold items including iced eye gels, cold tea bags, and refrigerated eye masks all work as your first line of defense in decreasing inflammation and diminishing bags and dark circles.
Eat Well and Stay Hydrated
You hear this over and over again because it’s true. Treat your body with love and respect by consuming more dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and good sources of lean proteins. Choose nutrient-dense foods over processed ones and complex carbohydrates (brown rice, whole grains, etc.) to sustain and fuel your cells. Also, your body craves water, so aim to drink half of your body weight in ounces every single day to flush out toxins. If you think, “I’m thirsty,” you’re already dehydrated; stay ahead of the curve.
Reach for Antihistamines
Seasonal allergies are annoying, and they also can cause your eyelids to become puffy, red, dark and exhausted looking. If you suffer from allergies, you can easily tame the inflammation to your eyelids with an antihistamine.
Get Plenty of Quality Sleep
It’s called beauty sleep for a reason, darling. Restless nights, staying awake studying for an exam (or binging Netflix), or tending to an equally sleepless child can all create darker, more exaggerated circles under your eyes. While it’s impossible to score a perfect night of sleep every single day, do everything in your power to give yourself between 6 and 8 hours of sleep during regular nighttime hours. The reason we sleep between, say, 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is because your adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, and insulin levels have circadian rhythms and are at their most effective and peak levels during the light hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Your skin will look more youthful when you do.
Try Concealer
Sometimes there’s just no helping dark circles, especially if they’re in your genes. Whenever this is the case, gently apply your favorite concealer on the lowest, darkest spots around your eyes. Pat – don’t rub – lightly until it blends and covers the darkness. You may have to be patient, but the concealer will blend; just remember to be gentle and make sure your skin is well hydrated with a moisturizer or vitamin serum prior to applying! The base serums will help your makeup look smoother and apply silkier!
