It’s almost the number one beauty question/complaint that I hear: “Sophie, how can I get rid of my dark under eye circles?” Sun damage, wrinkles, and Rosacea are close runner’s up in the “Ask Sophie folder,” but it’s the dark circles that seem to be a serious bother to a lot of women.
Having consulted with numerous doctors, dermatologists, and Eastern practitioners on this very topic, I have come up with 3 essential remedies for dark under eye circles, that might work for you.
But first, let’s look at what causes them!
There are many school’s of thought, so I have listed some of the most credible causes as follows:
- Pigmentation due to genetics (Heredity)
- Loss of collagen and fat in periorbital area, which comes with aging (I know!!!!)
- Allergies
- Eczema
- Stress
- Poor diet
- Nasal congestion
- Sun exposure, which causes hyperpigmentation
- Dysfunctional liver
- Kidney disease
- Hormonal changes due to pregnancy or menopause
- Vitamin and mineral deficiency
- Side effects of medications
- Dehydration
- Toxic overload (a simple way of saying an accumulation of toxins in your system).
- Adrenal exhaustion
So, as you can see, there are a ton of reasons why you might be noticing dark circles, and it’s really up to you to do a little investigation.
If you know you are pretty healthy, and get a decent amount of sleep, but still have dark circles, I recommend making sure that you don’t have any lurking allergies. It might be worth a visit to the allergist. Or, you might want to try a food sensitivity elimination plan.
If you are confident that you are still pretty healthy, and that you aren’t particularly sensitive to any foods, then it’s time to try one or all of my 3 essential remedies:
- Use an eye cream morning and night. One of my absolute favorites in the Liquid O2 by Sunshine Botanicals. This light wonder cream not only helps with dark circles, but has also been proven to soften wrinkles around the eyes. It is a genius formulation, which I am NEVER without. Another product recommendation is Odacite’s Baobab Sarsaparilla Serum Concentrate – You can add a few drops of this serum to your regular moisturizer to turn it into an eye cream, too! When you use these creams, I recommend massaging your under eye area from the inside (the inner corner of your eye), outwards toward the edge of your face. Some Eastern practitioners hypothesize that dark circles are a result of bad circulation of both blood and lymph. If this were to be the case, it makes sense to give yourself a little under eye circulation-boosting massage. It also feels great, and is a lovely act of self care, especially when using beautiful products.
- Take your anti-aging creams and serums all the way up to the under eye area. Now, I say this with great caution because you obviously don’t want to get the product in your eye! However, if your dark circles are a result of thinning skin due to aging, you will need to get ingredients that thicken your skin (such as Retinol and Vitamin C), all the way up there. I recommend Mychelle’s Remarkable Retinal Eye Cream, which is completely non irritating. You could use the special eye creams that I mentioned in above (in Tip #1), in the morning, and a Retinol product at night. Or, you can use both at night. Just remember to use the retinol product first. And btw the Sunshine Botanicals Liquid O2 has a tiny bit of Retinol in it.
- Make sure you are getting the enough of the following vitamins: A, B, C and E. This can be largely accomplished by eating a diet full of organic fruits and veggies. I particularly recommend filling your plate with sweet potatoes, greens, nuts, seeds, dark berries, pineapple, and kiwi. You also might want to consider taking a good quality Vitamin B supplement.
Having taken care of your health, wellness, and diet as best as you can, you might still be stuck with shadowing as a result of puffy eyelids, and/or dark circles just because. The good news is that you can easily cover them up with a great concealer. When I say “really great”, I mean a clean & green concealer that is filled with nourishing ingredients, and that won’t dry out or get cakey. I recommend Vapour’s Illusionist Concealer because it is light enough to be very workable for your entire under eye area. It’s also creamy and very blendable. For more coverage, I recommend Eleve Cosmetics Eleve Fixe Creamer Concealer.
And finally, it might seem obvious, but make sure you are drinking plenty of filtered water daily. Not only will this keep you adequately hydrated, but it also helps to move toxins out of your body.
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