Know How To Reduce And Remove Dark Circles Like A Pro

By Shammi Mondal

So, you’ve applied cucumber slices under your eyes, layered a heavy coat of concealer and worn your coolest pair of sunglasses. But admit it, you still can’t hide the effects of a busy social calendar or your late-night TV show binge. Dark and sunken under eyes can make you look fatigued, so if you’re looking for ways on how to remove dark circles, we’ve got you covered.  

The anatomy of dark circles

The skin surrounding your eyes is called ‘adnexa’ and it is generally where you begin to note skin darkening. Unlike the skin on your body, adnexa does not have many sebaceous (oil producing) glands making the area prone to dryness as well.

Since the skin around your eyes is thinner and is set in a socket in your orbital bone, it naturally has a hollow around it and there may be a slight shadow or visible blue and purple capillaries. An addition of external elements, like environmental pollution and damage, excessive sun exposure and lack of sleep brew the concoction that give you dark circles.

What causes dark circles?

To know how to remove dark circles from the root, it’s important you understand the factors that cause them. Everyone has a little depth around their eyes, but if you are noticing heavy discoloration, puffiness or dryness around your eyes, there could be a myriad of reasons leading to this.

Here are a few causes that contribute to your tired looking eyes:

1. You need to get a good night’s sleep

This is the most common reason for dark circles. Let’s be honest: you know doctors recommend 7-8 hours of sleep every day, but life keeps you busy. Sleep can cure most problems, especially dark circles. When you don’t get adequate sleep the blood vessels around your eyes dilate due to increased blood flow, and that creates the deep bluish brown colour under your eyes. Giving yourself enough sleep not only reduces dark circles but repairs your skin internally.

2. Your skin is maturing

The first signs of ageing appear around your eyes. As your skin matures, there is a visible hollow around your eyes due to the loss of volume in your skin. There is a special tissue called the SOOF (sub orbicularis oculi fat) that beds your eye area. Over time this pillow of tissue shrinks, leading to the visible loss of volume and the sunken eye effect. As you age, your skin naturally tends to lose collagen and elastin, tissues that give your skin its firmness making your skin appear thinner and droopy. This is where collagen boosting eye creams come to help.

3. You need to drink enough water

If you’re dehydrated, the tissues of your body will begin to shrink, including your skin and the delicate tissues under your eyes. Before you jump on to treatments, consider drinking enough water and make sure you meet your body’s hydration levels. Drinking around 2 liters of water a day is a safe bet that would help your body function better and prevent dark circles eventually.

4. You’re skipping sun protection

If you see a lot of hyperpigmentation around your eyes that adds to the shadowed appearance, excessive sun exposure could be the reason behind it. Prolonged time under the sun, without sunscreen can have adverse effects on your skin. Too much sun exposure increases the production of your skin’s natural pigment called melanin. Since the skin under your eyes is more sensitive, this region gets pigmented easily.

5. It’s a part of your gene pool

Sometimes, it just comes down to your genes but let us tell you, that the bags under your eyes are Gucci. You cannot permanently remove the appearance of genetic dark circles from your under eyes but you can mask them with the help of makeup and skincare that help reduce puffiness and give an instant boost of hydration to your under eyes.

So, how do you remove dark circles?

We know you’ve been looking for this, waking up with dark circles and puffiness can be very annoying, and you could write a memoir about this. But if you maintain a consistent skincare regimen, tweak a few steps, and make a few lifestyles shifts, reducing the appearance of dark circles won’t be an arduous task.

1. Eye creams to the rescue
Slipping into doom scrolling past your bedtime has become quite the ritual but honestly, memes are the only things that keep life sane. To cut down on your guilt of not sleeping on time, and still preventing the appearance of dark circles, we suggest investing in eye cream.

Eye creams are potent skincare solutions that are specifically designed to work around the delicate skin around your eyes. They help hydrate your under eyes, reduce puffiness and eventually erase the appearance of crow’s feet and dark circles. Look for an eye cream with peptides and collagen if you have matured skin and are worried about wrinkles. Eye creams with caffeine are great in reducing puffiness, they almost work instantaneously. Vitamin C and K are great if you aim to reduce discolouration.

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2. Bask in eye mask

Another way to repair and treat your stressed under eyes is to relax with the help of an eye mask. You can pick from sheet masks, silicone patches and overnight masks that help benefit your skin.

Eye masks are super comforting and help reduce dark circles, think of it like a spa experience for your under eyes. It’s not something you would do daily, but it effectively treats dryness, fine lines, hyperpigmentation, and puffiness. So, get your hand on these eye patches and masks to reduce dark circles.

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3. Sun protection FTW

They rightly say prevention is better than cure, and sunscreen is a major tip to prevent the formation of dark circles. To avoid hyperpigmentation and brown spots around your orbital bone, pick a lightweight, broad-spectrum sunscreen.

We know what you’re thinking, sunscreen around your eyes will sting and make your eyes water, so pick a mineral sunscreen with a waterproof formulation that will instantly cut down on that problem. To touch up, use a stick sunscreen around your eyes for added sun protected sans the tears.

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4. Enhance your beauty sleep

A few lifestyle changes will help you champion well-rested bright eyes. Maintaining a good sleep schedule tops the list, sleeping for 7-8 hours a day, and sleeping at a set time everyday can help improve your circadian rhythm and have a healing effect on your skin. Cutting down on excessively salty food can keep the bane of waking up with swollen eyes away.

As good as caffeine is for your under eyes when applied externally, drinking too much coffee can have the reverse effect on you under eyes.

Read your labels
You already know that you must sleep on time and roll back your salt and alcohol intake. But sometimes, no matter how many productivity apps you download, you can fall off your routine. Admit it, we’ve all been there. For times like these, it’s best to have an efficient undereye cream or skincare with ingredients that help treat dark circles specifically.

If you want to know how to remove dark circles or reduce their appearance here is a list of capable ingredients that do the job well.

Vitamin K
Green tea
Retinol
Caffeine
Collagen
Peptides
Ceramides
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
SPF

Still want to know how to remove dark circles? , scroll down.

Q. Do dark circles go away with sleep?

A. Often the amount and quality of sleep is inversely proportional to the dark circles you have. The better your sleep, lesser is the appearance of dark circles. Good sleep and a consistent skincare routine can help prevent and reduce dark circles.

Q. How to remove dark circles with vitamins?

A. If you have normal to dry skin, an eye cream with vitamin K, E and C will effectively help reduce dryness and the overall appearance of dark circles.

Q. Does drinking water prevent dark circles?
A. Drinking water helps to keep the tissues in your body hydrated, which helps reduce tired looking eyes. It also helps flush toxins out of your body that keep puffiness at bay.