Friday, January 10, 2020
You wake up, look in the mirror, and groan. Oh, what you wouldn’t give to hide those dark circles!
And what you wouldn’t give to go back to looking like your old self again. Before the stress, before sleepless nights, before burning the midnight oil, before being overworked, before the “adulting” parts of life started to make an impact on your appearance.
Remember that younger version of yourself, think back… she never looked tired, did she? She could stay up all night, wake up looking fresh-faced, and ready to conquer the world! Oh, the memories!! I get it, I really do!
Sadly, in the present, those circles feel like a giant billboard sprawled across your face, don’t they?? A giant billboard with huge, bold blinking letters saying, “Ok chick…you look tired”!!
Well, you are not alone. Those deep, dark circles descended upon me too a few years ago. I had been lucky enough to escape them for a while. But that luck ran out, and suddenly, I looked tired, and I felt like my age was finally catching up with me.
However, Beauties, all is not lost, the great news is there are quite a few things you can do to reduce and hide them once and for all! (Sigh of relief) But first, let’s discuss the possible causes behind these “unwanted little friends,” so to speak.
You see, knowing the reason behind them will be the first step towards determining your best route for a solution.
Why Do You Get Dark Circles Under The Eyes?
1) Lack of Sufficient Sleep and Poor Sleeping Habits
Yep, with consistent fatigue, our bodies suffer. You see, when we don’t get good sleep, our skin begins to pale, which in turn makes the blood vessels under the eyes more visible.
Skin cells heal, restore, and repair overnight when you sleep, so getting your beauty rest is essential! Especially if you want to look well-rested and bright-eyed, Beauties!
2) Stress
Did you know that when you stress your body redirects oxygen, blood, and vital nutrients away from your skin and towards more critical areas of the body?
The essential organs your body views as needed for survival benefit, but sadly, your skin misses out on what it needs to stay youthful and bright when this happens!
3) Chronic Dehydration
When you are dehydrated, your skin becomes dull and pale, making blood vessels around the eye area more apparent, thus creating your dark circles.
Additionally, water flushes out toxins in the body that can lead to those visible dark circles. So, staying hydrated is vital!
4) Allergies
Generally, with seasonal allergies, itchy, watery eyes make an unwanted appearance in your life. If you tend to rub your eyes more during this time, you can trigger a cycle of inflammation and broken blood vessels which lead to dark undereye circles.
5) Vitamin Deficiency
Sometimes the dark circles could be the result of an iron deficiency, but I have also heard of cases where a lack of sufficient vitamin D is the cause.
6) Age
Unfortunately, with age, we start producing less collagen and collagen starts breaking down at a faster and faster rate, resulting in thinner, less firm skin. The skin under the eyes begins to thin, thereby making the blood vessels in that area more noticeable.
7) Genes
Sometimes the dark circles are hereditary and the result of your genes. It could be that your orbital bone structure creates a shadow and sunken appearance to the eye area. However, it could also be a genetic disposition towards having thin skin in that area or excessive melanin production in the area.
Think about your parents’ eyes…do they have the same dark circles? Do your kids have them? Do any other family members have them too?
What Can You Do For Undereye Circles?
Now that you know how you got them, how about we delve into solutions… Luckily you have quite a few options like adopting some new healthy habits, trying a few makeup tricks, and adding in some skincare treatments.
Keep in mind, if your dark circles are hereditary, your best option will most likely be to use makeup to hide them.
A few skincare treatments might help for excessive melanin production and a genetic disposition towards thin skin in the area, but not if the cause is bone structure.
Additionally, if age is the culprit, makeup tricks and targeted skincare are going to be your best bet.
However, let me just add that regardless of the cause, trying some of the suggested healthy habits in this article can’t hurt. They may not help the dark circles per se, but they may improve other skin concerns and improve your health overall.
Healthy Habits to Reduce Dark Circles
Improve Your Sleep Habits:
Make sure you start getting a minimum of 7+ hours of sleep a night. The best option is to get 8-9 hours a night for your general health. But in addition to getting enough hours, you want to get good, quality sleep, not restless, toss and turn kind of sleep.
Stress Management:
Find some ways to manage your stress levels. You can start practicing some weekly self-care habits to help you relax. I find simply a soothing bath or some weekly beauty routines help me to unwind, relax, and recharge.
Water Consumption:
Make sure you are drinking enough water daily. What I like to do is every morning take out 4-5 bottles of water and set them aside on the counter. It works as a visual reminder to myself to drink them throughout the day, and I try to make sure all are empty by the end of the day. This can sometimes require you taking them to work with you or in the car with you.
Seek Medical Advice to Rule Out Contributing Factors:
- If your dark circles are allergy-related, you will likely want to talk to your doctor about some anti-histamine over-the-counter options.
- Check your iron levels and make sure you don’t have an iron deficiency. If you do, your doctor will likely suggest a supplement to help. *Always consult with a doctor before taking an iron supplement.
Makeup Tricks to Hide & Cover Up Dark Circles
Concealer is your BFF when it comes to covering dark eye circles since it will give you much heavier coverage than your typical foundation. So Beauties, you have two options…
Option 1:
- To minimize the amount of concealer needed, you can try applying your foundation first to the undereye area.
- Then follow with the concealer. Often you find with this option a great deal of the darkness will have been masked by the foundation so that you will need less concealer.
Option 2:
- Apply concealer first, and then use your foundation.
- After applying foundation to your full-face, and blending out, as usual, you can then see if the circles are sufficiently hidden. If not, go back in and add more concealer as needed.
- Be sure when applying foundation near the eyes to not sweep. You want to tap and pat (a stippling technique). You don’t want to majorly disrupt areas with concealer and move it around too much.
Here are the essential makeup tools you will need to get down and dirty wrestling those eye circles ladies…
- Concealer
- Concealer Brush – A flat, rounded brush with synthetic bristles.
- Foundation
- Wedged sponge or Beauty Blender
- Loose Translucent Powder for Setting
How Do I Choose a Concealer for My Dark Eye Circles?
Choosing The Right Formula:
First, things first, do not pick a formula that gives coverage that is too sheer. The darker your circles, the fuller the coverage needed.
Generally, you have four options, cake, stick, cream, or pen. I would suggest using a stick, cream or pen.
- Cake concealer will give the heaviest coverage; however, it can be far too dense for most people and needs to be applied with caution for that very reason.
- Sticks and creams fall next in line as far as thickness, and both give great medium to heavy coverage. The difference, however, is sticks work best on oily skin or in warmer months. When it’s hot outside, sticks tend to stay put and won’t rub off as easily. In contrast, creams work better in colder months, as well as on dry and mature skin. Of the two, creams are the most moisturizing.
- Lastly, we have pens, which honestly, I find are only good for light or light-medium coverage. If you have very dark circles, they might not provide too much help with hiding. A plus, however, is that pens do work quite well if you have fine lines under your eyes. Being a thinner formula, they won’t build up too heavy, and thus, they won’t settle too much into the lines.
Making The Right Color Choice:
TIP 1: To steer clear of your concealer leaving a grey cast under your eyes, you want to avoid a color that is too light and use one that is roughly just a ½ shade to 2 shades lighter than the skin right under your eyes.
TIP 2: It’s important to note that most people who are looking to hide dark undereye circles may have to use a different concealer for their eyes then they use on other parts of their face. Many concealers have subtle undertones that work perfectly at countering the color of dark circles.
- Take a look at the natural undertone (color) of your dark circles first. Do your dark circles have a hint of purple to them? If so, that means they have a purple undertone, in which case, you should use a concealer with a yellow or golden undertone.
- If you notice some redness, you want to look for a concealer with an olive undertone. But you can also try one with a yellow undertone and see if that covers sufficiently.
- If your dark circles have a blue or brown undertone, look for a concealer with an orange or peach undertone.
- Darker skin tones will do better with orange. Lighter skin tones do best with peach. More on selecting concealer undertones…
TIP 3: A third alternative could be opting for an actual color-correcting cream or primer as opposed to a concealer with a subtle undertone. You would need to use it along with a regular concealer.
In that instance, you could apply the color corrector cream in a sheer fashion using a damp sponge first.
Then you would take your regular concealer and lightly pat or tap it in on top. Since color-correcting creams are not generally subtle, a concealer on top of it is definitely a must!
Additional Makeup Tips and Tricks To Help With Dark Circles:
- On your lower lash-line, do not use heavy eye makeup, as doing so can bring more attention to dark circles. Also, do not use dark eyeliners in the lower waterline area.
- To make the eyes looking brighter and less tired, try using a white or nude liner in the lower waterline of the eye.
- To draw attention away from the dark circles, add a pop of color to your cheeks. Use a bright, warm pink or rosy blush on the apples of the cheeks below your orbital bone.
Skincare Treatments and Topical Options to Help with Dark Circles
1) Eye Cream
Start using an eye cream with targeted ingredients designed to address dark circles for the eyes.
- Caffeine is a great ingredient to look for in an eye cream, as it causes the blood vessels to constrict, making them less visible and thus make the dark circles less noticeable.
- Also, ingredients like peptides help with the thinning of the skin by firming up the area and boosting collagen production which helps to thicken the skin.
- Creams with Vitamin C can help with excessive melanin production and brighten the area.
- Additionally, you want ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin which will help with dehydration. They can increase hydration and moisture retention for the area.
- You also want antioxidants in your eye products like Vitamins C & E. Vitamin C protects against free radicals that damage the skin and assists in collagen production. Vitamin E also fights damage caused by free radicals.
- Lastly, you want to include topical Vitamin A in the form of retinol to help brighten the skin.
Not sure what a free radical is? According to Webster, it is, a “…reactive atom or group of atoms that has one or more unpaired electrons…especially: one that is produced in the body by natural biological processes or introduced from an outside source (such as tobacco smoke, toxins, or pollutants) and that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA by altering their chemical structure”.
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