As you get older, your skin starts to change. One thing many people notice is that as they have more stress added to their lives and start to get less sleep, it shows on their faces.
Our eyes show our age and stress levels more than anything other part of our face — the skin around our eyes is very soft and sensitive.
In addition to age and stress, allergies and genetics play a big role in the way our eye areas look. We may have puffy bags under our eyes or dark circles. Often puffiness comes from allergies, which can often be fixed with an antihistamine, but dark circles are harder to get rid of.
Many women choose to cover their dark under-eye circles with makeup, like red lipstick, but that doesn’t fix the problem at its root.
Fortunately, there are a lot of at-home remedies for dark circles. Some general lifestyle changes can help — sleeping more, staying hydrated, and trying not to rub your eyes — but there are also some DIY treatments you can apply to your under-eyes.
Read on below to learn how to remedy those pesky circles!
What Causes The Dark Circles Under My Eyes?
According to the Mayo Clinic, dark circles are caused by a variety of different things. The most common cause? You guessed it: fatigue.
Sometimes what you may think are dark circles actually aren’t — instead, they might be shadows cast by puffy eyelids or natural hollowness under your eyes.
Outside of fatigue, there are a lot of potential reasons for your dark circles, including: hay fever, allergies, eczema, contact dermatitis, heredity, rubbing your eyes, sun exposure, thinning skin and decrease in collagen and fat levels, and pigmentation irregularities.
But luckily, there are lots of easy, all-natural ways to combat these pesky dark circles!
How Can I Get Rid Of The Dark Circles Under My Eyes?
Remedy #1: Cucumber
We’ve all seen pictures of people at spas with cucumbers over their eyes — but few of us realize these cucumbers serve a very real purpose!
Cucumbers have mild astringent properties, which can tighten your skin. They’re also skin-lighteners, so they can help with the darkness of your under-eye circles.
- To use properly, cut thick cucumber slices and let them chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Put the slices on your skin for 10 minutes, then rinse off the area with water.
- Repeat this twice daily for at least a week.
Remedy #2: Tomato And Lemon
You probably don’t know this, but tomatoes have great bleaching properties. Both the lightening agents in tomatoes and the vitamin C in lemons can help brighten your under-eye areas.
- Mix a teaspoon of tomato juice with half a teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Apply the mixture to your dark circles and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Rinse off afterward with water.
- Do this twice a day for about a week.
Remedy #3: Tea Bags
The antioxidants and caffeine in tea bags help shrink blood vessels and reduce fluid retention, which can reduce puffiness. The tannins in the tea can reduce discoloration.
- Chill two moistened green or black tea bags in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Place one tea bag on each eye for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Make sure to keep your eyes closed while the tea bags are in place.
- Afterward, rinse your eyes off.
- Do this once or twice daily for a few weeks.
Remedy #4: Mint Leaves
Mint leaves can cause a tingling sensation on your skin — this will sound familiar if you’ve ever used a mint lip balm.
The tingling causes extra blood flow in the area, which can help dark circles fade.
- Crush up some clean mint leaves and apply them to your under-eye area.
- Leave them in place for about five minutes, then rinse off your eyes with cool water.
- If you want it to be more of a paste, mix the crushed leaves with honey or olive oil before applying.
Remedy #5: Cold Milk
Milk has incredible properties that can exfoliate, cleanse, condition, moisturize, and nourish your skin.
Milk also has vitamins that restore elasticity, encourage the building of new skin cells, repair skin tissue, and more.
- Soak cotton balls in fresh, cold milk, and cover your dark circles with them.
- Leave them on for 20 minutes, then rinse off with cool water and pat dry.
- Repeat this three times a day for a few weeks.
- Milk can also be replaced with almond milk if that’s what you have on hand.
Remedy #6: Crushed Almonds And Milk
Almonds have anti-inflammatory benefits, which reduce puffiness.
Almonds can also lighten dark spots, moisturize skin, and keep it looking young and supple.
- Soak almonds in water overnight, then grind them into a paste and mix with a small amount of milk.
- Apply the mixture for 10 minutes, then rinse with cool water and pat dry.
- Repeat three times a week.
Remedy #7: Nutmeg And Milk
Nutmeg has eugenol, elemicin, safrole, and vitamins A, B, and C, which all help to diminish dark under-eye circles.
- Mix half a teaspoon of nutmeg with just enough milk to make a paste.
- Apply the paste to your clean under-eye area.
- After 20 minutes, rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.
- Repeat three times a week.
Remedy #8: Grated Potato
Heeral Chhibber and Janine Ngai for LittleThings
Raw potatoes have natural bleaching agents that can lighten dark circles.
You can use potatoes the same way you would use cucumbers, or you can grate them to extract the juice.
- Squeeze the juice out of grated raw potatoes, then soak a cotton ball in the juice.
- Cover both your under-eye areas and your eyelids and let the cotton balls sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Rinse your eye areas afterward with cool water.
- Repeat this once or twice a day for a few weeks.
Remedy #9: Rose Water
Rose water is a great item to use on skin in general — it rejuvenates and soothes skin.
Additionally, it is a mild astringent that can work well as a toner. Rose water is great for eyes that feel tired.
- To use rose water on your eyes, soak cotton eye pads in pure rose water, then put them on your closed eyelids for 15 minutes.
- Do this twice a day for a few weeks.
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