You look in the mirror and there they are. Those ugly dark bags and shadows under your eyes. They make you look tired and worn out, older than you really are.
What causes eye bags and how do you get rid of them?
One of the most common causes of dark under eye bags is not enough sleep. Surprisingly, too much sleep can also cause them.
If either of these are the cause, the solution is simply to increase the amount of sleep you get or decrease it according to your particular circumstances.
For most people, the optimum amount of sleep is 6 to 8 hours. Adjusting the amount of sleep you get to meet your particular needs will alleviate the dark circles under your eyes.
Since different people can have deficiencies in different vitamins and/or minerals, you should check with your doctor to determine what supplements and/or diet changes will resolve your problem. Blood tests may be able to determine which vitamins or minerals you need to supplement.
When you have a cold, the flu or any other illness, darkness under the eyes is quite common and will usually go away on its own.
Getting sufficient rest, fluids and a good diet, avoiding refined sugars and carbohydrates will help you recover from the illness and fade those dark circles.
Allergies can also cause dark under eye circles. In addition to rest, fluids and good diet, treating the allergy symptoms will help fade the dark circles.
Certain ethnic groups, such as those of Indian descent, and people who have had facial laser treatments, chemical peels, and such can often have hyperpigmentation.
This occurs when excessive melanin accumulates under the eyes. This can be treated using Hydroquinone or Kojic acid as they can lighten the skin in people who have hyperpigmentation.
It is often used to reduce the visible melanin in the skin before laser treatments to reduce the likelihood of postoperative hyperpigmentation.
Some medications, such as Retin A, can cause too many superficial blood vessels to become visible under the eyes.
Though you don’t want to eliminate all the vessels, many of them can be minimized or removed with intense pulsed light or a number of different laser treatments.
Other causes of visible blood vessels under the eyes are general fat loss, age related fat loss, skin that becomes thinner due to aging, superficial blood vessels or thinness that is hereditary.
When fat is lost in the face, whether it is from aging or any other reason, a hollow, sunken look can result with blood vessels being more apparent and causing a darkness to appear under the eyes.
Treatment for these conditions can include injecting catalysts and fillers, such as Restylane or Sculptra, or fat-grafting.
With any treatment involving any type of surgery, whether it is laser surgery or any other type of surgery, there are risks involved.
The same holds true with anything being injected, even fat taken from another area of your body or applied topically.
The first step in minimizing risks is to make sure you consult with a qualified, reputable physician for treatment. Topical treatments can cause burning, peeling, redness and swelling in some people.
Injection treatments and laser surgery can cause swelling, bruising and tenderness or pain. Both injections and topical treatments can cause an allergic reaction in some people.
With many of these treatments, a patient will be advised to avoid exposure to sunlight as much as possible.
However, whatever the reason for dark under eye circles, there is an immediate way to cover them, whether it is just until another treatment is done or as your only treatment and this is using a cream such as
Dr Michelle Copeland Ageless Under Eye Concealer Light
Cosmetics can be used to cover the dark circles by using a yellow base to offset the blue skin tones. This can be a very effective way to conceal those ugly dark circles under your eyes.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I find your info an eye bags to be very educated.
I am 37, I use a eye serum and the bags wont go away, cos stress be a cause too.
All eye creams seem to come in tiny .5oz / 15ml containers – which is a waste of money…i like the Made from Earth Olive Night creme because its a large 2 ounce container and has worked WONDERS under my eyes and wrinkles on the sides of my face.
I really enjoy the Olive Night creme – I use it as an under eye cream as recommended by their website. My routine has been putting some of the cream along my lower lid and then gently rubing under my eyes before i go to bed at night. The cream stays put, and doesn’t get into my eyes. It also doesn’t have any fumes or aromas to make my eyes water since it is organic and chemical free. I’m the one whose eyes will tear if our cat wanders next to me and rubs my shoulder, so my eyes are generally rather sensitive.
I use this each morning and evening. I really can tell the difference, that my eyes look less tired, that the skin looks more healthy. And really, it makes sense. All skin needs moisture to stay healthy. That skin beneath and around your eyes is extremely thin, so if any skin on your body is going to show dehydration first, it would be your eyes. People look at your eyes all the time when they talk to you, so they notice that pretty quickly.
The downside of course is that eye cream is rather pricey – but again, for the above reasons, I don’t think it’s as bad as it might seem at first. You use tiny amounts. The cream is specially formulated to be safe for use near your eyes, and to be light enough to absorb into that delicate skin. You really DO need to take care of that skin area in a special way, since the skin is so delicate. And it’s well worth it to do that, since people who talk to you are generally looking at your face and your eyes when they do so.
I tend to be frugal, but this is one of the areas where I think taking good care of yourself is worth it in the long run. I bought from the website because I believe they only have stores in London and New York – highly recommended for healthy women looking for an under eye with proven results!
Help me to prevent darkness under eyes