In this fast-paced world, we usually only care about meeting our deadlines. We forget to take care of our diet, get insufficient sleep and are constantly exposed to radiations emitted by electronic gadgets.
The result? Dark circles, crow’s feet, early appearance of wrinkles and fine lines and just degenerating skin. But you probably don’t even have the time to treat these stubborn dark circles by visiting the dermatologist.
In this article, you will find home remedies that can help you prevent and cure dark circles easily and naturally. You’ll definitely love this.
Types of dark circles:
1. Bluish color
The dark circles under your eyes may appear to be blue in color. The causes of this can be a stressful lifestyle, lack of sleep, allergies and stuffed nostrils. Nasal decongestion can slow down microcirculation, making your blood less oxygenated. This can turn your under-eye skin from bright red to a dull blue.
Some common and effective solutions to get rid of blue-hued dark circles are:
- Sleep. Your body requires a minimum of eight hours of sleep per night in order to restore and repair any damages caused to it. Ensure that you do not apply pressure to the area around your eyes while sleeping.
- Take out your contact lenses and remove any eye make-up before you go off to sleep. If you leave your lenses in, it will dry out the cornea. If you leave your make up on, it can clog your pores, fasten the aging process and cause breakouts. The skin around your eyes is already very thin and fragile and make-up residual can further damage the skin, causing dark circles.
- Don’t look at screens just before you sleep. The radiations emitted from digital screens are extremely harmful to the eyes as well as the skin around it. In the dark, your eyes are exposed to bright light that can weaken the muscles.
- Don’t rub your eyes. The skin under your eyes is delicate and rubbing it can reduce the pigmentation. Minimize irritation to the eyes. If your eyes feel itchy, use eye drops or fan them with your hands. Instead of rubbing, use a soothing cream and gently massage the eye area.
2. Brownish color
The area under your eyes can take on a brownish hue due to aging, genetics, and appearance of blood vessels or through damage caused by the sun. This hue is the result of hyperpigmentation. Even though all skins tones are susceptible to dark circle caused by excess pigmentation, these type of dark circles are most common in medium to dark skin tones.
Solutions to get rid of brown colored dark circles are:
- Apply SPF to prevent damage from UV rays. To do so, apply lightweight sun lotion. Instead of fingers, use a makeup sponge to apply the sunscreen lotion. This will ensure that t is spread evenly and without a lot of pressure. It is important to remember to reapply SPF every three to four hours.
- Brightening with Vitamin C. There are several Vitamin C serums available in the market. Pat two to three drops around your eyes using your little finger in order to hydrate your skin.
- Brighten with Niacin Amide. Use sheet masks consisting of Niacin Amide which will help in hydrating your skin and making it glow. Cover the area around your eyes but make sure that it doesn’t get into your eyes.
- Use a sleep mask with brightening ingredients. Apply a thin layer onto your skin, just before you go to sleep.
3. Purplish color
Dark circles of this sort are caused due to visible blood vessels which result out of aging and thinning of the blood vessels under your skin if your skin is lighter due to your genes.
The solution to reduce and remove purplish dark circles:
- Using a blue drop under the eyes. After cleansing, add a drop of blue drop and apply it thoroughly. It consists of Peptide and EGF, which will help fade the wrinkles and boost collagen synthesis.
- Apply the drop using a cotton pad or directly apply it with a toner.
4. Shadowed dark circles
The major cause of this type of dark circles is the structure of the bones. If there is a deep valley between your eyes and your cheekbones, you are prone to have dark circles. Other causes include aging and weight loss.
Here are some effective tips that will not worsen the appearance of your dark circles:
- Always remove your makeup. Get rid of all the dirt around your eyes using cleansing oil. Massage the area under your eyes using your fourth finger. You can also use a sponge pad with the cleansing oil. To remove the residual from fine corners, use a q-tip and toner or light cream.
- Make sure that you don’t leave your eyes dry. Use lightweight moisturizers under your eyes to retain the delicacy of the skin. Avoid heavy concealers as they can dry up your skin. It may make your eyes more tiresome, increasing the appearance of dark circles, rather than hiding it. Instead, use mild concealers or color correctors to hide your dark circles.
If you don’t have the time to visit a hospital and seek a dermatologist’s advice, you can always try treatments using ingredients that you have at home. These are simple but have been proven to show positive results.
Home Remedies for Dark Circles
Here is a list of fifteen home remedies which have proven to be effective in removing dark circles. These remedies are versatile in terms of ingredients and applications but will show results in about a week’s time.
1. Potato and Vitamin E Capsule
Wash a small potato, peel it and grate it. Extract the juice out of the grated potato by squeezing it. Take a cotton pad, cut it into half. Dip this cotton pad into the potato juice and place it under your eyes. Leave it for five to ten minutes. Remove the cotton pads and throw them away. Take a fresh cotton pad and remove juice by patting the area where you had placed it.
Take a Vitamin E pill and cut it in half. Extract the oil from the capsule in your palm and massage it under your eyes in circular motions. Leave the oil on for 5 minutes.
Studies suggest that Vitamin E is a great antioxidant agent and can reverse the effects of ultraviolet light that cause oxidative stress( 1 ).
Repeat this two to three times a week to see results.
2. Cucumber Juice
Grate a cucumber and squeeze out two tablespoons worth juice from it. Pour this juice into a bowl and add one tablespoon of pure almond oil to it. Mix this properly and dab a cotton pad into this mixture. Apply it under your eyes and leave it overnight.
Repeat this process daily for a whole week.
3. Vaseline and Lemon Juice
In a bowl, add two tablespoons of Vaseline. To that, add the juice of half of a big lemon or one whole small lemon. Mix the two together thoroughly and apply it to your under eye area.
Lemon juice has been proven to contain antioxidant and anti-aging properties ( 2 ).
Use this serum daily for about three days and see results!
4. Vitamin E Capsule and Rose Water
Pour the contents of a Vitamin E Capsule in a bowl by cutting it into two halves. Add four to five drops of rose water to the vitamin and mix it. Use the tip of your fingers to gently massage the solution onto your skin. Apply this right before bedtime and leave it in.
This remedy keeps the skin around the eyes soft, hydrated and moisturized.
This remedy is immediately effective for people with mild dark circles. But people who have extreme dark circle will have to continue the application two or three times more.
5. Coffee Powder
Mix together one tablespoon of coffee powder and two tablespoons of mil to form a thick paste. Apply the paste under your eyes using a brush and let it dry for thirty minutes, then wipe it off ( 5 ).
Follow this remedy daily for ten days.
6. Potato Slice
Cut off a thin slice from a potato and rub it under your eyes for a minute. Let the juices be absorbed by your skin.
However, potato can dry up your skin and it is important to re-hydrate it. Do so by using any lubricant coconut oil or pure almond oil ( 6 ).
Repeat this remedy daily for five days straight.
7. Cucumber and Raw Milk
Grate a cucumber and extract one or two spoons of its juice. Add one tablespoon of raw milk to this and mix thoroughly. Using a cotton pad cut in half; apply this mixture on your face. Leave it on for ten minutes and rinse it off with cold water.
Raw milk has properties that can help in reducing puffiness and dark circles.
Cucumber is high in water content and is known to have a soothing effect against skin irritations and reduce swelling ( 7 ).
Follow this routine daily for about a week for results.
8. Cocoa Powder, Gram flour, Aloe Vera Gel
Mix half a tablespoon of cocoa powder and gram flour with one tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel. You can use fresh Aloe Vera for this or use a readymade product available in the market. If you don’t have cocoa powder, you can also use coffee powder for this remedy. Apply this mixture on your face using a brush. Let it dry for ten minutes, and then wash it off with lukewarm water.
Cocoa powder and coffee consist of antioxidants that brighten the skin and reduce wrinkle or fine line problems( 8 ).
Repeat this once or twice a week.
9. Coriander leaves and Turmeric
Crush a few coriander leaves, add water to them and squeeze the juice out of them. Add about two pinches of turmeric to the juice and mix well. Apply it under your eyes and leave it on for three to four minutes until it’s dry. Rinse it off with cold water.
Coriander contains Vitamin C and makes the skin soft and supple. Turmeric makes the skin bright and soft ( 9 ).
Repeat this remedy three to four times a week. You can also apply this all over your face.
10. Frozen Spoons
Place two metal spoons in the freezer for around five to six hours. Place these frozen spoons under your eyes to reduce the swelling and puffiness under your eyes. Place them below your brow, over your eyelids and along the temple of your head.
This technique will show almost a thirty to forty percent reduction in the appearance of dark circles.
11. Mint leaves and Tea Tree Oil
Crush a few mint leaves and squeeze the juice out of them. The juice should be around one to two tablespoons. Add one drop of tea tree oil to the juice and apply it under your eyes. This mixture is instantly absorbed by the skin and becomes transparent so there is no need to wash it off.
Tea tree oil possesses antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, helpful in reducing puffiness and dark circles ( 10 ).
You can try this daily and expect results in one week.
12. Virgin Almond Oil
Massage a few drops of pure almond oil all around your eyes just before you go off to sleep. Make sure that you massage the oil until it is completely absorbed into the skin.
If you follow this remedy daily for a month, you will be able to get rid of dark circles permanently.
Almond oil contains skin barrier regenerating properties that help in repairing damaged skin cells, thereby removing dark circles ( 12 ).
13. Massage
As soon as you get up, rub palms to warm them up, and then cup your palms over your eyes using light pressure. Repeat this three to four times immediately after you wake up.
Next, use your pinky finger and gently dab the area around your eyes to regulate blood circulation.
Do this every day, without fail.
14. Cucumber, Potato, Honey and Aloe Vera Gel
This is a brightening and hydrating gel pack. Grate half a cucumber and one small potato. Extract the juices out of the two and add them to a bowl. To this bowl, add one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel. Mix these ingredients together and place it in the fridge for fifteen minutes.
Wipe the area around your eyes using a cotton pad and rose water. Apply the mixture to your eyes, let it sit for twenty to thirty minutes and then wash it off with cold water.
Cucumber and potato juice has properties of anti-oxidizing and rehydrating the skin. Potato juice also results in natural bleaching of the skin, causing it to look brighter. Honey possesses antimicrobial properties ( 13 , 14).
You can repeat this twice a week.
15. Baking Soda and Milk
This remedy is highly effective people with extremely dark circles.
Mix two tablespoons of baking soda and two tablespoons of milk in a bowl and form a thick paste. Apply the paste under your eyes using a cotton pad. Leave it on for about forty minutes and then rinse it off.
Baking soda possesses antibacterial properties that help in reducing dark circles. Applying milk on skin results in reduced skin inflammation and improved skin barrier function( 3 , 4).
Repeat this daily for two to three days.
Tips for preventing the occurrence of dark circles
1. Always wear sunglasses. The sun’s harmful UV rays cause direct damage to the thin skin under your eyes. Protecting this area with sunglasses will help in not only fast recovery but also protect the skin from further damage.
2. Drink ample water throughout the day. Water has properties that result in hydrated and glowing skin. So make sure that you drink almost two liters of water in a day. You will observe the results in about a week.
3. Stay away from the phone screen at night during dark, as the radiations emitted from digital screens cause skin damage, make eye muscles weak and degenerate the skin.
4. Manage to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep early by 11 pm to rest your eyes. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep.
These were the tips and treatments to get rid of dark circles while being in the comforts of your own home.
Final Words
Aside from following these, it is of utmost importance to eat healthy food. Food like tomato, spinach, potato, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc. is rich in Vitamin C, which boosts collagen and results in a plump, tight skin. It is highly beneficial for the skin under your eyes since the skin is very thin and delicate.
Consumption of foods rich in Vitamin B12 like meat, seafood, yeast, cereals, etc will result in regular production of pigmentation, reducing the appearance of dark circles.
Proper and consistent sleep patterns are also essential in removing dark circles. The body needs at least eight hours of sleep to regenerate itself and repair any damaged skin cells.
Always protect your skin from direct sunlight by applying sunscreen lotion and wearing sunglasses when you step out.
We hope these tips help you out and you only reap benefits from them!
