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Notes on Dark Circles

A common skin concern many of us struggle with and the focus of countless serums and concealers, there is often more to dark circles than a restless night. Aside from boosting your water intake and avoiding processed foods and alcohol, there are a handful of tried and true ingredients that can boost circulation in the eye contour, promote collagen and de-puff, energise, and brighten.

What causes dark circles?
There are several causes of dark circles such as genetics, dehydration, visible blood vessel under the skin, lack of sleep, sun exposure and age. The eye area has limited blood flow and is the only area of the face that doesn’t contain sebaceous glands, which produce sebum (oil) that keeps the skin hydrated and plump. The skin under the eyes is very delicate and thins as we age, resulting in more visible blood vessels, which give the appearance of dark circles. So while some of these factors at play are unavoidable such as genetic conditions there are a few key steps we can take to rejuvenate the delicate eye area and minimise the appearance of dark circles.

Treating dark circles

Hydrate from the inside out
It’s important to add moisture into the skin both internally and externally. Working from the inside out start by increasing your water intake to boost your energy levels and brighten the eye contour. Adding things like lemon, slices of ginger or fresh mint can help motivate you to up your water consumption throughout the day. Ensure you are eating a healthy diet with lots of vegetables and avoid heavily processed foods and added salt. Adding supplements to boost hydration and collagen can also help.

Key ingredients
From a topical approach apply hydrating eye care products with key ingredients such as hyaluronic acid to infuse the skin with a healthy dose of moisture. Incorporate a vitamin C to even the skin tone and increase collagen synthesis, to brighten and plump the under-eye area. Slow release or micro-encapsulated retinols can be applied strategically to the delicate skin around the eyes. Generally tolerated even by sensitive skins, these formulas work to boost collagen, firm and densify the eye contour so that with consistent use, dark circles appear less apparent.

Use eye masks or patches
Eye masks or patches are a great way to deliver an extra dose of nourishment, look for products containing an active ingredient like hyaluronic acid for hydration and caffeine to promote circulation. Individually sealed patches are great because you can keep them in the fridge to boost their soothing and de-puffing properties.

Oxygenate the eye contour
Incorporating gentle creams that draw oxygen into a darkened eye contour work to revive signs of fatigue, dullness and devitalisation by energising the skin cells. Add bonus? These work well when paired with a radiance-enhancing concealer to energise the eye contour.

Cool and de-puff
There are a few staples we often have around the house that we can use to plump and hydrate the eye area, helping to reduce the darkness such as the famed cucumber slices, ice cubes, tea bags and cold compressions with a microfiber towel. Massage tools such as rollers and cryo sticks can also be kept in the fridge to give the same cooling effect and help to contract the blood vessels that might be causing pronounced pigment.