Do you ever look at your old photos and wish you had the same youthful look, but most especially, no eyebags and no dark under-eye circles? Yup, same here and I think it’s safe to say we’re not alone. 

Is it because you’re “team no sleep” or extremely stressed out, maybe both? There’s actually more to it than just those two. Aging and your genes can also cause dark under-eye circles. 

Let’s explore how dark under-eye circles happen and what you can do to minimize its appearance.

Sleep deprivation

Not getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night can exaggerate the look of dark circles. Your blood vessels dilate when you lack sleep and because our skin under the eye is so thin, the darkness becomes easily noticeable. 

Stress

When you’re stressed, it’s naturally harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It affects your sleep, your eating habits and it affects your body internally. It reduces blood flow, perpetuating dull and tired looking skin. It also disturbs production of new skin cells, which doesn’t allow your skin to look fresh and youthful. 

Aging

Our skin becomes thinner as we get older and considering that the skin under our eyes is already thin to begin with, it becomes even more fragile over time. 

Aging also causes a decrease in collagen and fat production, allowing the dark blood vessels to be extra visible under the eyes. 

Genetics 

Did you know that dark under-eye circles can be inherited? Unfortunately, it can be and it’s out of our control. 

Hereditary dark under-eyes can vary from: 

1. Melanin: pigment under the eyes and can be easily worsened through sun exposure.
2. Low collagen levels: without adequate levels of collagen, you’re naturally lacking elasticity allowing for thinner and drier skin. 
3. Allergies: inflammation from allergies can affect under-eye darkness. Veins become swollen, dilated and darker causing the under-eye to get darker and become puffier. 

Here are some tips to improve the look of your under-eyes and avoid getting told “you look tired” 

Use Retinol

Retinol is one of the most favoured ingredients in the skincare world because of how effective it is, especially for fighting signs of aging. 

With consistent and repeated use, retinol can help increase collagen production promoting the skin to thicken and to become firmer. Through this, the blood vessels will be less obvious and improve dark circles. 

If you have excess pigment under your eyes, lightening products such as vitamin C, Niacinamide, Alpha Arbutin, Azelaic Acid or Kojic Acid are the most popular in the market that you can get your hands on. These ingredients will lighten darker spots in your face, evening your complexion. 

Always wearing sunscreen is also the easiest and best way to treat dark-under eye circles. Especially with those melanin-rich skin, it’s harder to treat dark spots because of the increased melanin production. Because sun exposure can worsen dark spots, it’s important to apply SPF when exposed to sunlight and bluelight. 

Develop a healthier lifestyle

Sleeping well, eating healthy food and exercising are all beneficial habits for improving dark under-eye circles. 

Sleeping will allow your skin to rejuvenate overnight. 

Eating healthy foods especially high in vitamin E,  will help fight against free radicals and increase your skin's elasticity.

Exercising improves blood circulation, improving pigmentation because it causes less blood to pool under the eyes. Exercising overall positively impacts the skin’s appearance.