What’s our no 1 worry?????According to a recent survey of 13,000 women, under-eye circles (and puffiness) are the demons to beat!!
The skin under our eyes is very thin. As we get exposed to sun rays, the skin under the eyes gets damaged and becomes more thin and wrinkled. The veins below this thin skin start looking prominent. Thus the wrinkles and prominent veins form dark circles. Some times pigmentation also causes dark circles.
Common causes of under-eye circles.
- Allergies -Eczema-atopic dermatitis
- Lack of sleep:. Scrimping on your beauty rest not only causes blood vessels to become more visible; it also cause swelling, which can accentuate dark circles.
- Heredity — dark under-eye circles can run in families
- Lifestyle factors: physical or emotional stress, smoking, or chronic alcohol use can take a toll on your appearance
- Nasal Congestion (which can dilate and darken the veins that drain from your eyes to your nose)
- Pigmentation irregularities — these are a particular concern for people of color, especially blacks and Asians
- Rubbing or scratching your eyes
- Sun exposure : Prompts your body to produce more melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color
- Ageing :Thinning skin and loss of fat and collagen — common as you age — can make the reddish-blue blood vessels under your eyes more obvious
However Facial exercises &Natural remedies can help reduce the appearance of dark circles or bags under your eyes as they tone your facial muscles.
Facial Tapping
Tapping your face can help improve the circulation of blood underneath your eyes. Make sure your hands are clean, then use the pad of your little finger to tap the skin under the eye area. By tapping lightly and quickly, you can help boost circulation in your face
Ear Massages
Did you know that massaging your ears can help make your face glow, which can in turn reduce the appearance of dark eye circles :)…. Use your index finger and thumb to lightly massage and tug at the rims of your ears.
Bed Exercise
This exercise can help promote the circulation of blood throughout your face, including around your eyes. Lie flat on your bed on your back. Your head should be hanging off the edge of your bed. Slowly lift your head up and bring it as close to your chest as possible. Hold this position for a count of 10 seconds. Relax and repeat five times.
Eyebrow Lifts
This exercise can help eliminate the appearance of dark circles under your eyes. Sit up straight and close your eyes. Relax for a minute or two. While opening your eyes wide, lift your eyebrows up as high as you possibly can. Hold this position for a count of two seconds. Relax for two seconds and repeat. Complete this exercise 10 times.
Look Up and Down
Rapid eye movements can help reduce the appearance of bags under your eyes. Sit down with your back straight and your eyes facing forward. Close your eyes and look down. Keep your eyes closed and look up. Complete this exercise as rapidly as possible. Repeat 10 times. Remember to avoid opening your eyes.
Natural Remedies
- Eight hours of sleep is a must for all of us, especially for people having dark circles under their eyes.
- Diet: Eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet, drink plenty of water (eight 8-ounce glasses daily), and avoid alcohol, coffee, tea and caffeinated soft drinks. These go a long way in preventing bags, circles and wrinkles. Supplement your diet with antioxidants,multivitamins and greens and drink freshly squeezed vegetable juices.
- Rosemary or chamomile Tea Treatment: Try applying a cold compress of rosemary tea /chamomile tea to increase circulation, which helps reduce swelling around the eyes. Make tea by bringing a half-cup of fresh rosemary and a quart of water to a boil. Steep for 20 minutes, then strain and chill. Soak a soft cloth in the tea, ring out extra liquid anal place over eyes for 15 to 20 minutes, once a day, as needed.
Green Teabag Treatment:
Refrigerate used green tea bags overnight,and use them as eye pads to reduce undereye circles&puffiness around the eyes…..Green tea contains tannins and antioxidants which improve the circulation in the area and reduce dark circles.
Lie down &put the cold tea bags over your eyes, making certain that they are covering the area around the eye . Let them stay for 10 to 15 minutes before removing them from your eyes. Repeat this procedure over several days & you will see a reduction in dark circles. - Acupressure: Another circulation-boosting treatment is acupressure. This is an easy exercise that you can also do every day. Close your eyes and gently press your ring finger underneath one eye, moving from the inside corner to the outside corner. Do this 10 to 15 times. Then repeat on the other eye.
- Cold compress: Close your eyes and cover them with a cold washcloth or chilled cucumber slices for about five minutes. Repeat several times throughout the day. That will help constrict your blood vessels, minimizing darkness, and it may help minimize tissue swelling and eliminate some of the darkness.
- Moisturise with aloevera : To minimize the appearance of bags, plump up skin with light non greasy moisturizers like aloevera or cucumber based gels that protects skin cells from damage and supports collagen production,and improve circulation
- Spread on the sunscreen. Use a sunscreen especially made for the face with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15, but preferably 20, “all day every day,” to keep the sun’s rays from darkening the skin under your eyes,
- Freeze some parsley in ice cubes. Use the parsley cubes instead of eye creams to diminish dark circles and puffiness. Parsley is packed with chlorophyll which helps fade darkness, while the ice cubes reduce the swelling.
- Potato/Cucumber combinations are helpful.
- Close your eyes and cover eyelids with slices of raw potato or cucumber for 15-20 minutes. Wash with warm water and apply a cream.
- Grate a cucumber, squeeze to take out its juice and refrigerate. Make a mixture of lemon juice, lanolin cream and cucumber juice and apply around the eye for 10-15 minutes.
- Dip some cotton in a 1:1 mixture of potato and cucumber juices. Put the cotton on your eyelids and keep for 20 minutes. Wash your eyes with cold water.
- Lemon/Tomato combinations are helpful.
- Apply a mixture of lemon and tomato juice (equal parts) on the black circles 2 times a day.
- Make a paste out of the following:
- 1 tsp. tomato juice,
- 1/2 tsp. lemon juice,
- a pinch of turmeric powder, and
- 1 tsp. of flour.
Apply around eyes. Leave on for 10 minutes before rinsing.
- Massage with almond oil under and around eyes at bed time daily for 2 weeks and see the improvement. Almond helps to remove dark circles, and is an excellent “skin food”.
- Vitamin E Rub: Gently massage the area with a powdered Vitamin E capsule and wipe off with a mixture of honey and egg white.
- Put hot and cold cloths alternatively under eyes for 10 minutes. Then apply some almond oil on the dark surface before going to bed.Eye exercises alone cannot eliminate the appearance of dark circles under your eyes. It is important to get plenty of sleep and practice good skin care. You should also avoid the consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. Remember that as you age, dark circles often appear naturally. While they cannot be prevented, these simple natural remedies & facial exercises in tandem with a healthy diet and lifestyle will help chase these demons away forever 🙂 Do give them a shot ,though with a lot of patience &keep me posted about the results……………….
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