Hello Gorgeous!
Under eye puffiness and dark circles are the bane of most women, I know. A lot of us struggle with varying degrees of severity; some days are better than others and some days are just cringe-worthy! As with most things, there’s not a quick fix but rather some lifestyle changes that need to occur to decrease puffiness and dark circles. And the reality is that, unfortunately, there are some things that are out of our control and cannot be completely fixed but can be improved upon. Let’s break down what causes puffiness and dark circles to occur and how we can improve them.
Puffiness and dark circles under the eyes can be caused by a variety of factors. Let’s start with sleep…a lack of sleep or even too much sleep can cause puffiness and dark circles. This is something we can easily control. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep a night and have a good sleep routine of going to bed and getting up at the same time everyday. Another thing to try is sleeping with the head slightly elevated which will promote drainage of excess fluid build up under the eyes.
As with most things, your skin will reflect what you are putting into your body and a high sodium diet is no exception. Eating high sodium foods will cause you to retain water and our eyes will be one of the first places to show it. The vessels under our eyes are teeny tiny and they do not drain as easily thereby causing puffiness. Conversely, being dehydrated will also cause fluid retention because our body wants to hold onto what little fluid it has. Drinking plenty of water, while it sounds counterintuitive, will actually increase circulation under the eyes and will help move fluid retention out of that space. Also, never under estimate a good sweat sesh. Doing a cardio workout is a great way to get the heart pumping to increase circulation and move out that fluid build up.
Thyroid conditions and allergies can also cause puffy eyes and dark circles. The Cincinnati area is a well known allergy area. Most of us that live here struggle with allergies. Our under eyes are particularly prone to allergy congestion because it pushes our vessels closer to the skin’s surface where the pooling of blood will be more evident. A daily allergy pill can help alleviate the congestion and blood vessel dilation that cause shadowing under the eye. Thyroid sufferers are a little more tricky and not something that you can fix yourself but rather requires a blood test with your primary care provider to test your thyroid levels. Abnormal thyroid levels are treated with a daily medication prescribed by your physician.
Sun exposure, age, and genetics are other causes of puffy eyes and under eye circles. Sun exposure breaks down collagen and elastin which weakens the skin and causes it to sag. Now then, if you haven’t heard me say it before in my other articles, I’ll say it again….wear sunscreen…Every.Single.Day! As with sun exposure, aging also causes a loss of collagen and elastin and it also causes the fat pads in our face to descend which leaves us with bulging under eye tissue (thank you very much gravity!). Using good skincare products and services to protect and promote neocollagenesis (collagen growth) like Vitamin C, growth factors, sunscreen, lasers, and microneedling can improve under eye bags. Unfortunately some people may require surgery, called a lower blepharoplasty, which removes the descended fat pad that is causing the under eye bulging. Then there is the hardest thing to correct…genetics. Mediterranean ethnicities and darker skin tones are more prone to dark circles under the eyes because their skin produces more melanin than paler skin tones. Lasers can improve the dark circles but will probably not completely eliminate them. There are under eye concealers that have light reflecting particles to give more illumination in that area. Likewise, under eye concealers with caffeine may increase circulation and decrease under eye puffiness. Hyaluronic acid fillers injected under the eye are another option.
I hope this helps, my gorgeous friends. And let me repeat, wear sunscreen every day.
Comments