Dark under-eye circles and puffiness: what are the causes and how to get rid of them?

They give the face a tired and ageing look. They can be the result of fatigue and lack of sleep, a symptom of serious illness or a genetically conditioned disorder. Dark under-eye circles and bags: what are their causes and how to get rid of them?

Dark under-eye circles and puffiness – causes 

Dark under-eye circles and puffiness can have various causes including:

• sleepless night,
• hypoxia or impaired blood flow in small vessels, for example in smokers or after working long hours at a computer,
• excessive production of melanin (skin pigment), which colour the skin around the eyes to a darker colour,
• genetic background caused by shallowly vascularized skin.

In turn, bags under the eyes are the result of lymphatic stasis.

Dark under-eye circles and puffiness – how to get rid of them?

An under-eye concealer 

An under-eye concealer in an apricot or salmon colour neutralizes bruising. The product should be up to two tonnes lighter than the skin colour. The consistency is equally important; liquid corrector – in gel or cream – has the advantage over the oily one because it will solidify soon after the application.

How to apply an under-eye concealer?

It is best to apply the concealer with your fingertips or an especially designed brush to a triangular area under the eye. The base of the triangle should be under the eye, and its tip at the height of the tip of the nose – this way of applying the concealer will rejuvenate the face. The cosmetic should be set with a transparent powder. What’s more, your makeup will be even more durable if you apply a bit of your eyeshadow primer under your eyes.

Dark under-eye circles and puffiness – how to get rid of them?

A cool compress

In the role of a compress, gel goggles, a cool infusion of parsley or slices of fresh cucumber will work wonders; all of them are to shrink the blood vessels and eliminate dark circles and puffiness. Remember that the gel goggles must be cooled in the refrigerator before putting on.

A brightening cream

The under-eye cream based on vitamin C and K, with the addition of caffeine or herbal extracts (for example from cornflower, arnica, eyebright or ginkgo), has a constricting effect on the vessels and brightens the dark circles. Apply the cream around the eyes and gently massage it – be careful not to stretch the skin too much. Such an application will revive the flow of lymph and accelerate the disappearance of oedema.