Published: November 30, 2023
The skin around the eyes is naturally much thinner than the skin on the rest of the face. As a result, it’s prone to skin problems that the other parts of the face don’t suffer from, with dark circles being one of the most common.
What makes dark circles a challenge to treat is the wide variety of factors that cause them. Genetics, stress, aging, dehydration, sun damage, sleep deprivation…the list goes on! Working out the cause of your dark circles will go a long way in helping you to get rid of them. However, in the meantime, read on as CBGärdN shares 10 things that you can do to combat the appearance of dark under-eye circles.
1) Protect Your Eye Area From the Sun
Whenever your skin is exposed to the sun, it ramps up its production of melanin, which is the pigment that gives your skin its color. Too much sun exposure leads to too much melanin being produced, preventing the pigment from being evenly dispersed through your skin. Instead, that extra melanin usually clusters up under certain areas of the skin, resulting in a darker color. When this pigment is deposited underneath the eyes, dark circles are formed.
Even if your dark circles haven’t been caused by sun exposure, UV rays will only make them worse. To prevent this from happening, make sure that you’re protecting your eye area from the sun with a good sunscreen. An SPF moisturizer, such as the CB Multi-Active Moisturizer With SPF 30, would work well too.
Sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat will also give your skin some extra shade from the sun, preventing UV rays from reaching the skin around your eyes.
2) Store Your Eye Cream in the Fridge
Ever wondered why people place cucumber slices, cooled tea bags, or a cold compress over their eyes when trying to get rid of dark circles?
It all comes down to how cold temperatures cause blood vessels to temporarily constrict. This can immediately diminish the look of dark circles and shadows under the eyes. As an added bonus, it helps to reduce the appearance of puffiness too!
With that said, applying any of the above takes time. If you’d like to experience the benefits of cold temperatures without having to take precious minutes out of your day to lie down with cucumber slices over your eyes, consider storing your eye cream in the fridge instead. This way, when you apply your eye cream, you’ll also be chilling your eye area, with no extra time involved!
3) Add Vitamin C to Your Skincare Routine
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There are a few ingredients out there that are fantastic for combating the appearance of dark circles, and vitamin C is one of them. The beauty of this powerful antioxidant is that it can help with all types of dark circles, no matter their cause.
If yours are down to discoloration, vitamin C has been proven to have the ability to lighten the look of excess pigmentation. Meanwhile, if your dark circles have been caused by aging, vitamin C will firm and thicken the look of your skin to make the blood vessels underneath your eyes less visible from the surface once again.
When it comes to giving your skin a dose of vitamin C, serums are the best way to go. The CB Illuminating Vita C Serum contains two forms of the ingredient, along with a blend of other potent antioxidants.
4) Keep the Skin Around Your Eyes Hydrated
As we mentioned, aging can often cause dark under-eye circles to appear. This is down to how the skin thins with age. The face also loses some of its fat reserves, making the area underneath the eyes look hollow. All of this means that the blood vessels underneath your eyes become more visible as you grow older, showing up as dark circles.
One way to make those dark circles less visible is to focus on hydrating your eye area. This will immediately make your skin look plumper, thicker, and fuller, hiding the appearance of your dark circles.
One of the best ingredients for providing hydration is sodium hyaluronate, which you’ll find in our CB Eye Serum Concentrate. It contains several other hydrating ingredients too, along with a long list of vitamins and antioxidants that will brighten and tighten the look of your skin!
5) Lightly Exfoliate Your Eye Area
One of the most effective ways to lighten the look of excess pigmentation is to regularly exfoliate. Each time you do, you’ll be removing the old pigmented skin cells from the surface of your skin. This allows the layer beneath to rise to the surface, after which they’ll then be removed the next time you exfoliate.
Pigmentation usually runs pretty deep and can’t be cleared with just a single exfoliation session. However, the more you exfoliate, the faster you’ll be able to get rid of those pigmented skin cells.
While that may be the case, the skin around the eyes is very delicate. Irritate it in any way, such as by over-exfoliating, and your dark circles may end up getting worse. To get around this, use a gentle exfoliator, such as the CB Microexfoliant Peel. Don’t use it too often either. Once a week should be enough to gradually help fade the look of your dark circles without damaging the fragile skin around your eyes.
6) Massage Your Under-Eyes With a Gua Sha Tool
Gua sha is a traditional Chinese practice that involves gently scraping the skin with a smooth-edged tool. This acts as a form of massage, boosting circulation in the skin. The rosy glow that it gives to the complexion has caused gua sha to rise in popularity, especially when it comes to using these tools to help lighten the look of dark circles while also de-puffing the complexion.
Using a gua sha tool on dark circles is easy. Simply move it from the bottom inner corner of your eye to the outer corner, repeating this five to ten times. Ideally, do this after carrying out your skincare routine, so that your tool is massaging your eye cream into your skin.
If you don’t yet have a gua sha tool, you’ll find one in our CB Thermo-Repair Collection. This set also comes with a face mask, a serum, and a face cream, all of which are designed to revitalize the complexion.
7) Treat Your Dark Circles to Hydrogel Eye Masks
Eye masks come in many different shapes and forms. From creams to clays to cotton sheets, there’s no shortage of masks out there that promise to help with the appearance of dark circles.
However, if you want the best of the best, hydrogel masks are the way to go. These masks are revered for their exceptionally hydrating properties. As we mentioned above, a boost of hydration can immediately help to make your dark circles less visible.
The CB BioLeaf Hydrating Facial & Eye Mask takes things a step further. These masks have been soaked in a rich serum brimming with sodium hyaluronate, glycerin, and Irish moss powder. The antioxidants in this formula will assist the hydrating ingredients in reducing the visibility of your under-eye circles. Unlike when you use a serum or a cream, these masks help to push those hydrating ingredients down into your skin. This ensures maximum benefits.
8) Get More Sleep
One of the biggest causes of dark circles is a lack of sleep. When your body is deprived of sleep, the amount of oxygen in your skin decreases. This leads to blood vessels dilating, resulting in dark circles. It doesn’t help that fluid buildup is more prevalent if you don’t get enough sleep. The puffiness that this causes makes dark circles look even more noticeable while casting new shadows of its own.
Even if your dark circles aren’t caused by sleep deprivation, they’ll only worsen if you’re not giving your skin enough beauty sleep. So, make an effort to adjust your sleep schedule so that you’re snoozing for around eight hours each night.
It can also help to sleep with your head elevated. This will prevent fluid from pooling underneath your eyes, saving you from puffiness. If you currently only use one pillow, try adding in a second one to see if this helps your skin.
9) Turn to Topical Caffeine
Caffeine is another ingredient that works extremely well at reducing the look of dark circles. It offers several other benefits too. It’s packed with antioxidants, making it great for tackling the appearance of free radical damage and wrinkles. It also soothes the complexion, calming the feeling of irritation or sensitivities.
One caffeine-infused product that would be particularly beneficial if you have dark circles is our CB Phyto Satin Finish Cream. In addition to caffeine, this moisturizer also contains licorice root extract. Just like vitamin C, this is another ingredient that has been proven to be able to lighten the look of hyperpigmentation. When combined with the caffeine in this cream, along with the array of other antioxidants, its visible effects are even more impressive!
10) Color Correct With Makeup
While some of the tips that we’ve shared above will work pretty quickly, others need more time. If you don’t want to be sporting dark circles until your new skincare products kick in, it would be worth learning how to use makeup to lighten their appearance.
If your dark circles have dark-colored undertones, a peachy concealer would be your best bet. On the other hand, if you can see tinges of pink or red in your dark circles, go with a concealer that has a yellow base.
Light-reflective products, like highlighters, can also help. They’ll enhance how light bounces away from the skin underneath your eyes, making the area look brighter and more radiant.
Whichever makeup products you apply, do so subtly. You want your eye area to look less noticeable, rather than drawing more attention to it!
Summary
As frustrating as dark circles may be to deal with, you have several options when it comes to combating their appearance. Ideally, incorporate a few of the methods we’ve shared above, rather than just one, to ensure that you’re tackling the visibility of your dark circles from every possible angle!
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