Whether you’re 25 or 95, sooner or later you will wake up and see giant dark circles under your eyes. It is, alas, a symptom of life. Sometimes we can blame it on lack of sleep––but what if you got your full eight hours and still woke up with puffiness? Here are some natural ways to banish those pesky dark circles and bags.
Sleep on a couple of fluffy pillows
You want your pillows to be puffy not your eyes, and keeping the head slightly elevated above the rest of your body helps to combat puffiness by letting it drain downward. Also, it’s important that your pillow covers are clean. You don’t want to wash your face only to have it get sullied by unclean pillow slips.
Eat bananas, leafy greens and cucumber
Foods high in potassium and iron are important for maintaining skin tone. You want to replenish all your electrolytes and vitamins as often as possible for evenness in your skin. Foods high in water content like cucumbers are good for keeping the skin hydrated. Plus, all three are full of fiber, which is good for maintaining a healthy gut! Bonus!
Apply tea bags to your eyes
Select a tea that’s high in caffeine, such as black or green, and steep the tea bags in hot water. It’s a matter of taste whether you want to pop them in the freezer (the coldness will also help with puffiness) or put them on warm. Either way, the caffeine and tannins will act as a diuretic, drawing water away and causing the veins to constrict, resulting in less darkness under your eyes.
Give yourself a facial massage
Using your fingers, or jade stones if you have them, lightly massage the area under your eyes. The compression will help drain any trapped fluids in the area—and under the eyes is a spot where fluids love to settle—resulting in dewier skin. Facialists totally use this trick; imitate their practice for free!
Use essential oils
You can stick with one oil or combine a couple, but try to include ones that are full of vitamin A, such as rose. Vitamin A is shown to increase cell turnover rate, which will produce firmer, thicker skin under the eye—making you less prone to dark circles. Avoid too much oil though—it can overwhelm the skin and inflame this highly sensitive area.
