Dark Circles and Bags Under Eyes

Stay hydrated. I'm not talking about 10 8oz glasses of water a day. It's gotta be more than that. After 2 weeks you'll be amazed at the difference. Take before and after pics!!

I've been having this problem for about the last year - peri-menopause and I'm assuming it's only going to get worse with menopause. I get up in the morning and look like the Walking Dead. I've been putting my normal moisturizer on and it helps a little, but not great.

I bought the Oil of Olay regenerist serum at Costco a couple weeks back and have tried that out. They say to put it on 2x a day, but I have very sensitive skin, especially around my eyes, so I've been only putting it on a night. I will say, after a couple weeks the dark circles have lightened up and look less puffy. I think there are a bunch of products similar to this that can help, but it's hard to sort through all the claims and they're all so damn expensive. I've tried some in the past that are extremely irritating to my skin and I've just had to throw them out. I picked this one up on sale for $26 and so far I like it. I don't think it will 100% solve the problem, but at least I look less zombie-like at the moment!

I don't think it's an "age". It's what you eat, drink, sleep and exercise.

I know... As a mom it's hard to get all that in a day. Drink lots of water... I prefer lemon water. Exercise.. ( even if just walking around the block daily) , and sleep ( the hardest) . I resort to a Benedryl at times like tonight since I'm responding here at 12:30 am!

My excuse right now is different. If you're on this site much, you know I just lost my husband so if I can avoid dark puffy eyes while crying more tears than I imagine right now.. you can too!!

I drink a boatload of water all day and night. I have a friend who walks with me up to 5 times a week for 4+ miles at a time. I use good facial routines and use vitamin C and E on my face. I have a hard time going to bed and 1 Benedryl usually helps me get to sleep.

Best wishes to you. I know it's tough! Take time for you!

Some people have bags/circles under their eyes due to genetics and there's not much you can do about it. They say eating salty food gives you bags under your eyes. But I tried eating no salt at all for a month and it did not do much for me! I guess I take after my grandpa who has huge eye bags...perhaps when I am 93 I will look like him, who knows! I read a science article on it and it helps to prop your head up when you sleep. Lying lower makes more fluid build up there at night. The article went into great detail about blinking and our tear ducts...I can't remember exactly what it said but the gist of it was that at night we are not blinking and it leads to bags in some people. So blinking often helps get rid of your bags during the day. Cold compresses or ice can also help a little with the swelling. Another quick fix many people use with puffiness is to put hemorroids cream on the puffy bags in the morning. It reduces swelling.

I use a product that is a roller - I roll it under my eyes in the morning for puffiness The roller is green - perhaps a Loreal product? I got it at WalMart. I think it contains caffeine which is probably why tea bags work. It isn't a miracle item, but I do see a pretty big difference about 10 min after I use it. I do it after my shower, then get dressed and dry my hair. By that time, it is dry enough (it is wet and a little sticky when you first apply it) for me to apply my makeup.

Good luck!

i get super puffy after a short cry and cold wet teabags will help bring the pufiness down. cucumber slices supposedly help with the dark circles, you could try putting them on for about 10 minutes before bed so your laying down relaxing at the same time

Hi J.,

There are significant genetic factors that play into this so there's only so much one can do. Having said that, I've found that my dark circles often correlate with my hydration level. If I'm dehydrated they occur more frequently and are darker. So get those 8 glasses of water down daily and hopefully that will have an impact not only on that but in other areas as well. hoping this helps and please know you're in great company. :-) S.

tea bags?
ice cubes?
low salt diet?
antihistamines (if they're allergy-related anyway.)
cucumbers?
khairete
S.

What works the best is to get more sleep. I don't know that it is an age thing. I have had them since I was in college if I was tired. I no longer have them as long as I get at least 7 hours a night of sleep. Sorry, not a quick fix.

White/light highlights that area. I would see about having a make up make over. That way you can see what works best to reduce the attention that area has.