The appearance of dark circles beneath the eyes can be annoying and frustrating. Dark eye circles can make anyone look tired or unhealthy, even when they are not. Their presence can cause any man to feel insecure.
An essential aspect of healthy masculinity is openly acknowledging our insecurities to get to work at rectifying them. If you are a man who is currently struggling to treat the dark circles that sit in your under eye area, you have come to the right place.
MadeMan is committed to helping you to understand and care for your skin. Today we will be discussing dark circles, their causes, and methods for lessening their appearance.
Causes of Dark Circles
There are several potential causes of the appearance of dark circles and eye bags. This discoloration may even be signaling a greater health issue. Here are some of the most common explanations.
Aging
The natural aging process can cause dark circles. As you age, you experience a loss of fat and collagen, which makes your skin thinner. This thin skin can make the blood vessels located below your eyes appear much more prominent.
Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis, commonly referred to as hay fever, is an allergic response to any specific allergen, including pollen. Some of the most common symptoms of allergic rhinitis are sneezing, coughing, itchy watery eyes, head and neck tension, dry skin, runny nose, and dark circles below the eyes.
Sun Exposure
One of the effects of unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is discoloration. When you are in the sun for too long without any sunscreen or protective clothing, the sun can cause the area surrounding your eyes to become more prone to exposure. Since the skin in this area is naturally thin, the blood vessels will look darker than usual.
Treating Dark Circles
There are a variety of methods for treating dark circles. Some of which are home remedies while others are professional procedures. We recommend reading through the list and trying whichever treatment options you believe will be convenient and effective for your needs.
Cold Compress
The darkened area below your eyes may be due to dilated blood vessels. You can apply a cold compress upon them to treat these blood vessels, encouraging the vessels to constrict. If successful, this can lessen the appearance of dark circles.
Cucumber Compress
Similarly to applying a cold compress to your dark circles, you can also apply chilled thick cucumber slices for a similar effect. Leave the sliced cucumber on the affected area for about ten minutes twice a day.
Tea Bag Compress
Another option for physically cooling the area below your eyes is to use chilled tea bags. You can soak tea bags in hot water, just as you would while making tea, and then leave the bags to chill in the refrigerator.
After a few minutes, you can place the tea bags below the eyes and let them sit for about five minutes.
Changes in Diet
Certain foods, like tomatoes, contain antioxidants that can fight free radical damage and UV radiation from the inside out. Lycopene helps explicitly boost circulation and maintain healthy blood vessels to combat dark circles.
In addition to consuming tomatoes, applying a mixture that is equal parts of tomato juice and lemon juice with mint leaves to your undereye area may help lycopene work its magic on your undereye circles.
Other helpful foods you can add to your diet include potatoes, orange juice, lemons, and blueberries.
On the other hand, avoiding consuming dehydrating substances like caffeine and wine can help reduce the appearance of dark circles. Of course, topically applying caffeine to the skin, like in the tea compress above, can help stimulate blood circulation, but cutting coffee from your diet may go a long way.
Sleep Habits
Small lifestyle changes during your bedtime routine can go a long way when combatting dark circles.
Next, ensure you get enough sleep. Low energy is a major perpetrator of dark circles under your eyes. A lack of sleep negatively influences your entire appearance. It can make your complexion appear paler and your dark circles more prominent.
While you sleep, blood flow in your skin increases, which can help to heal your dark circles. Make sure to get at least eight hours of sleep to give your body the time to refresh.
Finally, dark circles under your eyes are not only darker in color but also tend to be puffy. This puffiness comes from the fluid pooling in your lower eyelids. Some believe that you can physically depuff your undereye circles with the help of gravity as you sleep by elevating your head more than usual with extra pillows.
Vitamin C
Topical vitamin C can be used to prevent the appearance of premature aging, which includes dark circles. Vitamin C can fight off free radicals and accelerate elastin and collagen production. When applied below the eyes, the vitamin can thicken the sensitive skin that surrounds the eye and help to conceal discoloration.
Lightening Cream
To treat the discoloration below your eyes, you may use a lightening cream to treat the hyperpigmentation. If effective, the cream will lighten the dark circles, making them less noticeable.
Lightening creams containing strong acids can be prescribed to you by your doctor. Less intense versions of these creams can be purchased over the counter. These creams may be better to start with anyway since they contain lower percentages of the active acid ingredients and can give you the chance to see how your skin responds to the formula.
Laser Therapy
Laser therapy uses focused light tuned to specific wavelengths to treat specific areas of your skin. The general appeal of laser treatments is that they encourage elastin growth and reduce discoloration.
During a round of laser treatment, heat energy can be used to vaporize the damaged cells below your eyes that cause the appearance of darker pigmentation.
Moisturizer
Using a good moisturizer can help ensure that the skin’s overall health is being taken care of. A moisturizer rich in all-natural ingredients like The Refresher can act as a fast track to long-term skin enhancement. The unhealthy dark circles below your eyes can do well from some moisture.
Not to mention, two of The Refresher’s ingredients are chicory root and mica. Chicory root can tighten the face and increase collagen synthesis, while the mica provides you with a healthy glow. Together these ingredients will improve the overall appearance of your skin.
A full list of the product’s ingredients, including glycerin and vitamin C, can be found here.
Eye Cream
In addition to using moisturizer, you can also implement eye cream into your skin care routine. Even without dark circles, the skin surrounding your eyes is very thin and vulnerable to fine lines and elasticity. It is useful in the long run to pay a little extra attention to this region of your face.
Before applying the rest of your moisturizer, you can apply your eye cream. Eye cream is typically thinner and lighter than other creams and will need to be properly absorbed. You can also use a complexion matching eye cream with SPF for additional protection.
Sunscreen
While the most secure way to avoid the effects of sun damage is to avoid exposure to the sun altogether, this is not a viable option for most people. To protect the sensitive skin surrounding your eyes from the sun’s harsh ultraviolet light, it is essential to use sunscreen every day. You can choose to use either physical or chemical sunscreen.
Physical sunscreen works by blocking the light from the sun and scattering it before it can penetrate your skin. Chemical sunscreen works by absorbing ultraviolet light before it has the chance to cause any damage.
Regardless of what you choose, be sure that your sunscreen is broad-spectrum so that it defends against both UVA and UVB rays and that it has an SPF of at least 30.
Blepharoplasty
Blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure that can be used to reduce the appearance of dark circles. During the process, fat is surgically removed in lower lid blepharoplasty. If performed well by your surgeon, the procedure can reduce the shadow that your eyelid casts over the space below your eye, thus decreasing the look of dark circles.
Chemical Peel
A chemical peel is a facial treatment typically used to deeply exfoliate the skin’s surface and promote new skin growth. A light chemical peel can help lighten the pigmentation below the eyes.
During the treatment, a chemical solution is applied to the skin. The solution will likely contain glycolic acid, retinoic acid, or hydroquinone. Chemical peels, even light ones, should be left to the professionals to avoid further damage to your skin. If you want to recreate the same effect at home, you can try a chemical exfoliant instead.
Dermal Fillers
Injectable fillers consisting of soft tissue fillers, like Restylane or Juvederm, are injected into the skin at various depths to provide facial volume, augment certain features, and restore a smoother appearance. Dermal fillers that are hyaluronic acid-based can be injected into the tissue beneath the eye to help with any loss of volume or elasticity.
Conclusion
While it can require patience for the appearance of dark circles to vanish, there are countless options available for you to get it done. There are plenty of ways to combat dark circles and leave your skin looking radiant, from cold water rinse to aloe vera to a mixture of almond oil and vitamin E.
With a bit of self-discipline and perhaps some trial-and-error, your skin is sure to be looking brighter than ever in no time at all.
Sources:
Dark circles: etiology and management options | PubMed
