No More Dark Circles
Have you found yourself looking in the mirror and noticed that you have dark circles staring back at you. That’s right, I seem to have dark circles too. If you have been reading our weekly newsletters, you might be thinking the same thing I am….boy, I sure am falling apart. Well, actually I refuse to fall apart…I am just aging. I will do whatever I can to fight the aging process every step of the way. As I looked at myself in the mirror making faces to see how to make my jowls disappear I did notice that if I smiled, not only did my jowls disappear, but my dark circles and bags under my eyes disappeared. Not bad. All I have to do is smile all the time to make me look younger. Try it!! It really works and you will notice that almost everyone will smile back at you. There’s always that one cranky person that doesn’t like to smile, but who cares, you look great anyway.
So what makes you look older? Surprisingly, it might not be wrinkles or gray hair but dark circles under your eyes. Although dark circles under eyes usually aren't a sign of exhaustion or serious illness, they can make you feel old, unhealthy and tired.
My favorite eye creams for under eye puffiness and dark circles would be the Obagi Elasitderm Night Eye Cream and the RevaleSkin Replenishing Eye Therapy.
Just what constitutes dark circles under eyes is often in the eye of the beholder, but medically, they're defined as round, uniform areas of pigmentation beneath each eye.
• Allergies
• Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
• Heredity — dark under-eye circles can run in families
• Lifestyle factors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol and caffeinated sodas
• Nasal congestion (which dilates and darkens the veins that drain from your eyes to your nose)
• Pigmentation irregularities — these are a particular concern for people of color, especially African Americans and Asians
• Sun exposure, which prompts your body to produce more melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color
But the most likely culprit causing chronic dark circles, dermatologists say, is excess pigmentation in the skin.
Dilated blood vessels that sit close to the thin under-eye skin are another cause, doctors said. And airborne allergens, which cause blood to pool in the vessels under the skin, can worsen their appearance, said Dr. John A. Persing, a professor and the chief of plastic surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine. (Treatment for these sufferers may be as simple as an antihistamine pill.)
For people who aren’t sure why they have dark circles, he recommends topical products that contain a plumping agent or alphahydroxy acids, which can thicken the skin, or vitamins C and K, which can inflame skin and add volume.
Thinning skin and loss of fat and collagen — common as you age — which make mild to moderate dark circles often respond well to simple and inexpensive treatments, such as:
• Cold. Try a cold compress, two chilled teaspoons or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a soft cloth to temporarily reduce dilated and discolored under-eye blood vessels. Or, try a cooled, used teabag.
• Water – That’s right, drink lots of water.
• Extra pillows. Elevate your head with two or more pillows to prevent puffiness that develops when fluid pools in your lower eyelids.
• Extra sleep. Although short nights don't usually cause under-eye circles, a lack of sleep makes you paler and more hollow-eyed, so shadows and circles you already have are more obvious.
• Dark glasses and sunscreen. Although a tan might hide dark circles in the short term, in the long run, the extra pigment it produces can make circles worse.
• Saline washes or sprays. Rinsing your sinuses with a saltwater solution (mix 1/4 teaspoon sea salt with 2 cups warm water) or over-the-counter saline spray can help relieve nasal congestion. This seems like torture. Who wants to do this….not me!!
• Cosmetics. Hundreds of skin creams that claim to reduce or prevent under-eye circles crowd department store and drugstore shelves. The results of one well-publicized study showed that a cream containing vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin E and retinol was moderately effective in treating under-eye circles.
• Camouflage. The right concealer can do just that — hide dark circles. If the circles under your eyes are bluish, use a peach-colored concealer, not one that's white or gray. And avoid scented products and those containing salicylic or glycolic acid, which can irritate delicate eye tissue, making redness and swelling worse.
I have found that I get the best results using my eye cream in the morning and before bed, I drink lots of water and I sleep mostly on my back with an extra pillow.
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletters. Let me know if I ramble on to much. If you like what I have to say, this is Karen….if you don’t, I’m Lynn. Shhh….don’t tell Lynn.
If you have any questions you would like me to answer send me an email at csc@completeskincare.net
So what makes you look older? Surprisingly, it might not be wrinkles or gray hair but dark circles under your eyes. Although dark circles under eyes usually aren't a sign of exhaustion or serious illness, they can make you feel old, unhealthy and tired.
My favorite eye creams for under eye puffiness and dark circles would be the Obagi Elasitderm Night Eye Cream and the RevaleSkin Replenishing Eye Therapy.
Just what constitutes dark circles under eyes is often in the eye of the beholder, but medically, they're defined as round, uniform areas of pigmentation beneath each eye.
• Allergies
• Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
• Heredity — dark under-eye circles can run in families
• Lifestyle factors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol and caffeinated sodas
• Nasal congestion (which dilates and darkens the veins that drain from your eyes to your nose)
• Pigmentation irregularities — these are a particular concern for people of color, especially African Americans and Asians
• Sun exposure, which prompts your body to produce more melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color
But the most likely culprit causing chronic dark circles, dermatologists say, is excess pigmentation in the skin.
Dilated blood vessels that sit close to the thin under-eye skin are another cause, doctors said. And airborne allergens, which cause blood to pool in the vessels under the skin, can worsen their appearance, said Dr. John A. Persing, a professor and the chief of plastic surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine. (Treatment for these sufferers may be as simple as an antihistamine pill.)
For people who aren’t sure why they have dark circles, he recommends topical products that contain a plumping agent or alphahydroxy acids, which can thicken the skin, or vitamins C and K, which can inflame skin and add volume.
Thinning skin and loss of fat and collagen — common as you age — which make mild to moderate dark circles often respond well to simple and inexpensive treatments, such as:
• Cold. Try a cold compress, two chilled teaspoons or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a soft cloth to temporarily reduce dilated and discolored under-eye blood vessels. Or, try a cooled, used teabag.
• Water – That’s right, drink lots of water.
• Extra pillows. Elevate your head with two or more pillows to prevent puffiness that develops when fluid pools in your lower eyelids.
• Extra sleep. Although short nights don't usually cause under-eye circles, a lack of sleep makes you paler and more hollow-eyed, so shadows and circles you already have are more obvious.
• Dark glasses and sunscreen. Although a tan might hide dark circles in the short term, in the long run, the extra pigment it produces can make circles worse.
• Saline washes or sprays. Rinsing your sinuses with a saltwater solution (mix 1/4 teaspoon sea salt with 2 cups warm water) or over-the-counter saline spray can help relieve nasal congestion. This seems like torture. Who wants to do this….not me!!
• Cosmetics. Hundreds of skin creams that claim to reduce or prevent under-eye circles crowd department store and drugstore shelves. The results of one well-publicized study showed that a cream containing vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin E and retinol was moderately effective in treating under-eye circles.
• Camouflage. The right concealer can do just that — hide dark circles. If the circles under your eyes are bluish, use a peach-colored concealer, not one that's white or gray. And avoid scented products and those containing salicylic or glycolic acid, which can irritate delicate eye tissue, making redness and swelling worse.
I have found that I get the best results using my eye cream in the morning and before bed, I drink lots of water and I sleep mostly on my back with an extra pillow.
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletters. Let me know if I ramble on to much. If you like what I have to say, this is Karen….if you don’t, I’m Lynn. Shhh….don’t tell Lynn.
If you have any questions you would like me to answer send me an email at csc@completeskincare.net
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