Published: September 15, 2023
Although dark circles may be extremely common, nobody appreciates the way in which they can leave you looking older, duller, and tired. If you want your skin to look bright, perky, and youthful, dark circles are definitely not what you need!
Unfortunately, due to the fact that dark circles are caused by so many varied factors, people often struggle to eradicate them. However, that’s where Bionyx can help. Whether your dark circles are due to dehydration, aging, a lack of sleep, or anything else, read on as we share seven effective ways to lighten the look of the dark circles and shadows under your eyes.
1. Give the Skin Around Your Eyes Some Extra Hydration
Dehydration is a common cause of dark circles. When the skin is dehydrated, it looks sunken and thinner. This means that the blood vessels underneath the eyes show through the skin in the form of dark circles. Dehydration can also lead to the eye area taking on a puffy appearance.
The best way to counter this is to give your eye area some extra hydration. Even if your dark circles haven’t been caused by dehydration, your eye area is naturally drier than the skin on the rest of your face due to a lack of sebaceous glands. As a result, it will always be grateful for some extra moisture, rewarding you with a plumper and fuller appearance.
The most effective way to topically hydrate your skin is with humectants. This group of ingredients boasts moisture-binding properties that leave skin cells feeling deeply hydrated. The more humectants you give to your eye area, the more hydrated it’ll feel, which is why the Bionyx Rhodium Intensive Eye Serum is so popular. This lightweight formula packs multiple humectants, including glycerin, urea, and aloe vera leaf extract. In addition to hydrating your skin to lighten the look of dark circles, it’ll also smooth away the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles!
2. Look for Skincare Products That Will Thicken the Feel of Your Skin
We’ve already mentioned how dark circles look more prominent on thin skin, simply due to how the blood vessels under the eyes become more visible. However, dehydration isn’t the only factor that contributes to thin skin…
Aging is something else that causes the skin to thin over time. This is why mature skin often takes on a crepey quality. With the skin around the eyes already being thinner than the skin on the rest of the face, this is usually the first area to thin out even further, resulting in dark circles.
Fortunately, there are a number of skincare products out there designed to counter this. Certain ingredients are capable of leaving the skin feeling thicker and stronger. This, in turn, will make dark circles less visible.
So, which are the ingredients that you should be going for? Vitamins, antioxidants, and peptides are key. They’ll all help to reverse the look of age-related skin thinning. You’ll find a number of them, from vitamins A and E to cucumber fruit extract and acetyl hexapeptide-8, in the Bionyx Rhodium Wrinkle Plumping Syringe. Although primarily aimed at targeting the appearance of wrinkles, it does so by smoothing and thickening the complexion. When used around the eyes, this will help to fade the visibility of dark circles too.
3. Seek Out Skincare Ingredients That Feel Soothing
Sometimes, dark circles are caused by allergies. When the body experiences an allergic reaction, it releases histamines to fight off the allergens. These histamines can often lead to the eyes turning red, puffy, and itchy. In order to ease this discomfort, many end up rubbing their eyes or scratching their eye area. This then results in swelling, broken blood vessels, and inflammation, all of which trigger dark circles.
It goes without saying that your first point of call should be to look for a way to deal with your allergies. Anti-histamines often help but, if your allergies are severe, speak to your doctor about something stronger.
In addition to this, look for eye care products designed to soothe the feel of the skin. These will help to calm the feeling of the inflammation and itching that has arisen because of your allergies. You then won’t feel the need to rub at your eyes so much, which should help to leave your eye area feeling happier and more settled.
One of the best complexion-soothing ingredients out there is aloe vera. Research shows that it can also make the skin feel less fragile and more flexible, which will also help if you’re dealing with tightness and itching from allergies.
If you’d like to treat your skin to the wonders of this botanical, check out Bionyx’s Rhodium Advanced Eye Cream. It contains both aloe vera leaf extract and aloe vera phytoplacenta, which will leave your skin feeling twice as soothed.
4. Add a Hydrogel Eye Mask to Your Skincare Routine
Hydrogel masks are revered for feeling incredibly soothing. Not only that, but they’re super-hydrating too, and can also slow down the appearance of aging. This means that the right hydrogel mask is capable of helping with a number of the causes behind dark circles, making it well worth adding one to your skincare routine.
For maximum benefits, look for a hydrogel mask that contains ingredients that will both hydrate and soothe the feel of your skin. This way, not only will the hydrogel itself help your complexion, but the serum that the mask is soaked in will work toward lightening the look of your dark circles too.
The Bionyx Facial & Eye Mask Routine does this beautifully. This set of 14 face masks and 14 eye masks, which is sold alongside our Platinum Transformative Collection, is packed with an array of exemplary ingredients. Algae extract, chitosan, and hyaluronic acid hydrate the skin, lavender oil and collagen keep the skin feeling soothed, while colloidal platinum, which is our signature ingredient, works to brighten the look of the skin while diminishing any visible signs of aging. All of these ingredients combined will not only leave your dark circles looking lighter but will also give the rest of your face a newfound radiance.
5. Keep Your Dark Circles Protected From the Sun
We’ve already mentioned a few of the different causes of dark circles, but we haven’t yet talked about the biggest one; UV rays. Studies show that 90% of dark circles can be attributed to sun damage. Tthe sun is also known for exacerbating dark circles that have been caused by other factors.
Of course, let’s not forget that the sun is also responsible for everything from wrinkles to sagging skin to skin cancer. This makes it so important to give the entirety of your skin the sun protection that it deserves.
Fortunately, most sunscreens designed for the face can be safely used around the eyes too. The key to ensuring full protection is to make sure that you regularly reapply your sunscreen throughout the day. Most only provide protection for a couple of hours, so regular top-ups are needed.
It’s also easy to give your eye area some additional physical protection. A pair of large, UV-blocking sunglasses will shield your under-eyes from the sun, as will a wide-brimmed hat.
6. Invest in an LED Light Therapy Device
LED light therapy is being hailed as the new skincare wonder treatment due to how it can help with so many different visible skin concerns. Each color of LED light signifies a different wavelength, meaning that, when directed into the skin, each one reaches a different layer.
So, which color do you need if you’re trying to lighten the look of dark circles?
Red and blue are the wavelengths to go for. Red is most commonly used to reduce the visible signs of aging. It thickens the feel of the skin, which, as we explained earlier, can make dark circles look less obvious. Meanwhile, blue minimizes the look of inflammation and puffiness. Again, this can help to ease the appearance of dark circles too.
With so many different at-home LED light therapy devices out there, giving this treatment a try has never been easier. We’d recommend looking for a device that has been designed specifically for the eye area, such as the Photonix-2 Jade Eye Wand. The shape and size of this device make it so easy to use on the under-eyes. Plus, the fact that it offers both red and blue LED light means that it’s exactly what you need for your dark circles!
7. Get the Right Amount of Sleep
It’s common knowledge that a lack of sleep can lead to dark circles, purely because the effects of this are often visible as soon as you wake up in the morning. The more sleep deprivation you suffer from, the paler and thinner your skin will look. As you’ve learned, this then makes blood vessels more visible, causing dark circles.
What many don’t realize is that oversleeping can have similar effects on the skin. It causes puffiness around the eyes due to fluid buildup. This then casts shadows underneath the eyes, which look just like dark circles. You may think that you’re doing your skin a favor by snoozing for more than nine hours each night, but you could end up causing more harm than good.
Instead, in order for your skin to look and feel its best, you should be sleeping for roughly seven to nine hours each night. If you struggle to get this amount, it’s time to reassess your lifestyle habits. Whether this means committing yourself to a bedtime routine that you force yourself to follow each evening or making an effort to be more active during the day so that you feel more tired at night, look into different ways in which you can train your body to sleep for the number of hours that it actually needs.
Summary
As you can see, dark circles appear due to a variety of different causes, and each one needs to be dealt with in its own way. However, if you aren’t sure what the exact cause of your dark circles is, follow the seven tips above and you’ll be tackling them from all angles, meaning that it won’t be long before you start to see a big improvement in your eye area.
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