How to Remove Dark Circles Under Eyes – Causes, Treatments & More

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Do you know how to get rid of dark circles under eyes for brighter, healthier skin? Anyone can experience dark circles. Left untreated, they can make you look tired, stressed, or older than you are.

In most circumstances, dark circles under eyes result from poor sleep habits. For some people, however, other factors come into play, as well.

These factorscan include a lack of collagen, excessive eye strain, and even genetics.

Knowing how to get rid of dark circles under eyes comes down to knowing their cause. Once you know that, you can find a treatment to eliminate them.

What Causes Dark Circles To Appear?

Your genetics, behavioral patterns, and aging can all contribute to dark circles appearing under eyes. Before you start to treat your dark circles, you should identify the cause.

What works for one problem may not eliminate dark circles that appear for another reason.

Most people have dark circles related to one or more of these causes.

Age

The skin beneath your eyes is the thinnest on your body. As you age, the fatty tissues that cover that area begin to thin even further.

Without sufficient tissue, dark blood vessels become more prominent. This tissue loss creates the common ‘panda bear’ look around your eyes.

Lack of Collagen

As you age, your cells lose collagen and fat needed to maintain your skin’s elasticity. Collagen and fat loss leads to thinner skin, exposing the blood vessels under your eyes.

Collagen also helps to provide structure for your skin. A lack of collagen results in a loss of firmness and makes your skin prone to sagging.

It also contributes to the appearance of dark circles under the eyes. Here you can read more about collagen benefits.

Fatigue

An inconsistent sleeping schedule or poor sleep habits can also lead to the formation of dark circles. Irregular sleeping habits cause dark tissues and blood vessels beneath your skin to show.

Woman sleeping on the job

When you’re sleep-deprived, fluid builds up beneath the skin. As a result, this fluid causes your eyelids to become puffy. Puffy eyelids can cast shadows, making it look as though you have dark circles under your eyes.

Stress

As your body experiences stress, it directs blood toward the vital organs and away from the face. This redirection leaves the skin near your eyes pale and the blood vessels more pronounced.

High stress can also damage the veins and capillaries surrounding the eyes. If the damage is severe, it can result in your veins leaking blood.

As this blood oxidizes, it turns a shade of dark purple, which can appear as dark circles.

Too Much Sun

Harmful UV rays from the sun can cause our skin to age faster and deteriorate. Skin damage from the sun can also show up as dark circles under the eyes.

Sleep deprivation or aging causes the skin around the eyes to lose its firmness and elasticity. Combined with the effects of the sun, this accelerates the process and causes dark circles to appear.

Too much sun can also cause your body to create too much melanin. Melanin is the pigment that gives color to your hair, eyes, and skin.

Excessive melanin production around the eyes can cause the skin to darken.

Dehydration

The human body retains water when it becomes dehydrated. Water retention, in turn, makes your eyes look puffy or sunken as a result of your body’s natural functions.

woman with dark circles around eyes drink water

Dehydration can also cause your blood volume and pressure to drop. This drop results in blood flowing slower throughout your body. As a result, you can see darker colored blood vessels more clearly.

Check out these anti aging skin care products.

How to Get Rid of Dark Circles Under Eyes

Replenishing what your body has lost is the key to how to get rid of dark circles under the eyes. By providing your body with the nutrients it needs, you can reduce the appearance of dark circles and look younger.

Retinoid Cream

Retinoids are compounds that are essential to rebuilding your skin’s collagen. Retinoids work to eliminate dark circles under eyes by thickening the outer layer of collagen on your skin.

Collagen loss occurs as a result of aging and skin damage from the sun. If you’re looking for a reliable method for how to get rid of dark circles under eyes, try applying an effective retinoid cream.

Not only will it restore your skin to its former beauty, but it will also rebuild the collagen you’ve lost.

A good retinoid cream will moisturize and invigorate your skin. Check out our review of the XYZ Smart Collagen anti-aging cream here.

Lightening Products

In some instances, dark spots appear above the skin and not below. As a result, a lightning product can help to lighten these areas and even remove dark circles under eyes.

If the sun has damaged your skin, look for products that contain generous amounts Vitamin C. Vitamin C inhibits the production of melanin, which is responsible for turning your skin turning darker.

You can find Vitamin C in your favorite citrus fruits or in certain skincare products. If you’re looking for a lightning product for your skin, check out Meladerm.

Meladerm skin lightening cream lightens pigment inconsistencies to reduce dark circles under eyes. It’s a popular cream touted as one of the bestselling skincare products since 2017.

Read our product review on Meladerm and decide whether it’s right for you.

Sunscreen

woman with sunscreen cream while on the beach

Knowing how to get rid of dark circles under eyes is one thing. But did you know you can also prevent them from forming?

Wearing sunscreen can offer you an effective solution for preventing dark circles from appearing. Sunscreen can also aid in the healing process by preventing harmful UV rays from further damaging your skin.

For those who suffer skin damage from too much exposure to the sun, the Lifecell product line may be the solution you need.

Some of the benefits include improving skin elasticity, reversing skin damage from UV rays, and tightening skin to reduce sagginess.

Want to find out more information on how Lifecell products can help heal and beautify your skin? Click here to read our product review on LifeCell.

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About Alina Jumabhoy

With almost 10 years of experience writing for the skincare industry, Alina brings her unique perspective into all of the in-depth reviews and articles she writes.