There may be many reasons for dark circles around your eyes: genetics, lack of sleep, prolonged stress, nutritional deficiencies, and many more. It is important to address the underlying causes, but there also are a few tried and tested natural remedies that can help brighten the eyes and might make you look younger.
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet Almond oil is very gentle and nourishing, and most importantly rich in vitamin E. Vitamin E is one of the most potent antioxidants and is very beneficial to the skin. How to use: cleanse your face before bed (ideally using the Oil Cleansing Method), gently tap a drop of the Sweet Almond oil under your eyes, let absorb, and repeat if needed. The fatty acids and antioxidants will brighten the skin after a couple of weeks of continuous use.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is incredibly versatile, it probably is a staple in many kitchens and bathrooms, but another great use for it is to brighten dark under-eyes. It is abundant in medium chain triglycerides and is very moisturizing. Apply it before bed on clean skin under the eyes every night.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are very powerful plant essences. If you haven’t added them to your daily routine yet, we highly recommend these combinations.
Use 15 ml of Sweet Almond oil as a base oil and add a drop of each essential oil. Gently tap the combination under your eye, making sure not to put any on the eyelid as the essential oils are quite powerful.
These combinations work great, depending on your skin type:
Lavender and Geranium for combination, oily skin
Palma Rosa and Sandalwood for mature, dry skin
Roman Chamomile and Frankincense for sensitive skin
Lemon Juice
The vitamin C present in lemon juice may help lighten dark circles under the eyes, due to its skin-lightening properties. Use a cotton wool ball to gently dab fresh lemon juice around your eyes. Leave it on for about 10 minutes and rinse it off. Do this once daily for a few weeks.
Cucumber
Another option is to blend cucumber juice with lemon juice in equal amounts. Use a cotton wool ball gently dab the blend into the under eye area, on the affected skin. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then wash it off with water. Follow this remedy daily for at least one week.
Sleep
A lack of sleep is detrimental to the whole body in general. At this day and age sleep is not valued as much as productivity and ‘getting things done’. But if you are troubled with dark circles under your eyes, getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night can make a huge difference.
Removing make up
Thorough skin cleansing before bed removes make up, dust and dirt that has collected on your face throughout the day. If you let your skin breathe at night (even better if you nourish it with oils), your whole face and under eyes will look brighter.
Alcohol, smoking
These harmful habits literally steal nutrients from your body and are a significant burden on your liver. This will result in your skin looking dull and tired.
Vitamin D
A deficiency or insufficiency of the vitamin D could be another reason for dark under-eye circles. Vitamin D is actually a hormone in the body and is involved in numerous functions. Test your D levels and supplement if needed.
Boost nutrient and antioxidant levels
5 a day has now been changed to at least 7 a day, so make sure to get those veggies and fruit in. For an additional boost, try berry and green powders. There are so many to choose from: Acai, Spirulina, and Wheatgrass to name a few. Our favourite blends The Best Berry Blend and The Best Green Superfood Blend are easy to mix into cereal or smoothies.
Body brushing
This is a great way to boost your circulation and the lymphatic system, which in turn helps to detoxify and brighten up the skin. See here for more information
Neti pot
Using a neti pot can help clear the sinuses and reduce puffiness around the eyes, especially if there are allergies involved.
Relax
Relaxing is essential for looking and feeling great. Try experimenting with essential oils to help induce relaxation
Allergies
Allergies could be behind many ailments, including dark circles under eyes. Try eliminating gluten and dairy for a month to see if you look and feel better.
Written by: Ernesta Stripeikaite
Health & Wellbeing writer
Products in this Article
