Dark Circles & Puffy Eyes

Before jumping to what causes dark circles, let us define dark circles for you. Dark circles are actually the half moon shaped formations just below the eye area commonly called tear trough area which gets darkened due to several reasons which will be discussed below. Sometimes, however, the tear trough area does not really darken but gives the appearance of being dark. Such a situation is caused due to the default facial structure which causes the eyes to appear hollow.

Pigmentation still remains the major cause of dark circles especially for the Indian skin but it would be equally safe to state that hollowness of the eyes or the facial structure comes as a close second when it comes to the number of people who have dark circles.

The major causes of pigmented dark circles are enumerated below:

1. Nutritional Deficiency: A deficiency of Vitamins A, C, K and E in specific result in formation of dark circles around your eyes.
2. Smoking and Drinking: Not directly but an imbalanced lifestyle resulting from late night parties and dehydration due to excessive drinking may result in those dark circles
3. Sun Exposure: The sun dehydrates the skin and sometimes people also tend to rub off the face hard in order to wipe the sweat off. The dehydration and friction that results by the respective acts causes darkening of the sensitive area around the eyes.
4. Hormonal Changes: Sometimes, hormonal changes during the time of pregnancy and menstruation may also be the cause behind the dark circles
5. Anemia: Low iron levels in the skin lead to poor oxygen retention in the blood which results in dark circles
6. Stress: The direct relation between stress and dark circles has still not been established but many people report aggravation of dark circles when they are under stress
7. Allergies: Eczema and certain allergies which cause itching can cause dark circles due to repetitive rubbing of the sensitive area surrounding the eyes on account of excess friction

While above are predominant, there are other causes which are quite common in occurrence.

As mentioned above, apart from pigmentation of the skin, the area around the eyes appears dark due to various reasons as listed below:

• Facial Bone Structure: A hollow facial bone structure near the eye creates a shadowing impact which make the tear trough area appear dark. The hollowness is mostly either due to the natural absence of fat in the region or due to sudden weight loss resulting in fat reduction. Surprisingly, this particular factor features in the lesser acknowledged causes, despite being a highly common reason for appearance of dark circles. The reason is simple, for most people, the fact that something other than the usual pigmentation can cause dark circles to appear remains unknown. A very evident proof of such an ignorance lies in the fact that most of the discussions on the web and offline centre around reducing the darkening or whitening the skin. However, worry not! As the experts do understand this contributor to dark circles and have solutions that can help overcome this particular situation. One such solution lies in injecting Hyaluronic acid into the tear trough area which replaces the lost fat and facilitates recontouring thus reducing the dark appearance.
• Heredity: Some people just have a tendency to get dark circles. In such cases, skin lightening treatment taken over a period of time may help in keeping the dark circles in check
• Veins giving a blue tint: Sometimes, especially for people who are comparatively dark skinned, if their veins are prominent, it might result in giving a darker tinge to the tear trough area especially since the skin is usually not very tight here.
• Liver disease: Liver dysfunction diseases such as hepatitis may also result in dark circles. Hence, it is advisable to get the same tested if relevant vaccination has not already been taken for the same

Regular eye treatments at Garg Cosmetic Clinic can certainly postpone the problems for many years and soften the seriousness of it when it does happen. We use US-FDA products and our professionally trained therapists know well how to handle your delicate below the eye skin.

Though not accurate, some basic skin care at home can help keep dark circles at bay, if they are being caused by pigmentation.Following are some easy home based treatments one can follow for dark circle removal

1. Applying almond oil and gently massaging it into the tear trough area helps. One needs to follow the procedure and leave the oil over night followed by washing it with cold water in the morning. The effect can be seen within 14 days, however, the same must be continued till all the dark circles are gone
2. Due to its skin lightening and slightly astringent properties, cucumber works wonder for the dark circles’ treatment. Putting refrigerated cucumber slices (refrigerated for 30 minutes) for about ten minutes daily starts yielding results in about 10 days
3. Grated potato also helps because of its bleaching and astringent properties. The procedure to follow includes, grating a potato and squeezing the juice out of it. The juice is then refrigerated for about 20 minutes. Post which, one needs to dab a cotton into the juice and put it on the eyes such that it covers the entire dark area. The same needs to be kept for about 5-10 minutes. The effect starts showing in about 2 to 3 weeks

However, due to recurring damage and sometimes because the dark circles are attributed to the facial structure or heredity, expert intervention is required to remove the darker areas.

The major causes of baggy eyes are:

1. Overconsumption of Salt: excess salt results in excessive fluid retention. The reason is simple: water tends to flow from the parts that are low in sodium (salt is sodium chloride by the way) to those which have most salt. The eyes form the perfect destination hence (Ever noticed your tears are salty, it is the Salt in them)
2. Fatigue and Lack of sleep: Too much of stress or working on the laptop all day may tire your eyes and these tired eyes sometimes tend to look a bit puffy.
3. Ageing: As you age, the tissues near the eyes sag and sometimes the fat usually supporting the eyes comes and deposits in the lower eyelid giving rise to puffy eyes.
4. Sinus Issues: A sinus is a cavity within a bone or tissue mainly the facial ones. Sinusitis is the inflammation of the lining membrane in any of the hollow areas (sinuses) of the skull around the nose. Often sinusitis ( a medical condition) has one of its major symptoms in the form of puffy eyes. So, if you think that you have a balanced lifestyle and are having a good sleep and nor are your suffering from any allergies, maybe you should see an ENT to get checked for sinusitis
5. Inherited facial features: Well, not much needs to be said about it because it is hereditary and science has still not advanced enough to find the right defaulter gene and get your facial features corrected at birth. Till then however, we have procedures to correct these so that you don’t have to worry at all!

• Cut on your salt content, you really need to and forever because if your body has a tendency to retain water, excess salt intake will only worsen it
• The Neti Pot Treatment: this one is weird and fascinating at the same time. The Neti pot is a disfigured kettle of sorts specially constructed to pour water down your nostrils. What you need to do is mix 30 ml of lukewarm water and 2 teaspoonful of salt. The resulting concoction has to be poured into one nostril only to be taken out of the other. Yes, it sounds weird and painful but it has been known to be effective since ages. One trivia about this technique: also known as nasal irrigation, the technique has its roots in Ayurveda
• Sleeping well (about 6 to 8 hours daily depending on your age) gives your eyes enough rest. Also, your sleeping position can have a lot of effect on your eye bags, if you sleep face down, avoid it because dear gravity has this issue of pulling everything down, even if it is the fluid near your eyes.
• Small changes in your lifestyle like doing away with smoking and drinking, at least curbing the same to an extent can help in preventing in puffy eyes. Alcohol causes dehydration which can result in your skin dying up and sinking into a pouch. Also, whenever you go boozing, drink a lot of water before having “the drink”