Eye Beauty at a Glance
What’s the secret to a glowing, youthful face? In recent years, anti-aging skincare has been taking over the beauty world as the ultimate answer to our bright skin ambitions. Popular ingredients like collagen promise eternal youth in a bottle, but there’s one more aspect of achieving a glowing complexion that often gets overlooked in the conversation: eye care.
Under-eye puffiness and dark circles can affect the way your skin looks much more than a collagen booster could cover, as the skin under your eyes is thinner and much more fragile than the rest of your face. That’s why the skin surrounding your eyes is often the first part of your body to show signs of premature aging! If you’ve been ignoring your eye health for far too long, you can start taking better care of the skin surrounding your eyes by incorporating some simple practices — beyond slicing up cucumbers!
Beauty is in the eye…
Just like your eyes, the skin surrounding them is incredibly sensitive and prone to dryness and discoloration. The first sign of eye-area problems you’re likely to notice is the dreaded dark circles right under your eyes, usually associated with a lack of quality sleep. And yet, getting your 8 hours of beauty sleep is often not enough to solve the problem!
The reason for this comes down to genetics and natural aging: The passing of time will make your face thinner as you lose your baby fat, making the dark blood vessels beneath your eyes more noticeable, and darker skin tones are more prone to hyperpigmentation. In some cases, dark circles can also be caused by eye strain, as staring at screens for long periods of time (and without any blue light protection) can cause the under-eye blood vessels to flare up and enlarge.
Finally, there’s the problem of UV exposure: As UV rays stimulate our melanin production, the skin under our eyes tends to get darker due to its higher sensitivity and thinness. Another common problem is under-eye puffiness. Besides natural aging, this is usually caused by fluid retention and lack of sleep.
Sunglasses, Cucumbers, and Eye Creams
Eating too much salt or sodium-heavy products causes our body to retain more water and make the thinner parts of our face puff up, while lack of quality sleep tends to weaken the muscles around our eyes and cause them to swell. So, is leading a healthier lifestyle (low-sodium diet, good sleeping habits, and no late-night binge-watching) the be-all and end-all solution to our eye beauty woes?
In most cases, these good habits will be enough to reduce the appearance of dark circles and under-eye bags, but when paired with natural aging and genetic predispositions, you might need a little more help…
Moisturize
A topical remedy like a simple eye cream or all-purpose moisturizer can help you deal with under-eye circles, lines, and dryness. Moisturizing is key to banishing dry and flaky skin, resulting in a brighter look. This means that applying a small dab of moisture under your eyes can help reduce the appearance of dark circles and lines caused by dryness, as long as you opt for a light moisturizer that won’t cause extra congestion. When it comes to moisturizing your eye area, lightweight and oil-free is the way to go. But don’t get caught up in the marketing: There’s no need to spend hundreds on specialized eye creams when a high-quality, clean moisturizer can get the job done just as well with a more accessible price tag!
Beyond the Frames
As UV exposure is one of the main causes of dark circles, you’ll want to invest in top-class UV protection to shield your eye area from damage, including using sunscreen every day and investing in a good pair of UV glasses. On top of preventing dark circles from getting worse and appearing in the first place, UV glasses and SPF 50 will also slow down skin aging and protect you from dangerous skin conditions!
Get your Vitamins
Another common cause of dark circles is poor blood circulation, which causes blood vessels to become more constricted and appear darker where the skin is thinnest. Supplementing vitamin K or using products that contain vitamin K can help reduce the appearance of under-eye circles by improving coagulation and stimulating blood flow. Supplementing or incorporating foods high in vitamin E and C, which are powerful antioxidants, can also help brighten the skin by stimulating collagen production.
Caffeine Fix
When it comes to tackling under-eye swelling, the caffeine in black or green tea is the ultimate card up your sleeve: Caffeine is not only believed to restrict blood vessels for a brighter look but also believed to help soothe the skin, resulting in reduced puffiness.
Something as simple as putting tea bags on your eyes as a cold compress can help reduce eye bags, at least temporarily, thanks to caffeine’s vasoconstricting, soothing, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Demystifying Cucumber Care
UV protection, healthy eating, and cold compresses can work wonders on your eyes without spending a fortune on collagen treatments and specialized eye creams. Sometimes beauty is as simple as good habits and a trusted home remedy!
So, what about the two cucumber slices we often associate with giving our eye area some well-needed TLC?
Definitely more than just a folk tale: Cucumbers contain plenty of water to promote hydration and fight dark circles, while their silica content can help boost natural collagen production. But they’re going to have an even bigger impact on your eye care when ingested as part of a collagen-boosting, antioxidant-rich, hydrating diet!
