Dark under eyes

[Val]

I've hard dark circles under my eyes for as long as I can remember. It's not circles from fatigue...it's just always been that way. My paternal grandmother was the same.

I hate it though! I tried to bleach it so it can be match my complexion.....that didn't work. I usually cover it up with concealer and foundation.....but I hate wearing makeup especially in this New Orleans heat.

What else can I do to get rid of that?

[Nonie]

If you've eliminated junk food, sodas...are drinking plenty of water, eating well, getting enough sleep, then the dark circles are due to skin under the eyes being thin so that the blood vessels underneath show through.

This is where face exercises come in handy. By thickening the skin under the eyes, the blood vessels stop to show through. You can see this success story in this face:

Before:
http://www.carolynsfacialfitness.com/image/obj456geo414pg6p3.png
Strong wrinkling on the neck
Hanging eye-lids
Parchment-like skin
Strong wrinkles around the neck
and eyes and mouth
Dark circles under eyes
"Bumpy" chin
Over-all "tired look"!
February, 2001

After:
http://www.carolynsfacialfitness.com/image/obj280geo190pg6p3.jpg
Notice how smooth her neck
has become. How full and smooth
her cheeks are now! Dark circles are
a thing of the past! How many of
you feel you could take this kind of
"close-up" picture (without any
make-up) at age 57?
April, 2004

The only thing with face exercises is you can't spot train. You have to exercise all the muscles as they are interconnected and that's where people get lazy. But 15 minutes a day to keep your face looking it's best, I don't think is too much to ask.

The other thing I can think of but know very little about is copper peptides. You should probably go to SkinBio forum and look around for this topic or join and post a thread on it yourself. Dr Pickart is an expert on the subject of how CPs thicken the skin.

[Val]

I looked at the pics and my eyes are not puffy at all..... I don't have that tired look. The pigment is just dark. My grandmother was the same and it's been that way since I was a little girl.

I also saw on the today show...a doctor said that facial exercises cause more wrinkling in the long run.

so many conflicting stories :wallbash:

[Nonie]

Girl, doctors will say that coz they'd rather make a quick buck from you by injecting you with Botox every few months. I have been doing face exercises for 18 years now and I have no intention of every quitting. They have given me such confidence that I have not had the temptation to try retinols or CPs or any of the so-called anti-aging remedies out there. The lady in the pic was in her 50's hence the sag. The dark circles are in addition to bags...and she got rid of both. Funny how these doctors who say face exercises bring on wrinkles in the long run don't actually show proof. It's also a shame that there's no one actually doing the research to prove scientifically the improvement in elasticity in faces from doing face exercise. The proof is only in the pudding, I guess.

I think the only time you might get wrinkles is if you do a very aggressive program that leads to pulling hard on your skin. It is to face exercises that I owe the wonderful surprises I get when I'm carded. I don't usually buy alcohol since I don't drink, but on one day, I went shopping with my brother's friend who's in her early 20's to buy booze for him and my Dad. As we were checking out, the lady asked me for my card. Then she exclaimed, "You're over 30?!!" Unperturbed, I nodded. She told her coworker who also stared in disbelief. Unsure what that had to do w/ my card and why she apologized, I asked the girl who's a frequent buyer of booze and she explained that they only card you if you look like you're under 30 to make sure you're over 21. :grin: Then my bro's friend added that she's insulted by that because no one has ever carded her. :p Could be they know her, but still if they thought I was under 30, then I guess I am doing something right.

[SouthernTease]

It's genetic... I have it too... wear makeup and call it a day.
No but really if anybody knows a cure... I'm interested !

[SouthernTease]

I looked at the pics and my eyes are not puffy at all..... I don't have that tired look. The pigment is just dark. My grandmother was the same and it's been that way since I was a little girl.

I also saw on the today show...a doctor said that facial exercises cause more wrinkling in the long run.

so many conflicting stories :wallbash:

I've read articles where Tyra Banks & Zoe Saldana have this same issue. it's not puffy just dark... I totally get you... oh dermablend is an awesome make up for this also Studio FX by MAC (if you're taking photos) is really awesome. Until we find a cure... we can just cover it up. Hopefully someone in here knows something extra... i had a lady come up to me once she looked very african bohemian and she said i should try something but i totally disregarded what she said... i don't remember i was very close minded back then... something you do with hot water or something...

[Nonie]

Another simple trick is to make sure you're using sunscreen in that area. Also don't forget that because the skin is thin, it tends to sink in in that area so you might be seeing a shadow cast by you eyes/eyelid which might stick out more. I also think doing something different to that area than you do to the rest of the face (and I don't mean concealer; I think that's fine. I mean applying different products) could lead to the skin looking different. *shrug*

You may also want to look into copper peptides. I haven't used them but there are people who swear by them. I do understand you go through an ugly stage, which in itself scares the heck out of me that I won't even try. But looking at the link below, the girls eyes before would appear to have dark circles because of the thin sunken skin which later appears thicker in the after pic:

http://www.dianayvonne.com/category/16c.michelle/

About genetics, I like the definition someone in the hair forum gave although I'll probably screw it up since I cannot remember it well. It was something like "Genetics load the gun, and the environment pulls the trigger" and I totally agree w/ that. Not only have I seen people change the history in their family by following a different regimen, but I've also witnessed it in my own life.

[Divine_Order]

Dark circles around the eyes run in my family. I don't know at what age it starts, but I've started rubbing my eye area nightly with either vitamin e cream or a collagen cream. So far so good.:yep:

Oh, and drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of rest..of course!:)

[Val]

well I ordered a cream from avon so I hope it does something for it

I drink about 80oz or more water a day and I continue to eat healthy.

in the meantime I'll do like southerntease and cover it up

I'll try facial exercises too

[~~HoneyComb~~]

I've had dark circles all my life and I've tried everything under the sun to get rid of them. They've gotten a little darker as I've gotten old. I eat a pretty decent diet, drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep, I've also started doing facial exercises. If I don't do these it looks a lot worse. It's hereditary. I've learned to deal with them by using a concealer that matches my skin tone so that it's not as noticeable. I wish there was a cream out there that would make them go away.

[~~HoneyComb~~]

well I ordered a cream from avon so I hope it does something for it

I drink about 80oz or more water a day and I continue to eat healthy.

in the meantime I'll do like southerntease and cover it up

I'll try facial exercises too


Let me know if this cream works for you Val.

[SignatureBeauty]

I am in the same boat and I have tried everything under the sun and nothing works, there are not hereditary, I do eat better and drink water , I have also tried stuff from avon and that didn't work, I tried bleaching creams and ended up looking like a racoon, with light eyes and dark face, like I had a mask around my eyes. I really hate facial makeup but that seems to be my only hope to cure it temporarily. I have some vitamin e capsules that I heard really helps, so I might try to rub that under my eyes really good and see how it goes. But I am so tired of trying to rid myself of them.

[LittleGoldenLamb]

You need to apply Vitamin K.


Collagen can't penetrate skin as well as people advertise. Copper molecules are too big.

Vitamin K builds up skin and blood vessels.

There's a Vita-K treatment sold at Walgreens I used and got to 50% darkness.

Mine is hereditary on BOTH sides and I have a flawless diet.

After that I began applying AcneFree's pocmark treatment. I get mine at Meijer's. You're not supposed to put it around your eyes...but it is stimulating collagen production (my own, not claiming to add collagen somehow which topical stuff cannot) for sure. The skin around my eyes is getting fuller and the circles less!

In a few months I believe I'll be circle free for the first time.

Mine are also "carved" into my face. I have had them since I was FOUR. I ALWAYS looked sickly with pitch-black (my own mother asked me if I had been hit in the face once after seeing me without concealer for the first time in a while) circles on honey-biege skin. They went ALL THE WAY TO MY EYEBROWS and out towards my temples! I was never a cute or healthy looking child because of them.

Vita-K for two-three months followed by this is slowly helping my skin thicken and remain stronger.

Disclaimer...I eat NO:

Fast food
Restaurant food
Processed food
Wheat products
White flour
White sugar
High fructose Corn syrup
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Trans fats
Red meat

I also only eat hormone free dairy, eggs, and meat. Drink gallons of green tea a week (The real kind directly from a tea farmer in China, not pitiful Lipton or the cheap kind they sell in America. I had to take classes to learn how to brew it properly), and avoid other chemicals in beauty products where I can. I eat tons of veggies, lean pork and chicken, fruit, grains (other than wheat), and fish.

That said:

Even WITH such an impeccable diet I had these horrific dark circles until I did the Acnefree/Vita-K combo. I've had make-up artists at make-up counters actually GASP when they removed my concealer. This is changing all of that.

Just thought I'd share.

[~~HoneyComb~~]

Some great info Littlegoldlamb, i'll have to try it, it can't hurt. I watch my diet, limit salt, eat whole grains, fish, take flaxseed oil, drink green tea, and even with that I still have the circles.

[ralix]

Oooh wee, littlegoldlamb! Thanks for sharing! It sounds like you and EYE :grin: have the same problem. Gonna try that Vita-K! I have tried so many products, including almond oil and nothing helped. I've had my problem since I was little (can see it in baby pics) but over the last 4 or so years, it's gotten worse! Hope your remedy works for me!

[locabouthair]

Oooh wee, littlegoldlamb! Thanks for sharing! It sounds like you and EYE :grin: have the same problem. Gonna try that Vita-K! I have tried so many products, including almond oil and nothing helped. I've had my problem since I was little (can see it in baby pics) but over the last 4 or so years, it's gotten worse! Hope your remedy works for me!

same here. except no one in my family has them.

I also heard dark circles can be caused by anemia or lack of iron. I have been anemic for years but I'm not sure if thats the main cause of mine.

I'll try that vita k stuff.

[ralix]

well...I got the Vita-K yesterday, then took it back to Walgreen's! I got a little scared after reading a lot of reviews on makeupalley.com that said people experienced a lot of stinging and irritation. :ohwell:

I'm still gonna try the AcneFree though. I also heard circles could be caused by an iron deficiency, so I started taking an iron supp daily but I saw no difference. The search continues...

[MonaRae]

I had the same issue due to lack of sleep but after I started drinking 1 gallon of water daily it is no longer an issue. I just notice this yesterday.

[Val]

I got the gel yesterday and I'm using it for the first time tonight

I'll keep you all posted.

[~~HoneyComb~~]

Bumping.....