I have been a makeup junkie since I was in high school, but I didn’t learn about skin care until I was in my 20s. Most young women don’t think about skincare, I mean why would you? It’s the time of your life when your skin is most radiant, but my 20s is also when I discovered that I had dark under eye circles. I was mortified and the first thing I did was figure out how to cover up dark circles with makeup. I naively thought that this was a long term solution. It took me a few years to realize that covering them up isn’t enough, not even with makeup products designed for concealing discoloration. The long term solution for my problem was incorporating eye care into my daily skin care routine to get rid of dark circles once and for all!
Getting to Know Your Under Eye Skin
The skin under your eyes, also referred to as periorbital, is very delicate and thin compared to the skin on the rest of your body. It also happens to have fewer water and oil glands. Because of this, the area is prone to dark circles caused by hyper pigmentation, age, fatigue, damaged blood vessels, or too many late night drinks. Hey, I’m not judging. Unfortunately, your daily moisturizer won’t cut it in getting rid of the dark circles because the product is not designed for the under eye area. The under eye area is very delicate and it’s the most sensitive skin on your body. It requires a product that effective, yet light enough to gently penetrate this area.
The best way to eliminate these circles is by using an eye cream. This product is a must have in your skin care regimen, but it’s easier said than done. When I first decided to buy an eye cream, picking the right product was an overwhelming task. There are so many products to pick from, with ingredients that range from natural ingredients to clinically proven chemicals, so how do you know which one is right for you?
One thing to keep in mind is an eye cream should do more than just get rid of the dark circles. It should rejuvenate the skin under your eye making it more youthful and also repair any damage to the area. A quality product should not cause you any discomfort like burning or stinging upon application. After doing extensive research when I was selecting an eye cream, I put together some ingredients to look for when choosing the perfect eye cream to remove dark circles.
Effective Ingredients that Diminish Dark Circles
Peptides and Retinoids
Since aging can result in dark circles, retinoids and peptides are an important ingredient in the eye cream you choose. These two ingredients are the go to anti-aging agents. They fight aging by tightening skin tissue. Peptides like Palmitoyl Oligopeptide and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide, stimulate collagen production which rejuvenates the skin. Remember, collagen is what makes skin appear plump, so collagen is critical to avoid fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes.
From my personal experience, I have seen the best results in an eye cream from the Image Skincare Intense Brightening Eye Crème. This particular product includes peptides and innovative lightening agents that help me see results with just one use.
Kojic Acid, Arbutin and Vitamin C
These three products are used for skin lightening. Kojic acid is the preferred skin lightening agent for most cosmetic companies and is derived from mushrooms. Arbutin is also a skin lightening agent derived from the leaves of a bearberry bush, while vitamin C is well known in lightening dark pigmentation. The best eye creams have at least one of these ingredients to effectively combat dark pigmentation.
One of my favorite vitamin C infused eye creams is the Image Skincare Vital C Hydrating Eye Recovery Gel. This product not only helps to reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffiness, but it also includes hyaluronic gel to increase the effectiveness of the vitamin C.
Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone
This is another common ingredient that protects the blood vessels under your eyes from damage. On its own, Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone is a very powerful ingredient. However, its results are amplified when combined with peptides like the above Palmitoyl Oligopetide and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide. The results can literally be seen in days, so it’s perfect for those who are seeking fast results.
Chrysin
This is an antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory properties. Because of the sensitivity of the skin under your eye, certain ingredients found in the products can easily irritate and inflame the area. As a vasorelaxant, Chrysin reduces the tension in the blood vessels under your eyes, promoting blood flow.
Arnica
I’ve been hearing so much about Arnica lately, mostly for its quick healing properties. Arnica also helps in dilating the blood vessels for improved blood flow. Derived from the arnica montana plant, it produces an oil called thymol. Due to thymol’s dilation properties, the freely flowing blood relieves discoloration.
Vitamin K
This vitamin is essential in repairing the damaged blood vessels under your eyes. Considering the fact that bruising, caused by damaged and leaking blood vessels is the reason for the dark circles, repairing the vessels will make the dark circles disappear. Vitamin K is used universally in healing any internal hemorrhaging as well as topical abrasions.
Grape seed and Pomegranate seed Extract, Genisten, and Alpha lipoic acid
An effective eye cream needs antioxidants to help repair the skin. These antioxidants help to protect cells from damage while also repairing them. They are an extremely important component of anti-aging products because they promote cell rejuvenation.
Caffeine
Although it is also a home remedy, it is found in many eye creams to get rid of dark circles. Caffeine has anti-inflammatory properties that remove fluid buildup under the eye and the right cream can significantly reduce puffiness under the eyes within minutes. For example the OZNaturals Matrix 6 Mega Bright Eyes Gel worked really well for me to brighten my under eye circles and the caffeine in this product de-puffed my eyes quickly.
I wish I could say that their is a one size fits all solution to picking the right eye cream, but the truth is that doesn’t exist. Everyone has products that work best on their individual needs, as well as their skin type. Plus, no one ingredient can claim to solely eliminate dark circles under the eyes. Effective products are a combination of many of the ingredients mentioned above. When looking at eye cream reviews, remember to look for products which have components that work well together. Do not concentrate on the price tag as most people think the more expensive the product, the more effective it will be. This is a false assumption. The key to finding the right product for you is in checking the ingredients and their concentrations.
In case you are wondering what I’m currently doing to manage my under eye circles, I’m using a combination of products to both treat the area and conceal the area. I find that this gives me the best results for my needs. In the morning I apply the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Eye Cream, paired with their Bye Bye Under Eye Illumination Full Coverage Anti-Aging Concealer. If you haven’t tried their concealer, you are missing out. It not only covers the under eye area, but it also has ingredients that treat the area too. Then, at night I like to use my Image Skincare Vital C Hydrating Recovery Gel. This gel is very light and doesn’t feel heavy on my skin at night.
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