I was born with dark circles under my eyes and it never really bothered me expect for everyone saying “you look tired” or “did you get enough sleep?”. When the 100th person asked me that, I started to look for ways to decrease the black circles under my eyes. Lets, take a look at what causes puffy eyes and dark circles. The swelling of your eyes is caused by an excessive accumulation of fluids in the surrounding eye tissue. There a variety of factors that can cause your eyes to be puffy and swollen including:

• Allergies that can cause inflammation and swelling.

• Dehydration

• Lack of sleep

• Stress

• Aging

• Sinus problems

• Crying

Remedies to temporary remove the swelling/circles:

1. Cold cucumber slices – this is old news. We are all familiar with putting cucumbers on your eyes. For those who do not know this, strategically place a cool cucumber slice on your eyes and leave on for about 10 minutes. Cucumber contains caffeic acid which helps the compound of restricted blood vessels, cucumber also contains Vitamin C which helps to sooth irritated skin. The cold temperature also helps to de-puff eyes. If you need to, slice off a piece and place on the eyes, while taking a relaxing bath!

2. Stay away from too much salt. Water will always find its way from parts of your body that are low in sodium to those that are higher. The area around your eyes are the prime circle and that is why water tends to form there causing your eyes to swell.

3. Switch your sleep position. If you are sleeping on your stomach this may be the cause of your swelling eyes. Gravity causes fluid to collect under your eyes, which might explain those bags under your eyes. Switch your position by sleeping on your back, and if you want to you can sleep on an extra pillow to avoid swelling under your eyes.

4. Sliced Potatoes
This is an odd I know – but just try it. Cut a 4-6.5-inch slice – big enough to cover the whole eye. Place a slice on each eye for about 10 minutes, repeat with fresh slices on each eye until puffiness has been reduced. Why potatoes? Potatoes contain anti-inflammatory enzyme catecholase, which helps to improve bagginess and diminish dark circles.

5. I feel I don’t even have to say this but I NEED to. Take off your make up before going to bed. If you do not take of your make before bed it causes your eyes to water which causes morning-after puffiness. Wash it off with soap or water to reduce the chance of getting morning-after puffiness.

6. Green tea has many benefits for your skin. Green tea is packed with antioxidants that helps fight off free radicals and it has anti-inflammatory properties which is a great treatment for swelling. Green tea’s tannins act as a gentle astringent and its caffeine helps to constrict blood flow which causes swelling. How do we apply it? Soak 2 tea bags in ice water for several minutes then cover your eyes with them and wait 15-20 minutes for best results.