Give thanks for the miraculous concealer Touche Eclat and huge sunglasses seen on celebrities coming off long-haul flights. They hide a multitude of sins, including under-eye shadows. I’m often asked how to get rid of those dark circles which can make us look like pandas or a Lucien Freud portrait.
Why do we get them? The most common reason is ‘vascular pooling’ where the skin’s micro-circulation becomes sluggish in the tiny blood vessels under the eyes. This usually starts with lack of sleep, anxiety, hormonal imbalance, poor diet, digestive problems and dehydration.
Allergies and regular or intense pressure around the eyes also disrupts blood flow and causes discolouration and toxic build-up. Do you wear glasses whilst looking at a computer or iPad for hours? Very light tapping around the eye sockets (like touching a hot iron) can improve circulation. Ideally do this mini-massage 10 times three times per day -- at your desk, watching TV, or whilst cleansing and moisturising.
In Face Reading, dark circles with a blue tinge indicate an imbalance in kidney energy which regulates the body's water balance, hydration and hormones. Acupuncture strengthens kidney and adrenal vitality depleted through stress and dehydration and alleviates those dark shadows. I also advise keeping off tea, coffee and alcohol and cutting back on salt, drinking pure water, and taking minerals and essential fatty acids found in wild salmon or Omega 3,6,9 capsules.
Puffiness often occurs at the same time as the skin around the eyes is very thin and has the highest water content of the face. And if you can see a yellow-ish or brown-ish tinge as well, it's a sign your liver is overworking! Cutting back on alcohol will help, and I prescribe thorough liver detox protocols in the Spring to reduce those bags! Lymphatic drainage in my Face Lift Massage works wonders on de-puffing and the age-old cucumber slices on the eyes trick helps by cooling and deflating the area.
If you have two bluish dots in the inner corners of your eyes, it’s another sign of adrenal stress. Two-thirds of women are constantly tired and rely on sugar and caffeine to get by! So don’t forget to put a dab of concealer in the corners as well as underneath!
Keep those sunglasses to hand, and make sure you catch up after sleep deprivation!
Keep those sunglasses to hand, and make sure you catch up after sleep deprivation!