Dark circles are hard to get rid of – so many women complain about looking tired, older and even ill.

Contrary to what you might think, it’s not just because you ARE tired, or haven’t been getting enough sleep, that you have dark circles. Mostly there’s not a lot you can do with them as although there’s a certain amount of lifestyle change that can help the way they look; they are pretty much genetic.

Your skin’s natural thickness and tone play a part in whether you’ll develop dark circles, as does its tone. Lighter skin tends to show them up more than a darker hue, but age and even diet can also make them worse. As we age, the skin in this area gets thinner. Veins under the skin start to show through more, causing a bluish effect.

If you’re prone to allergies or constantly rubbing your eyes, it can increase the amount of melanin pigment under your eyes and make things even worse.

What Helps?

Taking a look at what you eat could be the first step in making those dark eyes a bit brighter. We all know that processed foods are generally not great for us but many people don’t know that they can even wreak havoc on our eye areas, damaging cells and leading to discoloration.

Replacing unhealthy junk with nutritious vegetables and fruits, getting enough sleep and wearing a decent quality sun screen are all ways to improve the appearance of dark circles.

The light from working on a computer, looking at a phone or tablet and even just having the lights on indoors also has an effect on your skin, making it more sensitive to sunlight. Fight the ageing effects by always using an SPF product on the under eye and moisturizing the area every night.

Keeping Them Covered

If you’re blighted by dark circles that no amount of lifestyle changes seem to improve, you’ll probably have to resort to learning to love them or simply covering them with clever makeup. Go for a minimal approach – caking on too much concealer will look strange and possibly draw attention to the area you’re trying to minimise.

Find a light concealer that’s matched to your skin tone, and with a built in light-diffusing ingredient that gives your eyes a kind of soft-focus effect that detracts from the dark bits.

Professional Treatments for Dark Circles

A professional esthetician or dermatologist will have some ideas for helping you banish the dark eyes, but first you’ll be recommended to switch to gentle, hypoallergenic skin care products that are designed to work with your skin type. If that has no effect and the circles are still worrying you, you could opt for filler. If you go along this route, you can have filler injected deep below the skin just above the bone to make lower lid area look smoothed and younger in one treatment.