Uncovering The Dark Secrets Behind Panda Eyes

You sleep 8 hours a night and still suffer from Raccoon eyes – you are not alone, dark circles can be genetic. Though most people associate them with fatigue, but lack of sleep and hours on electronic screens are not the only reason dark circles exist around your eyes. These murky halos underlining the eyes can also be shadows cast by puffy eyelids. Loss of fat under the lower eyelid can also causes deep hollows that develop as a normal part of aging.

Let’s Dig Deeper — Most common causes leading to dark circles include:

• Allergies like dermatitis leading to skin irritation with frequent rubbing or scratching of the eyes or sinusitis leading to engorged blood vessels and heme (iron) deposits under the skin.
• Fatigue in the form of too much time staring at electronic screens and late nights.
• Heredity has its part to play here too, as Panda eyes run in families.
• Pigmented Skin Type which presents itself as a common concern in people prone to irregular pigmentation patches on different parts of the body especially Middle Eastern, blacks and Asians.
• Excessive sun exposure prompting melanin production can lead to exaggerated pigment deposits under the sensitive eye areas.
• Aging leading to loss of fat and skin thinning in the delicate area around the eyes is the most common cause in people above 35 years of age.

You Are In A Hurry — Let’s Decipher The Easy Way Out For A Quick Fix

The right concealer can do just that — hide dark circles. While choosing the concealer it is important to know the color palette to conceal. If the circles under your eyes are bluish, use a peach-colored concealer, not one that's white or gray. Avoid scented products and those containing salicylic or glycolic acid, which can irritate delicate eye tissue, making redness and swelling worse. Covering up the nebulous shadows using makeup concealers coupled with dark circle preventing cosmeceuticals gives you dual benefit — camouflage as well as treatment (I recommend Isispharma’s Light eyes or DDF’s Erayse Eye Gel). 
Auriga’s Cernor Coverstick and XO kit has also got you covered real well when it comes to 2-in-1 action. The moisturizer-enriched coverstick covers up pigmentation while protecting the delicate skin around the eyes. Couple it with Cernor XO kit containing vitamin K oxide, vitamin C, phytic acid, rutin sulfate, ferulic acid and helenalin tiglate and you have treatment as well as camouflage all taken care of.

Make A Real Difference - Treatments

Peels: Chemical or laser peels can help remove the extra melanin deposits in the skin. When coupled with skin lightening and tightening home skincare deliver beautiful results in a short span of time.

Lasers: Pulse dye or Nd-Yag lasers that help treat the exaggerated blood vessels under the skin because of heredity or life style are extremely useful in eradicating dark circles on long term basis.

Injectables: Low G prime hyaluronic acid injections done strategically can give instantly glorious results. The shadows are also wiped away partially as the deep groove under the eye gets filled-up. The filler spread under the skin like an invisible layer lifting and supporting the damaged skin and masking engorged blood vessels (red, blue or green tint) or heme deposition (brown color) under the skin.

PRP: Platlet Rich Plasma drawn from your our own blood holds the power to heal and regenerate the delicate area around the eyes.

Banish ‘Em For Good - Long Term Solutions & Prevention

Once you have ruled out all medical reasons for pigmentation around your peepers and sought treatment to erase them the next big task is to stop them from coming back. Here’re some of my tried and tested suggestions:

Sleep Well: Sleepless nights cause blood vessels to engorge around the eye area leading to excessive leakage. Iron in the blood collects under the thin skin and once oxidized leaves dark stains. Lack of sleep also makes you paler and more hollow-eyed, so shadows and circles you already have appear more obvious.

Use Extra Pillows: Sleeping with your head elevated prevents fluid accumulation around during night. Puffiness and dark circles develop as a result that.

Healthy Eating: One life mantra you can always count on is: the healthier you eat, the better your skin is going to look. For dark circles, you need a healthy dose of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, iron and folic acid. So gorge on healthy does of citrus fruits, berries, green leafy veggies, nuts, whole grains, avocado, seafood, beef, cheese, green tea etc. and do away with processed and greasy foods.

Cold Therapy: Chilled teaspoons or cucumber slices help reduce dilated blood vessels hence preventing dark circles from reappearing. Cold slices of potato or refrigerated used teabags work equally well.

Sunscreen: People prone to skin pigmentations should avoid sun. Excessive melanin production can also be controlled with religious use of sunscreens and dark UVA & B protective glasses.

Keep Sinusitis Under Check: Rinsing your sinuses with a saltwater solution or over-the-counter saline spray can help relieve nasal congestion. To make your own sinusitis check concoction mix 1/4 teaspoon sea salt with 2 cups warm water and flush away allergies and resulting dark circles.

Cosmeceuticals: Hundreds of skin creams that claim to reduce or prevent under-eye circles crowd drugstore shelves. When looking for eye-creams look for active ingredients like: Vitamin A, C, K, and caffeine. I recommend: Dermaceutic K Ceutic, Cernor XO Kit, SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Eye Complex and Comfort Zone Sublime Eye cream.