Hey,
I'm 39. Like many women my age, I suffer from dark circles under my eyes. Unlike many others, they are permanent and never, ever clear up after a good night's sleep. I sport regularly, eat well, and go to bed a a healthy time. I am, therefore, quite sure that my dark circles are not being caused by lifestyle factors.
In an act of desperation, because these circles really do make me look old as well as permanently worn out, I googled it. Some people mentioned bleaching dark circles. Will this help, and is it even safe? Is there anyone here who has tried this?
TIA.
If — and only your dermatologist can really tell you for sure, as already mentioned — your dark circles are caused by pigmentation issues, then "bleaching" them with hydroquinone cream can work wonders. This is because hydroquinone is known to strongly inhibit melanin production, sending not only dark circles under your eyes but also dark spots elsewhere on your face, packing really quite fast. You may also strongly benefit from a vitamin C serum under your eyes, as vitamin C too has natural lightening properties. However, and we have had thread on this board about dark circles before, it is important to keep in mind that your dark circles may not have the cause you suspect it does.
If by any chance your dark circles are caused by blood vessels, rubbing and massaging your skin will increase blood flow to the area and only make your circles look worse. So beware and only remove your eye makeup gently without massaging.
There's also concealers of course. They offer instant "bleaching"! You may still look the same underneath, but who really cares if you can't see that and all everyone can see is a bright looking person?
I have dark skin and had the same problem as you. After asking friends and reading up on the problem, I have tried several things, some of which made a real improvement to my dark circles. I did increase my sleep for a whole, but that made no difference. Drinking more water did help, I think. Radically cutting down on salt and sleeping on a more elevated pillow did reduce the puffiness I had, which made the dark circles look worse. I also committed to never sleeping without makeup on, something else I read makes dark circles look more pronounced. I also got and use Ambi skin bleaching cream. This has made an immense difference.
I hope some of my experiences will help you and that you will find a way to fade your dark circles.
Have you tried with simple lemon juice? I know it sounds too good to be true, but it has helped many people. Full disclosure: I am not among them. I tried and failed and it turns out that my dark circles are caused by hypervascularity. So, if the problem is pigmentation then lemon juice will help you and if not, you need more radical treatments or just a very good concealer to deal with your dark circles. It is not easy to figure out the cause and indeed, you may have to see a dermatologist to get to the bottom of the cause of yours.
Rosie
And one more...
Talking about which, I think the skin under the eyes is simply really sensitive, and while home remedies like lemon juice, vitamin E oil, cucumber and raw potato can all help lessen the problem, there is also something to be said for a good concealer. Really, after a certain point, makeup is the only thing that can eliminate the appearance of dark under eye circles altogether.
Anastasia Beverly Hills has a good under eye concealer that comes in 15 different shades to suit people of most skin tones. I personally also like Kat Von D's Lock It concealer cream, which is very covering.