HOW TO HIDE DARK CIRCLES & EYE BAGS

Too little or irregular sleep can be a cause of both the appearance of dark circles and eye bags. That’s because when we don't spend enough time in the land of nod we can wake up with paler skin which makes blood capillaries under the eyes more visible. And when we’re tired, blood circulation tends to slow and fluid builds up under our eyes, making our eye bags more pronounced and darker. So get a regular bedtime routine where you’re in bed well before midnight with all your gadgets turned off to avoid distractions.

Funny to think that for everything we are, we are 60% of the stuff that comes out of taps – i.e. water. But that’s the way it is, our body is a little reservoir with all kinds of amazing things going on in there. But if our internal reservoir starts to get low on reserves and dehydration sets in, then our amazing body decides to try to hang on to some of that precious H20, and that’s called water retention, and it can mean those eye bags are somewhat inflated. So, if you’ve heard it once, we know you’ve heard it a million times, but get two litres or about 10 medium sized glasses of water in that beautiful body reservoir each day.

Jeeper creepers, where did you get those peepers’, is not something you want to be singing to yourself when you look in the mirror because you didn’t protect those beautiful eyes from the sun’s harmful rays. Because the skin around our eyes is thinner than elsewhere we need to be vigilant with our SPF. When skin is trying to protect itself from the sun it produces a dark pigment called melanin and this can disperse unevenly and create the appearance of dark circles. To avoid another lecture, make sure you top up with a high SPF before you leave home.

We think the ageing process is something to be celebrated. Wisdom says the only thing in life that is certain is change, and we love how more time on earth develops our character and a uniquely experienced point of view. So, sometimes eye bags are just that awe-inspiring sign of your wisdom and inner strength – simply gravity doing its thing as we lose collagen as we get older. This means sometimes with age come wise owl dark-circles as the skin thins or eye bags form as the skin’s tissues adapt to time spent on earth. We say, go with it, you are more powerful and beautiful than you know.

Do you have a salty or sweet tooth? Salt is a vital part of our diet but modern meals tend to contain way more salt than we need. If we have too much salt our interior fresh water reservoir turns into a salty sea and our body goes into its panic water retention mode, which can result in eye bags. Check the salt content on all your salty snacks and ready meals if you’re worried about eye bags. As a ballpark, a healthy adult's daily intake of salt should be about 1500mg and that’s equal to just under three-quarters of a teaspoon. And one more time, load up on fresh veggies and whole foods to help keep water retention at bay.

For lots of us springtime means parks, trees and flowery romance, but for as many of us it signals the start of allergy season. It’s jeepers creepers time for eye bags and dark circles as pollen and pollutants trigger the body's response to these pesky irritants. Our body releases histamine causing blood vessels around the eyes to swell and herald the arrival of darker and swollen areas. And then comes the itch and the unbearable need to rub our eyes – catch-22 of course, making them redder and more swollen. We’d advise if you’re stuck in this horror cycle to talk to your doctor. One thing you can do, which eyes always thank us for is make sure you take makeup off before bed. A little bit of kindness always goes a long way.

We’re hoping you already know this – smoking is a rubbish idea for your body and your health. Fact. But if you need any more encouragement and you’re worried about dark circles or eye bags then it’s even more of a no-no. Smoking is a real dehydrator for skin and depletes your body of important reserves of vitamin C. And this is the beauty that helps create collagen, that clever stuff that plumps up our skin and gives us a youthful glow. As collagen disappears, our eye skin gets thinner and those dark circles and eye bags can give you a real fright. We say, quit smoking for your skin and all round awesomeness.

Often eye bags appear when blood vessels under the eyes dilate and more blood in the area can cause fluids to accumulate and the appearance of dark circles. So a cold press is a simple effective idea to help them constrict and appear less puffy. Get a bowl of cold water, add some ice cubes, soak one of our Muslin Cloths so it’s chilly to touch, and then apply to the area under your eyes and leave for a few minutes.

Or go one step further and use two black tea bags (builder’s or breakfast tea to you and me) and dip in cold water then pop in the fridge for half an hour. Then place under or over your eyes and leave for five to fifteen minutes. The tannins in caffeinated tea are believed to help stimulate the area and freshen up your fatigued eyes.

If you’re a good sleeper and can adapt to different sleeping positions this simple eye-bag hack might be the one for you. Adjust your pillows (you may need to borrow one from a friend so you have at least three), so that you're sleeping comfortably with your head, neck and shoulders slightly raised. Using gravity this will help ward off fluids accumulating under your eyes.

You know your eye areas are sensitive souls as well as being the gateways to your soul and the skin is much thinner in this area. So be kind and on the lookout for products that are gentle and calming. Remember to remove makeup every night to allow your eyes to recover from the day’s hard graft.

Every good beauty sleeper knows that 8 hours is a good amount to wake up looking refreshed and feeling ready for action in the morning. It’s a well known fact that the blue light mobiles and laptop screens emit and the constant communication we receive on them overstimulates our brain before bed. So say goodnight to your devices at least an hour before bed and pop an old fashioned alarm clock in your room for that morning wake up call.

You know it. We’re made up of sixty percent water and we need constant hydration to help our body to feel like it doesn’t need to hang on to water and store it in strange places around our body, like under our eyes. So that means two litres or about 10 medium size glasses of fresh water every day. Top tip – avoid loading up before bed as you might wake up in the night needing a bathroom visit.

Staying on the hydration tip with what you eat too. Keep salty and sweet snacks as a treat rather than your daily go-tos. That’s because they dehydrate your body and send it into a panic, causing water retention and eye bags. For so many reasons, including they have high water content, at least five veggies a day is the way to go. Your skin will thank you for all the glow-enhancing nutrients too.