You know that saying. Out of the mouths of babes?
Quite a few years ago.. around the age of 40, I was given a compliment that at first you would think, not really a compliment at all, more of a comment. But really, I love this kind of backhanded compliment or perhaps it’s just me finding the silver lining in someones tactless remarks.
You don’t see it coming and even when it hits you right over the head, you’re not quite sure whether it was meant to offend or flatter. It’s the kind of comment that stays with you forever it seems.
These compliments usually come from the mouths of babes. On this occasion, it was from a guy I had been seeing.. yes, okay he was younger than me, quite a bit younger, but it was a fun time and as they say, Umm, I don’t know what they say.. let’s get on with it shall we..
It was so simple, my young man informed me that despite my dotage (remembering I was 40 at the time, which now at 54 seems positively youthful), he was amazed that I didn’t have that tired look that most ‘old’ people have!!! Yep, pretty romantic right! He meant well.
So what is this tired look we ‘old people’ get? I guess what he meant was dark circles and bags under my eyes.. At 40, through the eyes of his youth, I was remarkably well preserved or at least not tired.
Feeling bad about your dark circles? Just tired, getting older or is it something else?
It’s true as we get older, our eyes do take on a tired appearance and given it is now 14 years since that lovely compliment and my cougar status is well behind me, I shall uncover a few reasons why we start to look tired around the eyes as we age and a few solutions.
Lines of expression around the eyes can appear very early on in life and personally, a few well worn laugh lines around your eyes are just fine and as the late but forever lovely Lauren Bacall reflected “I think your whole life reflects in your face and you should be proud of that” I agree, but of course, Lauren said nothing about looking tired.
Reasons why you may begin to look tired or what to do about dark circles.
It can be hereditary. Yes, some of us, just have darkness around or under our eyes. It’s in our genes. But it’s not the dark, bleak tired look, no more just a dark shadow or darker pigmented skin and even though it’s genetic, sometimes the cause can be allergies, sinus congestion or digestive problems (the last one, I shall discuss in a moment).
You’re just tired. Go get some sleep. If you are burning the candle at both ends, it’s doesn’t matter how old you are, you will end up with dark circles. But if insomnia is your problem, don’t just suffer night after night, go and see your doctor, there may be an underlying cause and she or he may be able to offer solutions, although hopefully not sleeping tablets as they are said to be addictive and even life shortening. There is a book I have recently come across which goes into great detail on all things sleep. A good read if insomnia is your problem.
Vitamin Deficiencies. I am big fan of ensuring you get all the nutrients you need from whole foods, but sometimes our body doesn’t assimilate everything we need from our diet and it can show up as dark circles. There are blood tests to measure how much of any vitamin you have in your bloodstream or you can seek out the advice of a natural therapies practitioner or you can assume you never quite get enough (especially as we get older) and find a very good quality multi vitamin solution.
Eye Strain. No matter who you are, or how 20/20 your vision is now, one day you will begin to develop problems with your vision, before you admit to this, you will go through a period of denial and it is during this time where eye strain can lead to dark circles. Embrace your next big fashion statement and go get your eyes checked, you’re going to look fabulous in those Prada frames!
Smoking. I have nothing to say about this, except perhaps just one thing. Are you crazy? You smoke? Okay, maybe once upon a time it looked glamourous. but really? If you insist, but remember this. You are going to look tired as you starve every cell of your body of oxygen every time you imbibe the insidious weed known as tobacco. That’s all. Rant over.
Digestive issues. Doctors and naturopaths who practice preventive medicine would say, just by looking at your face they can see your digestion issues. The idea gives me a somewhat naked feeling but as bashful as I might feel, I do believe it to be quite true.
Dark circles could indeed be little clues to your internal world. It’s important to fix any digestive issues, as it’s not just your beauty that will be affected, your overall health will be compromised. Of course, there are the obvious solutions, such as increasing your consumption of high fibre vegetables and increase foods rich in probiotics. If you want a more complete list and a few more answers to digestive problem you could visit this website over here.
Loss of the little fat pads under your eyes. As we age we have a tendency to put on weight. Annoying areas like our torso begin to accumulate fat and depending on your diet can be difficult to shift. Unfortunately, the fat under your eyes where you’d like it to stay right where it is, slowly exits the area under your eyes (where it goes, who knows) and when this happens, the blood vessels under those little fat pads reveal themselves. Not only does this give an appearance of dark circles but also a sort of hollowed out appearance..
Okay, so that’s a bit of a list and I hope it helps a little in why it is that we begin to look tired. But I know, what you are really after is solutions. Okay. If you are quite certain that your dark circles are not caused by some kind of internal disruption and it’s just that old march of time, then you may want to consider these solutions. They may help.
Eye Creams. Firstly, any eye cream that suggests you will get rid of your dark circles should be banned from sale. However, a well formulated and sophisticated eye cream is a must and will definitely help with the texture and tone and hydration of your skin, but when it comes to dark circles you will need a lot more than the topical application of an eye cream, even if it is enriched with wonderful things like vitamin k, to improve circulation, the results will be limited at best.
I recommend the use of eye creams loaded with hyaluronic acid as a great way to give the skin a boost throughout the day. Don’t save it for a once or twice a day treatment. Several times throughout the day when you’re feeling a little jaded around the eyes is wonderful, straight over your makeup is fine. Try it, you’ll see.
Chemical peels. Yes, this one can help. The best option is Lactic or Mandelic acids as they not only improve cell turnover, they encourage hydrating enzymes to plump up the eye area and lessen the appearance of dark circles.
Most beauty therapists and cosmetic physicians will steer clear of the eye area for fear of getting any of the peel in your eyes or because the skin is thinner and too delicate. A fair concern, although I do believe if you are in the hands of a skilled and confident practitioner it can be done and the results are worth any initial discomfort or redness.
Injectable Fillers. Yep, you can get the skin under the eyes filled with an anti ageing injectable filler. Hyaluronic acid is injected into the area known as the tear trough. If you are going down this path, then find yourself a very experienced injecting nurse or doctor, as if they fill in the wrong part of the under eye area, the solution can appear worse than the problem you went in for. But, not to put you off, the results can be very satisfying. If you are in Australia I suggest heading over to this website directory for a cosmetic physician near you.
Laser Therapy. I’m a fan of laser for improving the skin but when it comes to dark circles, some say it can help, while others say not so much. In any case it will depend on the underlying causes and once again if you decide on laser, the overall improvement to your skin and the boost to your collagen will make a big difference and potentially alleviate the appearance of dark circles. Get a full professional consult first so you can make a well considered and informed decision before you proceed.
Finally,
Remember most dark circles are either caused by internal or are genetic factors. As for tea bags, cucumbers and any other home remedy, there are a trillion on youtube you could try, okay, maybe not a trillion, but either way, personally, I’m not much of a fan of the old home remedy, not because they do or don’t work.. it’s just all a bit too messy for me and there are much better answers to this problem. I just don’t think it’s a tea bag.
And now you.
If you have a remedy or solution that you think works brilliantly then don’t be shy, share with us all. Oh yes and if you think this article could benefit a friend then share away on your favourite social media and thanks so much doing it.
See you next time.
