How to Get Rid of Eye Bags and Dark Circles

There are several ways to get rid of eye bags and dark circles that you can try, especially for those of you who are often tired or don’t get enough sleep. Even though they are not dangerous, eye bags and dark circles around the eyes can make your appearance look less fresh.

Eye bags and dark circles in the eye area, also known as panda eyes, can appear with age. This happens because aging can cause a reduction in the amount of collagen in the skin around the eyes, so that the eyelids look droopier.

Read More ; 7 Ways To Maintain Eye Health

Some people may feel uncomfortable with the appearance of eye bags accompanied by dark circles under them. Especially if the complaint has caused the eyes to experience mild swelling.

To overcome this, you need to first know what is causing the eye bags you are experiencing.

Several causes of eye bags and dark circles around them

Apart from aging, the appearance of eye bags and dark circles around the eyes can also be caused by the following things:

• Fatigue and lack of sleep
• Increased amount of melanin in the skin around the eyes, for example due to excessive sun exposure
• Inflammation or hyperpigmentation
• Accumulation of fluid around the eyes, for example due to hormonal changes or consuming too much salt
• Stress

How to Get Rid of Eye Bags and Dark Circles

Basically, eye bags and dark circles that appear around the eyes can be removed with the following simple care steps:

1. Use a cold compress

Compressing the eyes is known to be effective in reducing puffy eyes and reducing dark circles around the eyes. You can compress your eyes with a clean cloth soaked in cold water or wrapped in ice. Compress the eyes for 10–15 minutes.

Apart from cold water or ice, you can also compress your eyes with wet green tea bags, cucumber slices, or a special eye gel mask.

2. Improve sleep patterns

Eye bags and panda eyes can appear if you don’t get enough sleep or are tired. Therefore, try to always get enough sleep for 7-9 hours every night.

Certain sleeping positions can also overcome the eye bags you experience. Try to sleep with your head slightly raised. You can use an additional pillow to support your head. This method is known to prevent fluid buildup around the eyes while you sleep.

3. Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated drinks

Alcoholic and caffeinated drinks are known to cause mild dehydration, disrupt sleep, and make eye bags and dark circles around them appear more obvious. Therefore, you need to limit your consumption of alcoholic and caffeinated drinks so that eye bags can disappear quickly.

4. Fulfill your body’s fluid needs

Sufficient body fluid needs can also prevent the formation of eye bags. Apart from that, to avoid fluid retention, you can reduce your intake of processed foods that contain a lot of salt.

5. Fulfill the body’s potassium intake

Meeting your potassium intake can also reduce the risk of eye bags forming. There are several food sources that contain potassium, including bananas, nuts, yoghurt and green vegetables.

6. Use special eye cream

Eye creams containing chamomile, cucumber, or arnica can also be used to reduce inflammation and tighten the skin. Apart from that, eye cream containing vitamin C, vitamin K, or vitamin E can also eliminate eye bags.

7. Use sunscreen

Avoid sun exposure and use sunscreen every day with SPF 30. Using concealer that is a shade lighter than your skin color can also help disguise dark circles under the eyes.

It is recommended that you use concealer with SPF 15 or more. If your skin tends to be oily or acne-prone, use an oil-free concealer.

Other Treatments Based on the Cause of Eye Bags

Apart from the simple methods above, you can also consult a doctor if the eye bags you are experiencing are very annoying or don’t go away.

To disguise or eliminate eye bags, doctors can provide the following treatments:

Allergy medication

If the appearance of eye bags and dark circles is caused by allergies, you can avoid the cause of the allergy and take allergy medication. The doctor will usually give antihistamine medication to relieve the allergy symptoms that appear.

Whitening cream

Using whitening cream can be a solution if eye bags and dark circles are caused by hyperpigmentation or increased melanin (the skin’s natural pigment).

Usually, the doctor will prescribe a cream that contains skin lightening agents such as retonoid or retinol, hydroquinone, kojic acid, green tea, vitamin C, or soybean extract.

Dermal fillers

Eye bags due to aging and sagging skin tissue can be treated with dermal fillers. However, this method of removing eye bags can only be done by a dermatologist or aesthetician.

Laser therapy

To remove eye bags and dark circles around them, doctors can also perform laser therapy around the eyes. However, this therapy usually only shows results after several procedures.

Laser therapy is generally only recommended if other methods are not successful in eliminating eye bags.

Eyelid Surgery to Eliminate Eye Bag Problems

If everything has been done but the problem of eye bags gets worse to the point of swelling, you can consider eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty.

Apart from eliminating eye bags, blepharoplasty can also improve swollen eyelids and reduce excess skin on the upper and lower eyelids which can interfere with vision.

However, you need to consult a doctor first before carrying out this procedure, considering that eyelid surgery has various risks, such as infection, dry eyes, bleeding in the eye, changes in the position of the eyelids, and visual disturbances.

Even though it is often considered to disturb your appearance and make your face look less fresh, eye bags and dark circles around them are not a serious medical condition.

However, you still need to consult a doctor if the eye bags that appear do not go away, get bigger or wider, or are accompanied by other complaints, such as eye irritation and severe swelling of the eyes.