More likely than not, that creasing under your eye has probably been there since you were a child. I'll throw my eyes up here to use as an example. You can see the left side (easily seen because there was some concealer migration) that there are visible wrinkles. These aren't damage or abnormal, but rather the natural contour of my eye. If I track back to childhood photos, they've always been there. Now what will help actual wrinkles? Suncreen to prevent further damage, a retinoid to increase collagen production/cell turnover, and maybe a well formulated vitamin serum with L-Ascorbic acid. There are 3 main causes of dark circles, which can either be the sole cause or a mix of them. This is darkening of the skin under your eye. If this is the cause, something topically applied to lighten the skin (usually a melanin inhibitor plus something to speed up exfoliation/disperse melanin) is a solid bet. Kojic berry acid, for example, is a potentially helpful melanin inhibitor, though research is limited.
Things that definitely are known to reduce hyperpigmentation are AHAs --be very careful with this, vitamin C, retinoids, and even another RX topical that I'm not mentioning due to to the harshness/side effects. The latter can be discussed with a physician if ever other treatment under the sun failed and you're truly miserable, I'm not even sure it's safe for use around the eye. 2. Visible capillaries due to very thin skin: The skin under the eye is thin and delicate. Due to this, people can sometimes get visible capillaries/little blood vesels, which from a decent distance look like circles. You can either go to your derm or local med spa and get these zapped with a laser or, you can try to thicken the skin in the area to help make the caps less visible. Retinoids/(possibly)Vitamin C can also help to thicken the skin over time as well. 3. Tear Trough/Suborbital Volume Deficiency This is literally due to the structure below your eye. Nothing topically applied will cure this, though with proper placement of a brightening concealer, the appearance could be reduced.
The only thing that does "fix" this are fillers---either by your derm/NP/PA. For the tear trough, the area around your nose and orbital bone is hollowed, therefore casting a shadow, which gives the look of dark circles or contributes to your circles. For suborbital volume deficiency, there is a larger area under the eye which lacks volume. You can probably see this from the closeup of my eyes above or check out another example here Some people claim that eye creams with vitamin K work ( with spider veins/ visible caps) by penetrating skin and clotting the vessels/capillaries, which in turn essentially kills them. Consistent evidence is lacking on the efficacy of this, though I have read a couple studies that it may be helpful in post surgical bruising. Again, more evidence is needed. Though, say it was effective...There's nothing to stop it from penetrating healthy capillaries/vessels and knocking those off too. It's not selectively choosing what to "kill". Personal Opinion Warning: I wouldn't want to tamper with it to find out.
If you guys have anything to add please do! Hope you enjoyed it!Also, there are various environmental factors than can contribute to dark circles/puffiness such as dehydration ( so stay properly hydrated, a good indication is if your urine is clear), lack of sleep ( so make sure you're getting enough sleep, however many hours is good for you, no one size fits all for sleep), stress/emotional problems, and allergies. lists some of them. They differ in concentration and the retinoid derivative. Avene uses the most potent OTC form, which is why I mentioned this versus the others. You'd likely see results in a more timely fashion. EDIT 3 As one of the lovelies on here pointed out, it should be indicated that not every retinoid product is listed on Skinacea--it's an easy to read site with concentrations of the retinoid in the product and an easy to understand description of the strengths. Re-iterating to add in any well formulated retinaldehyde products you've have experience with or know of!!!
Why Cetaphil is the Devil Last week I was talking to a reader about how many chemicals are in most facial cleansers and she said “That’s why I use Cetaphil!” I nearly fell out of my chair. Darling readers, I feel it is my duty to inform you: Despite what 9 out of 10 dermatologists say, Cetaphil is the devil. It may look harmless and smell harmless but by golly it’s craptastic. One plastic jug contains just eight ingredients: water, cetyl alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, stearyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben. Everything but the water is chemically manufactured, and propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, and three (three!) parabens are potentially cancer-causing. Which means, there is not a single beneficial ingredients in this cleanser. So what’s a girl to do? Step one: Put your Cetaphil in the trash. Step two: Pick up a natural, inexpensive alternative. Two of my favorites: Suki Sensitive Skin Cleansing Bar ($11.95 ) and Yes to Cucumbers Towelettes ($5.99).