Anyone have dark circles?

[Iamsuperman]

I used to have terrible black circles like you describe, and the rest of my family had them as well, but mine were the worst. I found two ways to reduce them a lot so their not as black and not nearly as noticeable.

1) Stopped drinking milk and eventually stopped all dairy products. I can even notice it now a day after i eat a little dairy my dark circles return.

2) Got more sleep. I meditate now every morning right after i wake up and before i go to bed, focusing on my breath. My insomnia is pretty much gone now and i can get as much sleep as i want.

Have you tried either of these approaches?

[JohnBennet]

2) Got more sleep. I meditate now every morning right after i wake up and before i go to bed, focusing on my breath. My insomnia is pretty much gone now and i can get as much sleep as i want.

That helps. I can testify to that. Also try rubbing some aloe vera on there as well.

[pylonian]

From a Chinese Medicine perspective, dark circles can also be a sign of Spleen Qi deficiency - especially when combined with an overall feeling of listnessness, inability to lose weight and an overall "body puffiness."

Lots of simple ways to deal with this - the first and hardest is to reduce or eliminate the amount of refined sugar/sweetener one is eating.

[GenerationX]

I have very bad dark circles and no matter what i do they dont get any better. I am like you and could be in a good mood and then walk by a mirror and all of a sudden get depressed. I have never tried any of the silly methods like putting potatoes or cucumbers under your eyes, but i have tried eye creams, exercizing, going on a diet, even using makup which barely works at all. Im always tired no matter how much sleep i get, and i have literally slept for 12 hours and feel like ive been up all night. I always feel heaviness under my eyes and it makes every day activities difficult. I try to never go out anywhere unless i have to and i am constantly hating myself wishing they would just go the hell away. if i was rich i would definately get surgery on them

[Rose of Cairo]

Oh! What an interesting thread!

I have dark circles too, I've always had them. Even on my baby pictures you can see them They get worse when I'm tired and don't go away even on a diet without dairy and sugar.

They don't make me feel bad, so I've never thought about doing something against them. Now that you mention it, I'm looking forward to seeing if the raw diet makes them disappear.

[sbdiane]

I have always had dark circles, too. The darkness isn't just under the eyes, it's the whole area around my eyes including my eye lids and under my eye brows.

People were cruel to me when I was younger. I tried to cover it but it did not work. Nothing can cover it. I never could wear make up like other girls.

So I stopped worrying about it. I cultivate a natural look and hope that filters out the negative people who would judge me.

[ming]

Dark circles can be due to food intolerances as well as lack of sleep or a sluggish liver caused by too much sugar -natural and synthetic -or excessive consumption of alcohol. the most common food intolerances to cause dark circles are wheat and cow´s dairy.
I suggest you keep a food diary for the next 10 days then look at how often you are consuming wheat flour (in most breads, cakes, biscuits and pasta), dairy food (including milk, cream, butter, yogurt, ice cream and cheese) and sugar (don´t forget the hidden sugars in cereals, cakes, and biscuits as well as fruit yogurts, squashes and fizzy drinks)
Calculate which seems to be the dominant food group in your diet and cut it out completely for 3 weeks. If your dark circles disappear, you´ve hit the jackpot. If not, reintroduce that food group and omit another one.

-Cosmetic creams and pills won´t erase dark circles.

Chances are that your liver is slow and overworked after a lifelong overeating spree. Give it a rest with a fasting period, or a superfoods diet.

[veranadine]

I have had dark circles, which increase and decrease in intensity, since puberty.

I had high hopes that they were indeed caused by foods, but having been vegan for almost a year now, I can say that they are still here.

I vote for them being genetic, since I am out of other explanations.

Tea bags and cucumbers can help, but only a little, though generally I just try hiding them with all-natural makeup.

I had heard the vitamin K thing before and think I will give it a try.

Bless,

[stellasky]

I have to disagree with the above ref NAET. NAET is an offshoot of Applied Kinesiology (AK), a very dubious pseudo-science.

Don't know about NAET and I agree that one must be on the "watch" for quack therapies, but I never gauge effectiveness based on scientific proof, I gauge it on my own experience. If it's like EFT then I would do that because it's free.

Note AK is not part of the science of kinesiology (the legimate study of the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement).

What is the difference between The Science of Kinesiology and Applied Kinesiology? Searched a bit but they both sound the same.

As a dancer for a good portion of my life I've had a Ballet teacher who incorporated exercises into standard ballet exercises to increase muscle memory

As well, having injuries from dancing, in Germany I found most Physical therapists tested muscle weakness and strentgh using Kinesiology.

As an allery sufferer, I've experienced a few alternative Natural Doctors who use it to diagnose allergies, and I must say it was pretty accurate..
Ex: holding a drug, food, vitamin in one hand while testing muscle weakness in response to it in order to determine whether something is good or not for the individual...(it's uncanny when the muscle responds weakly)

Kinesiology make sense to me because it also speaks to your internal knowing system, hence, a muscle weakness reaction to a possible food allergen

[stellasky]

[quote]

Originally Posted by sbdiane

I have always had dark circles, too. The darkness isn't just under the eyes, it's the whole area around my eyes including my eye lids and under my eye brows.

People were cruel to me when I was younger. I tried to cover it but it did not work. Nothing can cover it. I never could wear make up like other girls.

I've always had dark circles, started wearing concealer at age 13. It's hereditary and due to allergies even as a child when I didn't smoke

Within the past year they've become extremely worse. So, bad that my boss sat me down and asked what's wrong. (I'm living in an Asian country at the moment).

Went to two Chinese doctors both said dark circles are not from smoking, rather from exhaustion, physcial and emotional
Had my liver checked etc. and nothing wrong there.
Doc said I use the computer too much and also have dry painful eyes

My causes in order of importance:
Herditary
Allergies/Intolerances: milk, sugar, white flour
Hormonal changes resulting in thinner eye skin
Smoking alot
Exhaustion from working too much, no time to do what makes me happy
Computer

*Just recently had a month off from work and the circles got much better.

Treatment:
Rest (having time for myself)
Change in diet
Natural eye gel made from quince
Hormonal supplements
Vitamins
Drinking water
Steam Sauna

While I don't feel that eye creams have worked to make them disappear I do feel that the delicate eye area needs to be hydrated,

[Niamh]

My doc told me my dark circles were due to allergies. He gave me pointers (avoid fans, direct air conditioning & such) and gave me nose drops (saline mist & nasacort or something similar). The circles got considerably lighter.