How To Get Rid Of Dark Circles & Puffy Eyes

Tired of looking tired? You're not alone and we can help. We've looked far and wide to find the best techniques, tips and skincare products to revive tired eyes, targeting the two most common signs of tiredness: dark circles and puffy eye bags. 

How To Get Rid Of Dark Circles

Stay Hydrated

Making sure you are consuming enough water each day is not just a great way of avoiding dark circles under your eyes, it's important for overall health. To stay hydrated you should aim to consume: '6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day' according to the NHS. 

To avoid becoming dehydrated, you should also cut down on your salt and alcohol intake. Alcohol in particular is a toxin and diuretic, meaning it makes you urinate more. So, if you are drinking alcohol make sure to drink lots of water at the same time.

Avoid Straining Your Eyes

Straining your eyes most often occurs when focusing on a single object or task for an extended period of time. This can be when using your computer or phone, as well when reading or driving long distances. It's important to take breaks for your eye health in general but also to avoid dark circles forming.

Dark circles are caused by eye strain because overworking your eyes causes the blood vessels around your eyes to enlarge. This makes them look darker and can make them appear puffier. 

Get enough good quality sleep

Most of us don't get enough sleep, and most don't get good quality sleep. Good sleep requires at least 8 hours – 6 hours may feel like enough but it's not for your brain and body. To get good quality sleep you also need to avoid factors that disrupt your ability to get to and stay asleep, such as blue light from screens. Avoid all screens for at least an hour before you plan to go to sleep. 

Staying hydrated and avoiding alcohol will also help you get good quality sleep. Alcohol disrupts your body's sleep functions, because it’s forced to focus on clearing the toxins rather than on restoring itself and getting the rest it needs. 

Skincare Treatments For Dark Eyes

A good skincare routine that includes applying moisturiser to the skin to keep the skin barrier strong and healthy will assist with hydration. If you often have dark circles around your eyes you may want to look at some eye care specific treatments for dark eyes.

Best Eye Cream For Dark Circles

An eye cream can help to apply vital hydration, plus skin supporting nutrients, to the delicate area around your eye. Using an eye specific cream is important because face creams aren't usually formulated for the more sensitive area under your eyes.

We recommend Clarins Total Eye Contour Gel for combating dark circles, specifically because of the ginkgo biloba, which comes from the Maidenhead species of tree native to China. It has been used for centuries thanks to its circulatory benefits, among others, which can help to get rid of dark circles.

Apply An Eye Mask

If you need to get rid of your dark circles quickly or want to give your eyes an extra special lift, we recommend using an eye mask. 

Using a product like Clarins Total Eye Hydrate Mask-Balm will work quickly, requiring just ten minutes to revive tired looking eyes. This soothing and comforting mask will act as a balm, adding moisture to your eyes, lifting the skin to diminish wrinkles and reducing dark circles. 

Cover Up Tired Eyes With A Great Concealer

Dark circles can be persistent, especially if you are having trouble sleeping or aren't able to get enough rest. Dark circles can also be caused by genetics so, for some people, no matter how hydrated or well-slept they are, dark circles will always be an issue. For anyone in these two camps, there is always concealer. 

Clarins have an excellent range of concealers. Specifically for touching up dark circles, we recommend Clarins Everlasting Concealer. Available in various tones to match your skin, we suggest choosing a shade that is slightly brighter than your skin tone to combat dark circles.

How To Get Rid Of Puffy Eyes

Get Enough Sleep

Puffy eyes are one of the common signs of tired eyes. If you are able to get enough good sleep, puffy eye bags are less likely to greet you when you wake up in the morning.

Apply A Cold Compress

A cold compress on your eyes, left for about 10 minutes, will help to lessen the swelling under your eyes that creates puffy eyes. You can use a cold compress eye mask for this. There are plenty of reusable ones that look like sleep masks but with a gel or liquid inside and you can keep them in the fridge to apply to your eyes when needed. Alternatively you can use a damp cold flannel or bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth – don't apply a frozen bag to your eyes directly in case the abrupt change in temperature causes damage.

Delicately Massage The Under Eye Area

Gently massaging your puffy eyes will help to get the blood moving under the skin and can help to reduce the swelling and combat dark circles. Massage with one of two fingers, lightly, from the inside crease of your eyes (near your nose) to the outer eye area. 

You can use an eye roller for this too. Eye rollers are typically made from metal or crystals, which give a cooling effect as you roll them across your puffy eyes. 

Skincare Treatments For Puffy Eyes

As well as the techniques above that help to combat puffy eyes, you can also use skincare products that work with your under-eye skin to reduce eye bags by applying skin supporting nutrients.

Best Under-Eye De-Puffer

This roll-on de-puffer for eyes is a treatment serum that you can apply to your puffy eyes. You only need a little product as it goes a long way. We recommend Clarins MyClarins RE-FRESH Roll-on Eye De-Puffer.

This puffy eye treatment contains horse chestnut, or more specifically Aescin, which has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce puffiness in eye bags.

Best Eye Cream For Puffy Bags

A good eye cream can help to combat puffy eye bags by bringing firmness to the skin, lifting the sag to smooth out wrinkles and bags, while applying moisture to keep your eyes looking healthy and bright. Clarins Total Eye Lift Concentrate does all this and more. 

Using Organic Harungana extract with Cassie Wax, Clarins Total Eye Concentrate restores density to the skin to combat sagging eye bags. It also uses Guarana extract, a natural source of caffeine, invigorates the skin and improves circulation, thus reducing puffy eye bags.

Find More Great Skincare Products For Tired Eyes

There are lots of skincare products that help to combat tired-looking eyes. Clarins' eye care range is a great place to start if you don't know what you need, or if you want to choose from their excellent range of creams, serums and gels, including those mentioned in this article.