# Is there a way to reduce dark circles under eyes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2007, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679 "2007-11-25T08:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JHE1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/1 "2007-11-25T08:40:41Z")
I’m a very healthy guy that gets plenty of rest but the dark circles under my eyes make me look like I’ve been up for days. Has anyone had any luck reducing them? Thanks in advance, Chris ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/2 "2007-11-25T08:49:28Z")
I think I have tried everything. Makeup works. Being a guy, you probably don’t want to go that route, but if you do, I recommend Dermablend. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/3 "2007-11-25T09:28:10Z")
I deal with this too. I hate it. Grandparents had it in spades, Dad had it, my brother has it as badly as I do. I’d love to find a solution. I appear to be catatonic at first glance because of them. The circles are dark and puffy. Eeech. Anyone floats in here with a good solution, I’ll be forever in their debt. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/4 "2007-11-25T09:31:07Z")
Well, I don’t know if this is related, but Apparently Conan O’brien uses Preparation H for his baggy eyes. It’s a common showbiz trick, I think. I don’t know about darck circles though…Maybe it will work? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/5 "2007-11-25T10:34:02Z")
I don’t know about more permanent ways to get rid of circles. But I second the idea about make-up. I’ve got a book by make-up artist Kevyn Aucoin, with a lot of before and after pictures. One of them is about a regular office guy, Jay. Kevyn, who is flamingly gay, admits that many modern men will have problems with make-up, despite the fact that thousands of celebrities and politicians have worn it. “If the thought still worries you”, he writes, “think of face-powder as antiperspirant and of concealer as six more hours of sleep”. All you need to buy, and learn to apply, is regular concealer, and maybe a bit of locally applied foundation and powder. Kevyns’ book is a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![KC\_Bravelens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@KC\_Bravelens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KC_Bravelens)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/6 "2007-11-25T12:43:30Z")
I think the most common cause of dark cirlces is hereditary,and unfortunately not much can be done. I found this site to be really helpful: [http://www.naturaleyecare.com/pub-darkeyes.asp](http://www.naturaleyecare.com/pub-darkeyes.asp) good luck! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/7 "2007-11-25T14:53:49Z")
If any of you men in the group are bold enough to go the makeup route (and why not? Why should we women be the ones who get the benefits of makeup?), may I recommend mineral makeup? [This](http://www.innerbeautyminerals.com/concealer.html) concealer, applied with the [Maximum Coverage Concealer brush](http://www.innerbeautyminerals.com/brushes.html) and blended with a Baby Kabuki brush produces (for me) flawless results, and absolutely _does not_ look like makeup! I know I sound like a commercial, but swear I don’t sell this stuff, nor am connected with it in any manner, except that since I started using it, no other kind of makeup goes on my face! Mineral makeup concealer absolutely covers every single age spot I have, and makes my skin look so flawless (hah!) that the first time I wore it, even my _husband_ noticed! And he never notices _anything_ that is not put directly between him and his TV/computer monitor! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JHE1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/8 "2007-11-25T19:10:28Z")
Thanks for the responses 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/9 "2007-11-25T20:17:04Z")
If you’re willing to consider medical options, some of the info [here](http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=398521) might be of interest to you. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/10 "2007-11-25T20:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] Well, I don’t know if this is related, but Apparently Conan O’brien uses Preparation H for his baggy eyes. It’s a common showbiz trick, I think. [/QUOTE] [Cecil is skeptical about this](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990305.html), and the maker of Preparation says it doesn’t work: > [@](#): > > A spokesperson for Whitehall-Robins, maker of Preparation H, informed us that the product “helps shrink hemorrhoidal tissue and is not meant for the area around the eyes. There is no clinical evidence to support that it reduces eye puffiness.” ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/11 "2007-11-26T00:10:46Z")
\*Is there a way to reduce dark circles under eyes? \* Here’s another way:  eyes \*\*oooo \*\*  eyes **°°°°** I wonder how many people just canceled their membership? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/12 "2007-11-26T00:38:52Z")
I’ve had people tell me to stop rubbing them, because it’s the same principal as bruising. The harder you rub, the more damage you’re doing to the small vessels underneath your skin in that area. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/13 "2007-11-26T01:31:27Z")
Dermablend is the heaviest concealer there is. People with vitiligo wear it for an even skin tone. Because it will hide anything. I would think it’s much too heavy for the delicate undereye area. For chronic dark circles, a good inexpensive undereye concealer is [Neutrogena Healthy Skin Smoothing Stick Correcting Yellow](http://www.neutrogena.com/CosmeticsDetails_210.asp?lProductLineID=4). It’s gentle on the skin but provides good cover too. There are undereye firming products out now which, rather than covering, they change the way light is reflected from the skin. I’m getting good results from [Yves Rocher Line Smoothing Eye Cream](http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/product/~category_id=M00003-USA/~categoryFilterType=BySkin/~categoryFilterBy=Early_Signs_of_Aging/~product_id=30800). Darkness under the eyes is often genetic in origin, and if so you’re pretty much out of luck. We Sicilians are plagued with it a lot (Mario Cuomo has an especially bad case of it\*), and it turns up in some other ethnic groups as well, especially in South Asia. The area under the eyes has thinner skin and is the most easily damaged skin on your face, so always go very gently on it. I’ve heard that creme should be applied there with the tips of the ring fingers, because they tend to be the softest fingertips. \*Edit: before someone write in to correct me, Cuomo ain’t Sicilian, he’s Campagnese. Anybody who thinks men don’t wear makeup, read _Death in Venice_ by Thomas Mann. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/14 "2007-11-26T02:32:33Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] .. Apparently Conan O’brien uses Preparation H for his baggy eyes. It’s a common showbiz trick, I think. [/QUOTE] I dropped into this thread to mention that one of my cousins (female) swears by this. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/15 "2007-11-29T12:23:40Z")
I did try it years ago, for a week or two. I didn’t discern any results. Perhaps it’s b.s., perhaps I didn’t try it for long enough. I’m tempted to try again. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/16 "2007-11-29T18:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] I’ve had people tell me to stop rubbing them, because it’s the same principal as bruising. The harder you rub, the more damage you’re doing to the small vessels underneath your skin in that area. [/QUOTE] I seemed to develop dark circles under my eyes instantaneously one day when I was 10, after a bout of allergic eye itching. However, in the 15 years since then, no amount of eye rubbing has changed my dark puffy circles a whit. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/17 "2007-11-29T18:37:39Z")
[QUOTE=Pullet] I seemed to develop dark circles under my eyes instantaneously one day when I was 10, after a bout of allergic eye itching. However, in the 15 years since then, no amount of eye rubbing has changed my dark puffy circles a whit. [/QUOTE] Interesting. But yeah, I mean, the whole brusing thing makes sense, btu I guess for some people it’s hereditary. ---
**Author:** ![ArmenE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ArmenE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArmenE)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/18 "2007-11-29T20:24:09Z")
I wear contact lenses and I noticed that if I go to sleep immediately after taking out my contact lenses I will invariably have dark circles under my eyes the next morning. Now, I try to take them out some time before going to bed, wash my eyes, and I no longer have circles under my eyes. I don’t know if you happen to be a contact lens wearer, but if you are, I’d suggest doing as I do. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/19 "2007-11-29T20:47:01Z")
So do you have to match this ‘concealer’ to your skin colour, or what? ---
**Author:** ![ArmenE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ArmenE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArmenE)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679/20 "2007-11-29T20:48:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] So do you have to match this ‘concealer’ to your skin colour, or what? [/QUOTE] yes, you do. Companies generally offer a range of colors and the price for a concealer stick is $5-10. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-reduce-dark-circles-under-eyes/427679.md?page=2)