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| DARK CIRCLES |
Hi, everyone. I am currently working from home and writing some articles here during this pandemic. I am sending a lot of love to all of you guys. While I'm home, I've been thinking about a few beauty regimens I can try, and maybe you can too.
I know right now finding and getting ingredients might be kind of tough, so I picked a variety of remedies, and for a lot of these, you might already have everything you need. This is just a one-day test. I know results can vary if you try it for multiple days or twice a week. But I am only judging by one day and one try.
So, let's see what's in the kitchen. OK,
so, the first mask is an avocado and aloe vera mask that I saw from a few sites
and blogs. The only ingredients you'll need are avocado and aloe vera gel. I
found this 99% aloe vera gel from whole foods, but if I didn't find it, I was
going to stick to some after-sun gel with aloe that I had from last summer.
From my research, I found that avocados are filled with a ton of vitamins and
minerals, like vitamin E, that can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Avocado's Natural Oils
An avocado's natural oils can also soften,
nourish, and hydrate the skin. While we're most familiar with aloe vera for
sunburn relief, this gel can also help with acne and dry skin. Some benefits of
aloe vera around the eyes include reducing swelling and puffiness. I cut a
quarter of an avocado and mixed it with a quarter cup of aloe vera. Some
recipes say to do 1 teaspoon of each, but it all depends on how much you want
to make.
It has, like, a nice consistency. It's not,
like, watery, so it won't kind of drip off my eyes, let's hope. But let's do
it. Wow, it feels so cooling. I cleaned it up a bit with my fingers and tried
to spread the mask out more evenly, especially in the corner of my eyes, where
it's super dark. Then I left it on for about 20 minutes. Should we make some
guac? Some dip? At first, when you put it on, it's very cooling, but then now I
feel just a slight tingle underneath my eyes. That could be from the aloe vera,
or it could be from the avocado, but it's not painful.
Today, I'm trying a cucumber and rosewater mask. For this mask, I needed some cotton rounds, and these will come in handy for other masks too. Cucumbers can help de-puff under eyes and soothe irritation.
They're also about 96% water, so they add a lot of hydration to the
skin. Rosewater has anti-inflammatory properties and can soothe skin
irritation. Also, rose water smells so good, and the aroma can help reduce
stress.
Use Simple Recipes
A few websites had a similar recipe that
said to mix 1teaspoon of minced cucumber with 1 teaspoon of rosewater. I first
tried to put the cucumber in a slicer, but that didn't really get it into tiny
pieces, so I sliced it up the old-fashioned way. Then I cut the cotton round in
half, dipped it into the mixture, and placed it under my eyes for 10 minutes.
Aah! Uh-oh. Oh, no. I don't like this. Aah!
I actually had to lie down to keep them on, which I didn't mind, but it was
still a mess. It did feel very cool and soothing under my eyes and smelled
amazing. Ooh. Oh, that's hyd...that's, like really hydrated. That's very soft.
Use Of Cucumber
So, next time I probably will just take a
cucumber and slice it into big pieces and spray that with rose water and put
that under my eyes. I might still have to lay down for that, 'cause the
cucumbers will fall off, but I feel like it would be less messy than this. But
I love the way it makes me feel. I feel, like, very awake, so that's good.
Use Of Potatoes
Potato Day! All you need for this one is
one potato. This is one of the easier ones to try. You just slice the potato
into thin half-moon pieces. I had to try a few times to get thinner pieces
that'll stick to my face. You can also blend the potato, but after my cucumber
mess, I decided slices are way easier. Potatoes are filled with minerals and
have a lot of vitamin C.
Benefits Of Potatoes
One of the main benefits of potatoes is
reducing eye bags and Dark Circles. Leave them on for about 20 minutes. I was
lying down while doing this, and for a few minutes I applied the extra pieces
on my eyelids, and, wow, this was so relaxing.
Wow. Nice! Way to go, potatoes. Once I
removed the potatoes, I instantly saw an improvement in my Dark Circles and the
texture of my under eyes. So far, this is my favorite method because it was
clean, easy, and it worked.
It’s Coffee Time!
Day four, Coffee Time! The ingredients
you'll need for this mask are honey and soft ground coffee. There are actually
a ton of articles of people who tried this coffee and honey mask, so I thought
I'd give it a go. First, you mix a teaspoon of soft ground coffee and a
teaspoon of honey together. I first tried mixing with a brush, but clearly,
this isn't the best brush for it. So I was able to mix them together with a
spoon.
Coffee is used in skin treatments for
exfoliation, but it can also reduce wrinkles and puffiness and helps with
inflammation. Honey is known to have antibacterial properties and can prevent
wrinkles and fine lines. This mask wasn't as cooling as the other ones,
probably because I'm using room temperature ingredients. For me, I definitely
prefer some of the colder ones.
Wow. This went on a lot easier than I
thought. As if I didn't have dark under eyes before. I will say, it kind of
feels like a very thick paste. I don't feel the fine coffee grounds, and it's
not as sticky as honey, so I think the combination works really well together.
It doesn't feel like glue on my face or anything. It just feels like a paste.
And you have to be careful the paste doesn't fall. They kind of look like a
Kylie Lip Kit.
After 20 minutes, I used damp cotton rounds
to carefully remove the mask. It came off a lot easier than I anticipated. I
washed my face to make sure everything was off, and this is what my eyes looked
like. Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with the results of this one. My under
eyes looked the same and didn't feel any different.
Use Green Tea & Rosehip Oil
On Day Five, I tried a green tea and
rosehip oil mask that I saw in a video by Spankie Valentine. All you need is a
green tea bag, rosehip oil, and cotton rounds again. If you don't have rosehip
oil, you can still try this mask without it. So, online, I've read that you can
use the teabags cold or warm. Obviously, don't burn yourself. But cold teabags
can help reduce Dark Circles, shrink eye bags, and soothered eyes and
irritation, especially green tea.
Natural Vitamin Source
Rosehip Oil is a natural vitamin source and
can stimulate collagen production and elasticity. And I definitely think I need
that under the eyes. It also hydrates and moisturizes the skin. First, you
steep the green tea, then mix it with a few drops of rosehip oil.
She opened up the green tea
bag and added the actual tea leaves in there, so I did the same. Then take two
halves of cotton round and dip that in the cup. I drained the water and made
sure I got a lot of tea leaves onto the cotton round. Cool for 20 minutes, then
apply. OK, I'm just gonna [laughs] I'm just gonna soak it here. I have lost it.
I am a mess. Great.
Huh. Oh! Well, oh, no. Oh, dear. How did
she have it on? Ah! Oh. Oh, darling, you're gonna stick on that eye. How
marvelous. The wet tea leaves felt pretty itchy and irritating under my eyes.
After 15 or 20 minutes, I removed the patches by wiping my eyes with damp
cotton rounds. They came off right away, then I rinsed my face. As for the
results, my Dark Circles that day were pretty bad, I think worse than the
previous days, so seeing the after pictures, I feel like the mask helped reduce
some of the Dark Circles.
Honestly, a good alternative is just
steeping two teabags, cooling, and placing under or over your whole eye. I once
had an irritated eye and did this trick, and it helped reduce the irritation,
so that's an easy bonus trick. And last, but not least, I tried a buttermilk
turmeric eye mask that I saw DIY queen Farah Dhukai do.
Benefits Of Using Turmeric
Turmeric has a ton of benefits, including
lightening pigmentation, reducing wrinkles, and minimizing UV damage and
breakouts. I didn't have buttermilk, so I made my own by mixing milk with white
vinegar. Buttermilk contains lactic acid, which can gently exfoliate, improve
pigmentation, and remove fine lines. Careful not to add too much turmeric,
because it can stain.
Wow, this was an easy application. It feels
so good. I can actually feel, like, the calmness of the brush with this mask
because it's so liquidy. It's not as drippy as I thought it would be. It was
really easy to get those dark corners with this mask and brush. I feel like I
can meditate with this mask on. I think the turmeric is, like, helping my
sinuses. Anyway, wow, I am actually very surprised that this mask isn't, like,
dripping off. I left it on for about 15 minutes.
At first, it felt a bit tingly, but as the
mask dried, that feeling went away. The cold milk underneath my eyes was
incredibly soothing. Then I easily wiped it off with the damp cotton rounds. My
skin was a bit stained, but that went away after a few minutes. While it's a
bit hard for me to tell, I think this mask helped with the texture of my under
eyes and the fine lines more than the Dark Circles. But I'll take it.
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There you go. These DIY masks were super fun to try. The potato mask was my favorite because I instantly saw brightening results under my eyes. It was also the easiest one to make and apply. The turmeric and buttermilk mask was a close second because it improved some of my fine lines and was very soothing under the eyes.
Let me know what other suggestions you have
in the comments below and which mask is your favorite.