50% of aging is life style choices and the other 50% is hereditary.
Majority of people start to show the first signs of aging around the eyes. Droopy lids, puffy, saggy bags, and dark circles. There are multiple causes of dark circles under the eyes. Cosmetic companies have capitalized on this and as a result many claims have been made on how to control these issues. Most of the underlying etiologies don’t have a magic cream to whisk these things away.
Let’s examine some causes. The most common is dehydration of the skin. You are what you eat so eating fruits and veggies daily enhance the skins hydration. Another culprit is hyper pigmentation or darkening secondary to photo aging, sun exposure or superficial lentigenes (dark flat freckle like spots). These spots are either acquired by life choices or they’re hereditary. Hyper pigmentation present at youth or adolescent continues along with darkening or sun exposure and age.
Learning to care for your skin is more than soap and water. “Over the counter” soap will dehydrate and strip your skin of its natural oils. Proper skin care maintenance will slow the signs of aging. Treatment of the skin includes retinol, bleaching cream and sunscreen to decrease the melanin content. Many find retinol causes red, dry, flakey skin, occurring with over use or if the retinol is too strong for the person’s skin type. It is very important to be evaluated, determining the proper tolerances for each individual. The younger you are when you start proper skin care the better for prevention… but it’s never too late.