Dark circles. They come with being a new mom and for anyone else who’s tired, stressed or even just dehydrated. Maybe all of those categories apply to you: You’re a new mom who’s tired, stressed and dehydrated. I’ve been suffering from dark circles ever since my son Christian was born. It’s been four months, and Christian doesn’t let me sleep.

When I wake up and look in the mirror, I think, “How? How did my dark circles become 50 shades of gray?” I try to cover them up with every single concealer created on the planet. But that’s just a temporary bandage. Once the makeup comes off, my dark circles are still there, staring at me from the mirror. They’re like bad tattoos you regret getting and can’t cover up.

I like to wear big sunglasses when I’m out because usually I’m in no mood for this conversation:
“Are you OK?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Why?”
“You look like you haven’t slept.”
“Well, I haven’t. I have a newborn, so it’s kind of hard to do that. Actually, it’s almost impossible.”

But I’ve done some research to figure out how to get rid of my dark circles. Happily, a lot of these solutions are easy, at-home DIYs.

1. Sleep
Yes, it’s kind of obvious. But more sleep adds blood flow and nutrition to the undereye area. That reduces dark circles. Lack of sleep adds dilated blood vessels. But if you are in my boat, and it’s impossible to get more sleep, then check out the next tip.

2. Cold spoons
Compressing cold spoons on your eyes for 10 minutes in the morning and at night is exactly what your eye bags need. It cools down inflammation and makes you look fresh. This is easy for me. I just leave spoons by my kids’ milk. Every morning and at night, when I pour milk into their bottles, I remember to work my spoon on my eyes.

3. Cucumbers
Speaking of your refrigerator, there are many items in there that can help with your eyes. One in particular is cucumbers. You’ve seen the pros do it: having cucumber slices placed on their eyes while getting a beauty treatment. What you should do is slice a cucumber into slices, put them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then take them out and place them on your eyes for 10 minutes. The feeling is instant as your eyes freshen up.

4. Cold tea bags
This is a traditional remedy that both by mother and my grandmother used. Soak a tea bag like chamomile or green tea in water. Then let the tea bag chill in the refrigerator. After the tea bag is cold, place it on your eyes. You’ll see a big difference if you do this regularly.

5. Rose water
Rose water is the one item I have in my house, car and office. It’s beneficial for many things when it comes to skin care. It’s extremely useful for getting rid of dark circles. My tip is to soak cotton balls in rose water and place them on your dark circles. Leave them under your eyes for 15 minutes. If you repeat this throughout the week, you will see a big difference.

6. Eye gels
Eye gels are my go-to. They help reduce dark circles and puffiness. I really like to wear eye gels by ToGoSpa right before I go into glam. Sometimes, when I’ve had a really long night, I just put it on my face and drive to work. After the gel does its thing, I really feel refreshed and like my eyes are less puffy.

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