Everything You Need to Know about Sunken Eyes

Sunken Eyes Causes Remedy Exercise and Many Other Informative Tips

Everything You Need to Know about Sunken Eyes

The most delicate part of our body is the eyes. Perhaps this is the reason our eyes are the first organ to fall prey to stress, bad lifestyle and eating habits.

If you are noticing sunken-nasty hollows and pesky dark circles under the eyes, sunken eyes have made a place in your life and your eyes need some extra care.

Now if the term sunken is new to you, you have landed at the right place.

What is the Meaning of Sunken Eyes?

Many of us are suffering from sunken eyes without knowing what it implies. The literal meaning of sunken is sinking to the bottom and sunken eyes refer to the same.

When your eyes are surrounded by hollows and dark circles, it means you are down with sunken eyes. Your under-eye skin appears darker than elsewhere on your face. Sunken eyes can be traced by the following symptoms:

Hollows under the eyes.
Dark circles around the eyes.
Skin thinning and transparency in the under-eye area.
wrinkles and crow feet around the eyes.
Loss of subcutaneous fat and elasticity.
More prominent blood vessels.
Shadow over lower eyelids.
Increased length of the vertical eyelid.

Other names of sunken eyes are tear trough hollows, skeletonized eyes, deepened upper eyelid sulcus and under eyes hollows.

Are Sunken Eyes and Dark Circles the Same Thing?

Sunken eyes and dark circles are two different things. The hollowness under the eyes creates a shadow that exudes the illusion of dark circles.

Also, skin thinning invokes puffiness and your eyes look deep-seated. This makes your appearance even worse and you look unhealthy and fatigued when you are not. In severe cases, it obstructs your side vision too.

Though it does not specify any fatal disease, it might indicate an underlying medical concern and aesthetically affects your overall personality.

It makes you look tired, sad or you have cried a lot. People start asking about your health and well being and it affects your self-esteem and confidence.

Reasons Behind Sunken Eyes

To give a tough fight to this deformity, let’s get back to the root. A little research does no harm. Having sunken eyes is not just a cosmetic issue, it appears for a reason, either temporary or permanent.

The condition of your eyes can always guide you with underlying health issues or a poor lifestyle.

The under-eye area has the most delicate skin on your face. So it gets tampered with very easily.

When the orbital fat under your eyelids gets drained, it generates a hollowness under the eyes and your eyes look sunken or pulled inward.

Sunken appearance is not gender or race-specific, it mainly appears due to ageing but people from any age group can experience the deformity.

The exact appearance differs for every individual. Some main causes are listed below.

Ageing

Sunken appearance is prevalent in older people. When the orbital fatty tissues around the eyes start diminishing, skin becomes thin and you notice it, even more, when you are ageing.

Also as we age, the body naturally sheds collagen and this prompts the loss of healthy fat. It weakens the muscles and facial structure and under-eye skin become thin and translucent in the process.

Extreme Fatigue and Disrupted Sleep

Sleep deprivation not only invites sunkenness but also dark circles and puffiness which only aggravates the issue.

Extreme exhaustion also takes a toll on your eyes and it goes without saying that it makes your eyes look tired and worn out.

Dehydration

It simply occurs when your body’s water demand does not meet the fluid supply. Dehydration is really hard on your skin.

It dries out skin moisture and leaves the eyes dry and blood vessels around the eyes become more prominent. Even children are not untouched by it.

Their tiny body cannot handle the fluctuations of water level and are very much prone to get sunken eyes due to dehydration.

Nevertheless, this is a temporary condition and you can rehydrate your eyes by drinking plenty of water.

Stress

Those suffering from chronic stress usually experience bouts of insomnia or poor sleep patterns. This ultimately leads to deep sunken eyes.

Genetics

If sunken eyes run in your family, you are more likely to inherit this deformity. So blame your DNA if the structure of your eyes itself is like that.

Allergies

Seasonal allergies, sinus infection or environmental sensitivities inflame congestion of the nose and sinuses which contribute to irritation and redness in the eyes which are called allergic shiners.

This exacerbates dark, shadowy pigments under the eyes and makes room for sunken eyes.

Rapid Weight Loss

When your body dramatically drops weight, it sucks out fat from all the parts of the body. The skin under the eyes also starts losing fat, becomes transparent and wrinkly.

This makes blood vessels more prominent and sets the ground for dark circles and sunken eyes.

Sun Exposure

If you already have dark circles, sun exposure will make the condition worse as sun rays produce melanin which darkens the skin. Dark circles create the illusion of shadow hence causes sunken eyes.

Sinus Infection

Inflamed sinus infection or sinusitis promotes nasal congestion which exerts pressure on your eyes and increases skin thinning. This causes a prominence of sunken eyes.

Medical Conditions

Some specific kind of surgeries done around the eyes make eyes sink into the socket. Certain medications and therapies also slay off facial fat and eyes are pulled inward.

Severe diarrhoea and vomiting also can be a contributor to drooping eyes.

Smoking

Smokers are the favourite prey of sunken eyes. Just like ageing, smoking draws off collagen and makes your skin sagging which aggravates sunken eyes.

Malnutrition

Nutrients deficiency also causes eyes to become hollow. Vitamin C, K, E and iron are some essential nutrients for the eyes.

Vitamin E douses dry skin in rich moisture, vitamin K aids in blood clotting and vitamin C helps in the absorption of iron in the body which impedes skin discolouration.

Any lack of these vital nutrients causes the eyes to settle deep into the socket.

Now that you know the possible causes of sunken eyes, stop ruing about the past mistakes and work on them to hold back the recurrence of sunken eyes.

What are the Possible Remedies for Sunken Eyes?

When your peepers are sunken, it’s not just a beauty catastrophe but also can be a hidden medical condition. So how to get rid of sunken eyes is a big question.

But a sigh of relief is that you can reverse the condition by adapting some home remedies. Even if you have inherited sunken eyes, you can deter them from getting accentuated.

Don’t wait for it to go away on its own. Roll your sleeves up and fight back with dark circles and hollows sprawling around your inculpable eyes.

In most cases, you don’t need to spend a fortune on a high-end cosmetic treatment or rush to a doctor. It can be cured by home remedies. You may want to consider some tried and tested remedies listed below:

Green Tea Bags

Nothing can stand against the soothing effect of tea bags on tired, sore eyes. Cocoon your eyes with lukewarm moistened tea bags.

Green tea is loaded with antioxidants and flavonoids which get transferred to your skin and promotes blood circulation.

So enjoy your hot cup of green tea which provides antioxidants to your body and the tea bags will soothe the eyes afterwards. Gradually, the sunken appearance will diminish.

Lifestyle Tweaks

Now it’s high time to do major improvements in your lifestyle. Your lifestyle reflects in your personality.

Have enough sleep, quit the bad habits like smoking or drinking and stop worrying. Taking stress ticks all the wrong boxes.

It will not only aggravate your existing problems but also invite a myriad of diseases. Spare some time from your jam-packed schedule and practice yoga, meditation and other exercises.

Reach for Your Makeup Stash

Your makeup might be an ancillary culprit in ruining your eyes health. Those colourful sticks might innocently spread germs and bacteria in your eyes.

Clean your makeup brushes and sponges with a mild shampoo and show sunlight for some time to kill all the germs and bacteria. Also, use good quality makeup products and keep a check on the expiry date.

Wear Sunglasses

Apart from being a stylish accessory, sunglasses are an efficacious weapon to safeguard the eyes against harmful UV rays. Sunglasses keep your eyes cool against the scorching sun.

Apply Sunscreen

Apply and reapply a good quality sunscreen every three to four hours to shield your eyes from the sun. Mineral sunscreen works best to protect your eyes even if you have sensitive skin. For better application, use a stick sunscreen as it prevents the product from getting into the eyes.

Almond Oil

Unload the burden on sore eyes with the goodness of almond oil which is loaded with Vitamin A and E. This vitamin combo together works to soothe the eye area and locks in moisture.

Lubricate your eyes by massaging the area with almond oil in a circular motion before dozing off to sleep and you will wake up with a noticeable change in the morning.

Potato Juice

This versatile veg from the vegetable kingdom is truly a warrior that lightens and plumps the under-eye skin.

The abundant amount of starch, vitamin C and enzymes in raw potato deeply nourishes the tissues and brightens up the eyes.

The cooling effect is a cherry on the cake. Try it on and you will see a great improvement on the first try only.

Cucumber Slice

One of the most widely hailed eye remedies. This is why you might have heard this remedy several times but do you know why cucumber helps in depuffing the eyes?

It contains a rich amount of sodium which draws out excess water under the eyes and helps in repositioning the tissues.

Quit Smoking

You know that it is a very small price to achieve healthy and beautiful eyes. The carbon monoxide present in cigarettes expels out oxygen and other nutrients from your skin and reduces the production of collagen which add years to your age.

When you stop smoking, your body also stops collagen degradation and you can see a visible improvement in your skin elasticity.

Have Your Beauty Sleep

Establish a good sleep pattern. Hit the sack at right time and have a sound sleep to wake up with a fresh face in the morning. This also reduces puffiness under the eyes and brings a healthy glow to the face.

Eye Cream

Investing in a good eye cream or gel can help a great deal. Before buying a cream, scrutinize the key ingredients.

Hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, K, E and retinol work best for sunken eyes. Right ingredients hydrate the eye area and plump up the skin underneath.

Best works at night, it acts upon saggy skin effectively and nourishes the tender skin.

You can try your hand at DIY eye cream by mixing some milk cream, a vitamin E capsule and a few drops of fresh aloe vera gel.

Just take a pea-size quantity and massage in a circular motion and you will be the recipient of fresh radiant eyes within a few days.

A thing of caution is that while applying anything topically, keep your eyes closed tightly to avoid the substance going into the eyes.

Always do a patch test before applying anything on the eye area. Try the above remedies and own bright twinkling eyes.

Follow a Proper Diet

You are what you eat. When your body consumes less than required nutrients, it starts reflecting through your eyes.

To replenish the damage, you should take a nutritious diet. Eat watery fruits like watermelon, cucumber and celery as snacks.

Certain superfoods can act as a weapon to treat deep sunken eyes. Swear by a balanced diet and say no to junk food.

Drink three to four litres of water a day without fail. Water flushes out toxins and salt buildup around the eye area.

If drinking plain water is too much then you can jazz it up by adding some lemon drops, cucumber slices, mint leaves, ginger juliennes or some fresh fruits slices.

This concoction will double up as detox water.

Let’s summarize here how to cure sunken eyes by having an appropriate diet:

What You Can Have?

Watermelon, cabbage, plums, cucumber, strawberries, celery, dark green leafy veggies, Brussel sprouts.
Swap regular vegetable oil with olive oil.
Prefer seasonal fruits and vegetables over canned food.
Increase the intake of vitamin C in your diet.
Give green tea a place in your daily beverages.

What You Should Not Have?

Nothing too much sugary and salty food are also the reason for sunken eyes.
Limit the downing of caffeine, packaged sugary drinks and aerated drinks. Soda causes a diuretic effect which increases the frequency of urination which in turn dehydrates you.
Avoid eating citrus fruits in the evening as it causes puffiness in your eyes when you wake up in the morning.

Exercise for Sunken Eyes

Yes, you read it right. Just like exercises for the body, you need to do eye exercises to keep them fit. So don’t run after expensive creams and serums.

The solution is right under your nose. There are several exercises to induce eye health. These toning and firming exercises can save you tons of money.

So keep scrolling and make your way to the adorable eyes:

Pendulum Eye Movement

Stand straight keeping your head erect. Now dart your eyes from the centre to the left corner and from the left corner to the centre. Now repeat the process for the right eye. Do this exercise for a minute or two a day.

Near Far Movement

Keep your palms around five inches from your face and obstruct your vision. Now remove your palms and see the farthest thing possible. Repeat around 10 times.

Eye Dance

Move your eyeballs left right up and down. Rotate clockwise and anti-clockwise. Repeat five times.

Eye Squeeze

Close your eyes and squeeze gently for five seconds. Now open slowly. Repeat the process ten times a day.

You can do this exercise in another form by placing your fingertips below your lower eyelids for a gentle stretch and then squeeze the eyes.

These exercises will surely help to open up your eyes.

Eye Massage

Massage helps in flushing out the toxins and boost the blood flow to bring a youthful glow. Let’s try these techniques:

Massage very delicately your eyes in a circular motion clockwise and anti-clockwise using the middle and ring finger. Don’t use the index finger as we tend to exert more pressure using the index finger.
Slide your ring finger from the outer corner of the lower lids to the inner corners. The inner corner contains the tear ducts that drain out the toxins and hence eliminates fluid retention.
Take some facial oil, rub it in your palms to warm them up until you feel warm and energised, now place the palms on your eyes and cup both eyes while the heels of your palms rest on the cheekbones.
Allow the hollow of hands to form a curtain of darkness in front of your eyes. Now breathe deeply and feel the warmth and energy of your hands getting transferred to the eyes. Keep the palms as long as you feel comfortable. Experts recommend two minutes.
Take some oil in your fingertips and pat around your eyes lightly in a circular motion.

For massage, you can use either fish oil or vitamin E capsule. They work exceptionally well to plump and lighten up the skin.

You can make your own massage oil by mixing equal proportions of almond oil, extra virgin coconut oil and olive oil.

Be very gentle and massage with feather light strokes.

When to Visit a Doctor?

Chucked up all bad habits and trying all remedies religiously but nothing helping out? Sunken eyes are becoming more prominent day by day?

Now it’s time to seek medical help for sunken eyes treatment. Your doctor will do the complete body checkup to find out the underlying medical reason which is surfacing as sunken eyes.

Make sure to inform the doctor about all the other symptoms you are spotting. The doctor will suggest the lab tests and prescribe the medication accordingly.

How to Get Rid of Sunken Eyes with Surgical Treatment?

For sturdy results, you can resort to radical treatment. While there are several cosmetic surgeries available, you have to be very cautious to choose and take the services of an expert professional. There are several options that work effectively for sunken eyes treatment:

Hyaluronic Acid Gel Fillers

Available in several types such as Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, and Belotero, this treatment lasts for one to two years.

The procedure is painless and takes just a few minutes however you need to be mindful and informed while taking the treatment as if done superficially, it leaves bluish puffiness.

Fat Transfer Injection

As the name depicts, it takes fat from the fatty parts of the body and injects it into the eyelids. This procedure is also painless but the results are unpredictable and the effect may vary for individuals.

The fat has to be harvested very carefully so that the stem cells in the fat are left intact. These live cells, when injected into the area, develop a blood supply and if done successfully, the outcome is permanent.

Tear Trough Implant

This is a permanent treatment in which a silicone implant is inserted to cover up the deformity. This is more invasive than dermal fillers and the results are more stable comparatively.

Sometimes this surgery is combined with hyaluronic acid fillers for optimum results.

Blepharoplasty

When you have sunken eyes, your lower eyelids get droopy and skin starts sagging and accumulated under the eye region.

Blepharoplasty removes this accumulation and tightens the lower eyelid which aesthetically improves your eyes condition.

You cannot turn back the clock but these surgeries can help achieve a young and fresh look.

Even so, before scheduling any of the above surgeries, discuss with your surgeon thoroughly your medical history, your expectations from the surgery and possible risks.

Additional Tips

You can give a tough fight to sunkenning if you incorporate these tips in your life:

Try not to read in dim light.
Splash tolerably cold water on closed eyes several times a day.
Wear anti-glare lenses while working on a computer or mobile phones.
After working on the computer for a very long time, go out in the fresh air and see some greenery. It will cool down your glare sore eyes.
When you have heavy makeup on your eyes, place a makeup remover dipped cotton on your eyes for a few seconds to allow the product to work on the makeup so that it is removed in just one swipe.
Apply a good quality sunscreen.
When buying an eye cream, look for good-for-eyes ingredients like hyaluronic acid, arnica, vitamin K and vitamin C.
Apply cold compresses. It constricts blood vessels and works to combat eye bags. Use cold milk instead of water for better results.
Use a fluffy pillow to elevate your head while hitting the sack for adequate blood circulation and the prevention of fluid pooling in the lower eyelids.
A happy mind can cure many health and cosmetic issues. Develop a hobby to keep your mind calm.
Keep yourself healthy to make your eyes look healthy. It’s true that almost all diseases affect your eyes and lead the way to pale and sunken eyes.

Hide the Sunken Eye Appearance with the Magic of Makeup

Tired of sunken eyes and on the constant hunt for the best concealer and corrector? You need to know the right products and techniques to apply them.

Sunken appearance is stubborn and not going to leave you soon or if it runs in your blood, you can fake bright and perky eyes with the help of makeup.

You will need a plumping eye cream, an orange colour corrector, a high coverage concealer that is a shade or two lighter than your skin tone and a setting powder.

Hydrate the eye area by applying a pea-sized blob of eye cream. Now top it up with a small quantity of colour corrector, blend it well using a buffing brush.

Cover up the flaws by dabbing some concealer and dust some setting powder to set it up.

If you are having eye bags, don’t apply a thick line of eyeliner as it will make your eye bags more prominent. Instead, wear a kajal along with the liner.

Try to draw attention to your lips. Wear a dark shade of lipstick that accentuates the lips and also makes your eyes look beautiful.

Please keep in mind that while doing the eye makeup, less is more. Excess products don’t hide the flaws. Rather, it will look cakey and make sunken eyes more prominent.

If you have deep sunken eyes, then it will not be fully covered but using the right tools and techniques you can hide it up to some extent to make your eyes captivating.

A Few Final Words

Eyes are precious. We see through them, express through them, they act as a guide and they show us how beautiful the world is.

Also, your eyes are the doorway to your heart and honestly reflect your inner and outer beauty. So pep them up, keep them healthy and awestruck everyone with your enticing personality.

If you find this article an eye-opener, make sure you share this with your friends and family. Take care; celebrate life.