When a person’s eyelids look dark, they may wonder if it is being caused by a health issue. They may be concerned that their dark eyelids make them look unhealthy or overtired.
They may also be worried about how it affects their appearance and what people may think of them when they see their dark eyelids.
How to get rid of dark eyelids? If you want to make your eyelids look naturally lighter again, you should know what’s causing the problem first of all.
Why Do You Have Dark Eyelids?
Knowing the cause of why your eyelids are looking darker will help you to treat it effectively. Not everybody’s eyelids get darker for the same reason, and there are a lot of different reasons why someone may suffer from this problem.
There’s usually not any risk to having dark eyelids, but they can be an indication that there is an underlying problem. Having dark eyelids won’t hurt your vision or cause you to have headaches, but if there’s a health problem that is making your eyes look that way, you should know about it.
Here are a few reasons why your eyelids may look dark:
- Pregnancy
- Lack of sleep
- Inflammation leading to hyperpigmentation
- A genetic condition
- Melanocytosis
- Drug use
- Old age
- Increasing blood vessels
- Eye swelling
- Stress
Simple and Natural Treatments
Now that you have some idea of what may be causing your eyelids to look dark, you may have a better idea of how to get rid of dark eyelids naturally. If you are simply overtired or stressed, getting sleep can help.
You might have an inclination is to what is causing your dark eyelids after you’ve read through the list above. You can test out your theory by checking to see if natural solutions will work.
Before medicating or talking to your doctor, if you don’t know for sure that you have a serious medical problem, it’s okay to simply try sleeping it off or reducing stress. For some people, though, natural remedies of simply sleeping or destressing might not be enough.
If those methods are not working for you, then you can look into some other options for treatment. You probably don’t want to be stuck with dark eyelids and may be looking for how to get rid of dark circles on eyelids that are affecting the way you look and how you feel about yourself.
The Next Step in Treatment
There is no recommended medical treatment for dark eyelids, as they are usually an indication of a different condition. Dark eyelids are typically a symptom of something else, so you wouldn’t usually treat them directly.
If you do want to know how to get rid of dark eyelids fast, there are a few treatment methods that doctors recommend beyond just getting some extra sleep.
If extra sleep doesn’t seem to be doing it and you still have dark eyelids, you can try reducing your salt intake. How much salt you take in can affect your water retention and puffiness, which can make your eyelids and the tissue around the eyes look unhealthy.
The dark pigmentation in your eyelids could be caused by excessive sun exposure. If that’s the case, you can apply sunscreen to help treat the problem.
It won’t make the eyelids lighten quickly, but it will keep them from getting darker and will help them to heal, since they will be under less stress and less risk for darkening.
How to get rid of dark circles on the eyelids and under eyes? Doctors also recommend that you try elevating your head during sleep and apply cold compresses to your eyes.
This can help to drain out excessive fluid around the eyes and eyelids and can improve blood flow and circulation to the area. Using a cold compress is great for inflammation as well, which could be a cause of eyelid darkening.
These are the same methods you can use for how to get rid of red eyelids, puffy eyes, and dark circles under eyes. That puffiness can be caused by excessive fluid buildup, stress, skin damage, and poor circulation. Trying these at-home treatments can make a big difference and keep you from having to make a trip to the doctor.
Making Lifestyle Changes
If you look at the list we gave you earlier at what may be causing dark eyelids, you can see a few things that could be affected by simply changing your lifestyle in small but important ways.
One of the more significant ones that’s going to help you in a lot of ways is dealing with substance abuse. This may not be a small change for some people, but it can make a big difference.
If harmful substances are what is affecting your health and causing dark eyelids, getting them out of your life can significantly improve your overall health.
It could be smoking, including marijuana use. It could be alcohol or one of the harder drugs. All of these can affect your circulation, your overall health, and your stress levels. You may have trouble getting adequate sleep if you use and abuse any of these kinds of substances.
By eliminating them from your life, you can make a big difference in your overall appearance. You can look healthier, more vibrant, and more well rested. This can definitely affect how dark your eyelids look, as their appearance can be affected by what the drugs are doing to you.
If it’s a lack of sleep or excessive stress that is causing dark eyelids, then you may need to make some changes to your sleep schedule.
Having a set time to go to bed and to wake up can make a big difference in how tired you feel and how much energy you have throughout the day. This can affect the way your eyes look and the amount of stress you have to deal with.
Simply by getting on a regular sleep schedule that gives you 6-8 hours of sleep every night can have a huge impact on how you look and how you feel. Having dark eyelids can just be the tip of the iceberg and indicate a bigger problem that may just require some extra sleep to fix.
Medical Treatments
How to get rid of dark circles on and around your eyelids if these other methods don’t work? You could have a medical condition that needs to be treated by a professional doctor. At-home treatments and simple lifestyle changes may not be enough to fix the underlying problem.
If you don’t know whether the problem is caused by a serious health issue and you’ve tried simple at-home treatments, you should definitely consider talking to your doctor about the problem. Your doctor may be able to detect health issues that you did not know of and prescribe medication and treatments that can help treat the root cause of the issue.
Some people will use bleaching agents to treat dark eyelids, but these can be very dangerous, particularly to the sensitive tissue of the eyes. It’s not a good idea to self-medicate or treat your dark eyelids with bleaching agents without seeking medical advice first. Your doctor may recommend that you simply take a vitamin or change your diet to ensure proper nutrition.
Changes in your melanin and skin health can affect how dark your eyelids look, and your doctor will be more effectively able to determine if that is the case.
Your doctor may also suggest chemical peels or other treatments that can help to lighten and brighten dark eyelids. Some people seek the advice of a cosmetic surgeon if there does not seem to be an easily treatable reason for dark eyelids.
My name is Ellis Francis and I have been a personal fitness trainer, sports nutritionalist and health and fitness advisor for over 25 years. I am the lead health and fitness advisor at https://awellnessbody.com.
