Pregnancy is probably the best span of a woman’s life, as she can feel a new life developing inside her body. Though the sheer joy of being pregnant comes along with some concerns and worries. Day by day getting out of shape, swelling on feet, and worries about a safe and secure delivery; brings sleepless nights and undue tensions.
Though beauty gets enhanced in pregnancy due to pregnancy hormones, the skin and face glows, and the hair feels lucious and shiny; there are many factors that may cause puffiness and dark circles under eyes in pregnancy.
The moment these puffy eyes and dark circles during pregnancy are noticed , the mother-to-be further gets concerned about them and starts getting more restless causing the problem to increase further.
Keeping calm, eating healthy and nourishing food, exercising regularly as per doctor’s advice and most importantly, having happy thoughts related to the” baby “, help a lot in reducing stress leading to dark under eyes and puffy eyes pregnancy.
What Causes Dark Circles And Puffiness During Pregnancy?
Stress is the biggest cause for the dark circles around eyes and puffy eyes pregnancy. Physical or environmental stress both are responsible for dark circles and puffiness under eyes during pregnancy.
Long working hours during pregnancy, sleepless nights, longer screen times, and prolonged crying due to pregnancy mood swings, all disturbs the natural balance of the eyes of the pregnant lady. The skin under the eyes becomes thin and the blood vessels underneath it become visible as dark circles under eyes. Under eye dark circles could also be genetic, which gets aggravated due to stress and show up during pregnancy. Pigmentation is another reason for under eye dark circles. Besides these there are lots of other causes too that lead to dark circles and swollen eyes during pregnancy:
Morning sickness and pregnancy nausea
These are the most common pregnancy issues, infact morning sickness, nausea and vomiting form the signs and symptoms of early pregnancy. Usually it is triggered by specific odors, some spicy foods, high surrounding temperature, excess salivation, and sometimes without any triggers at all.
Morning sickness is most common during the first three months of pregnancy and usually begins by nine weeks after conception. Due to this there is disruption in the sleep, dehydration due to vomiting, inability to eat and drink properly, all causing dark circles under eyes and puffy eye pregnancy.
Hormonal changes
Pregnancy triggers a multitude of hormonal changes in a woman’s body. Hormonal imbalance is responsible for dilating of the blood vessels. This leads to holding more volume of blood and hence pooling of blood under the eyes. This pooled blood being dark red in color gives the appearance of under eye dark circles.
Inadequate Physical Exercise
In pregnancy, inadequate physical exercise leads to excessive weight gain. This contributes to a high risk factor for maternal obesity and related pregnancy complications. Being physically active helps formation of oxygenated blood which is high in oxygen and bright red in color. However, with lethargy or inadequate physical activity, the blood cells get deoxygenated blood which is dark in color and shows up as dark circles around the eyes. It also aggravates skin puffiness given swollen eyes pregnancy.
Inflammation
Factors such as fluid retention during pregnancy may cause inflammation and swelling. Puffy facial skin, swollen feet, and hands are induced when a woman is not hydrated enough. Inflammation slows down the blood flow to the sensitive and delicate skin around the eyes. Hence, they end up looking like dark lines under the eyes.
Sleep Deprivation
With the baby growing rapidly during the pregnancy, the lady often finds it difficult to sleep in as easily as she was able to earlier. Certain factors such as the position of the baby, morning sickness, acid reflux and heartburn can prevent a mother-to-be from sleeping well. This sleep deprivation is the reason for dark circles during pregnancy. Women who don’t get enough sleep during pregnancy may have higher risks of developing pregnancy complications including: Preeclampsia, or high blood pressure or Gestational diabetes. Between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each day is necessary for a pregnant lady.
Retention of fluids
During pregnancy, the adrenal glands produce the aldosterone and cortisol hormones in excess, that make the body retain fluids. Another reason for fluid retention is, the enlarging uterus interferes with upward blood flow from the legs to the heart. For the softening of the body so as to facilitate easy expansion of the uterus and growth of the baby, some extra fluid builds up during pregnancy as hormones change. This swelling is called edema. It begins at four and a half months of pregnancy. This overall swelling increases during the 6th to 9th month. All these conditions cause retention of fluids during pregnancy being a reason for dark circles around the eyes.
Thyroid disorders
The condition called hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid, occurs when the thyroid gland makes large amounts of thyroid hormones. Hyperthyroidism during pregnancy may be problematic. Having too much thyroid hormone speeds up the way the body uses energy and controls growth. The disease is most common in young to middle-aged women and tends to run in families. It is important to keep your thyroid levels normal, as hyperthyroidism may lead to preterm birth, low birth weight of the baby, high blood pressure during pregnancy, swollen eyes pregnancy, and dark circles around eyes.
Treatment of under eye dark circles and puffy eye pregnancy depends on finding the exact underlying cause. You can certainly reduce dark under eyes appearance by making some changes to your lifestyle and trying some simple natural dark circle home remedies.
How to Prevent Dark Circles and Puffiness During Pregnancy
Instead of worrying about dark circles during pregnancy and swollen eye pregnancy, the pregnant lady must spend some time everyday taking care of her dark under eye skin. This ensures recovery from day-to-day stress. Irrespective of the cause of dark circles and puffiness, soothing the eyes of the “mother to be” with some natural ingredients helps her get relief from the problem. Some important points are to be taken care of to avoid the under eye dark circles and puffy eyes pregnancy:
Sleep
Sound sleep is the best way to minimize under eye dark circles, no matter what the cause. Sleep deprivation makes the skin look pale. This makes the dark circles look more prominent. So, getting 7-8 hours of sleep will help you prevent dark circles under eye pregnancy. Also, lesser acidity and heartburn promotes better sleep too!
Balanced diet
It is vital to have a nutrient-rich and fiber-rich diet. It makes you less prone to getting drained and exhausted. During pregnancy, your body is overworking by supporting you and your baby. So give it a balanced healthy diet by consuming loads of greens and fruits. This helps reduce the chance of possible vitamin deficiency which inturn helps prevent the appearance of under eye dark circles. Eating a balanced diet is the best natural remedy for dark circles.
Keep yourself hydrated
Ensure ample fluid intake in the form of plain water (8-12 glasses per day), milk, tender coconut water, juices, soups, etc. Staying hydrated keeps your skin plump and supple. It reduces the pooling of blood and works wonders for good digestion. This prevents and also makes a simple dark circle under eyes home remedy.
Yoga and Meditation
Get moving with prenatal yoga and calming exercises to feel active, energetic and stress-free. Yoga and meditation helps prevent the appearance of under eye dark circles. Meditate daily with calming music to keep the jitters or stress away. Lesser the stress, better the glow!
Exercise regularly
Regular exercise contributes to increased oxygen count in the blood cells. It will help improve the quality of sleep and bring out the glow, checking on this reason for dark circles. Take your doctor’s advice before you embark on a new exercise routine during pregnancy.
Reduce the consumption of sweet and salty foods
Consuming excessive sweets during pregnancy may contribute to increased weight gain and development of pregnancy complications. These may include pregnancy induced diabetes, hypertension and preterm birth.
Consumption of salt during pregnancy also needs attention and balance. A moderate amount of sodium is essential during pregnancy, as it helps maintain a normal balance of fluids and minerals in the body. But, excessive sweets and salty food cause dark circles and puffy eyes during pregnancy. Reducing excessive consumption of sweet and salty foods is important to prevent dark circles under eyes.
Don’t smoke and drink
Smoking and drinking during pregnancy worsens the problem of under eye dark circles and puffy eye pregnancy. Habit of Alcohol consumption might make the “would be mother” drowsy and help her fall asleep faster, but she may not stay that way for the entire night. It breaks up her normal sleep rhythms and can make her body restless throughout the night. This often leads to dark circles under her eyes. Alcohol dehydrates the body, which worsens swollen eye pregnancy.
Smoking during pregnancy hampers the blood supply that keeps skin tissues looking supple and healthy, and breaks down collagen and elastin. This leads to sagging giving puffy eyes pregnancy. Nicotine withdrawal during the night may cause disturbed sleep, that causes “the mother to be” develop dark circles under her eyes.
If a pregnant lady is cautious about her beauty, she has to have total control over all her bad habits to avoid dark circles under eyes and puffy eye pregnancy.
Home remedies to remove dark circles and puffy eyes during pregnancy
These home remedies to remove dark circles during pregnancy, when done regularly work wonders and give visible results:
Cucumber
Having 95% of water content cucumber works excellent in hydrating and moisturizing the under eye dark circle skin. The cucumber proteins help tighten the dark under eye skin, reduce swollen eye pregnancy and give a brighter look.
- Slice a cucumber in big round pieces
- Refrigerate it for 30 mins.
- Take it out and place the cucumber slices on the eyes for 15 mins
- Wash off the face with cool water
Raw Potato
It’s a wonderful natural remedy for dark circles as raw potato has bleaching properties that reduce the appearance of under eye dark circles, reduce dark spots and pigmentations, and brightens the skin complexion.
- Grate some raw potato
- Extract the potato juice from it
- Store the juice in the refrigerator for 30 mins
- Using cotton balls, apply this cool juice to the dark under eyes and swollen puffy eyes
- Leave it for 15 mins
- Rinse with cold water
Tea bags
It is a popular dark circle home remedy which also reduces puffy eye pregnancy. The high antioxidant content in tea helps reduce the appearance of under eye dark circles.
- Soak a tea bag in water
- Chill it in refrigerator for 30 mins
- Place it over the dark under eyes and swollen eyes for 15 mins
- Wash with cold water
Lemon
A well known skin lightening natural remedy for dark circles is using lemon juice. Lemons are rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants that remove under eye dark circles.
- Take a lemon and extract the juice by squeezing it
- It a cotton ball apply the lemon juice to dark circles around the eyes
- Leave it for 20 mins
- Wash with cool water
Mint leaves
Rich in vitamin C and has a cooling effect that soothes stressed eyes. Effective in reducing dark under eyes it also reduces puffy eyes during pregnancy.
- Crush some mint leaves and form a paste using water
- Apply the paste over dark under eyes
- Leave it for 15 mins
- Wash off with cool water
Almond oil
Has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and is rich in antioxidants, vitamin E, K and retinol that keeps the delicate dark under eye skin moisturized, tight, smooth and reduces any irritation. It helps lighten the dark circles around eyes and also reduces the swollen eye pregnancy.
- Take some natural almond oil
- Rub it on your fingers
- Massage the dark under eye gently, with outward strokes.
- Let it absorb in the dark under eye skin
- Wash your face with warm water after 20 mins to remove any excess oil.
All these remedies might seem too time-taking or require a lot of energy. But the end result will certainly be worth it. For better results, you can combine it with effective creams for under eye dark circles. Follow a consistent eye care routine along with a balanced lifestyle. This might actually work to get rid of those stubborn dark circles around eyes in a quicker manner! You need to start with getting the area under your eye moisturized. The skin under the eyes is thin and more prone to dryness. It needs gentle, natural eye creams that can penetrate the pores under the skin and help repair it from within
TheMomsCo. Recommends using the Best Under Eye Cream for under eye dark circles during pregnancy and swollen eye pregnancy, as the journey of a mother is hard and providing natural solutions to the concerns every mother goes through is important.
The Moms Co. Natural Under Eye Cream
It is completely toxin-free and made with the safest natural ingredients like Chia seed oil, Coffee oil, Vitamin B3 and hyaluronic acid, Vitamin E and Chamomile oil. It has an easy applicator roller that gives a massaging and cooling effect. All of these natural ingredients are known for their skin healing properties and work well when it comes to under eye dark circles and puffy eye pregnancy. This under eye cream replenishes the moisture, reduces dryness, improves uneven skin tone, reduces fine lines, dark under eyes and swollen eyes during pregnancy. Using this cream consistently gives faster visible results.
Is it possible to remove dark circles completely?
Irrespective of the causes, complete under eye dark circle removal is little difficult but there are many natural remedies for dark circles and natural dark circle reducing products that help reduce the under eye dark circles with visible results. Though not permanently, these remedies benefit in improving the appearance of under eye dark circles and puffy eye pregnancy when done routinely. Use NATURAL VITA RICH UNDER EYE CREAM for reducing under eye dark circles, and VITA RICH UNDER EYE CARE COMBO for
dark circles during pregnancy and puffy eye pregnancy.
When to see a doctor
If the swollen eye pregnancy and under eye dark circles become severe day by day, or feel itchy, painful and red it is important to see a doctor. It is important to rule out any infections or any allergy. If you notice dark patches on other body parts consulting a medical professional is important.
The occurrence of under eye dark circles and puffy eye pregnancy in early pregnancy causes changes in the way you look and more importantly, how you feel. They are the only thing standing between a mommy-to-be glow and you. However, one shouldn’t stress too much about the dark circles around eyes and swollen eye pregnancy as there are simple natural remedies for dark circles that can help reduce their appearance.