Is vitamin c good for eye bags

Plus, which products will help each type.

Updated on March 23, 2022

Photo: Getty Images/fizkes

Not to be dramatic, but dark circles are like a looming rain cloud trying to hover over the prospect of a happy, sunny day. The bluish-purple under-eye monsters, as I so warmly like to refer to them, seem to be bent on evading all attempts of covering them up with concealer. Instead, I've turned my approach to trying to heal them before any makeup is even in the equation.

From vitamin C to retinol, there are many options out there to help treat dark circles and puffiness, which makes it hard to know what ingredient works best for your specific under-eye area. There are also different types of dark circles that can be caused by issues like extra pigmentation or collagen loss.

However, there is a dermatologist-backed trick to figuring out what type of dark under-eye circles that you're experiencing. In turn, it tells you exactly which type of skin-care product can help combat them. Here's how to tell.

Look in the mirror, then grab and pinch the skin under your eyes where your dark circles are. Lift up the skin and move it around back and forth just a little bit, watching to see what happens to the under-eye skin. If the bluish tint disappears or significantly lightens, that likely means your under-eye skin has thinned out and the veins underneath are peaking through. For that, you need something to repair and promote collagen production, so ingredients like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid will be your friends.

But if the bluish or brownish tint moves with your skin and stays the same shade, that means you're experiencing over-pigmentation, which can be a result of many different factors from sun damage to run-of-the-mill aging. For these types of dark circles, you'll want to use a retinol to reduce hyperpigmentation and age-related dark spots. And if your circles seem to be more related to dark shadows primarily caused by puffiness or "eye bags," you can use an eye cream fortified with caffeine to help fight excess fluid retention, which can result from lack of sleep, too much salt, alcohol consumption, or even allergies.

Dark under-eye circles are a tough thing to beat, and sometimes it just all comes down to genetics. (As in, don't ever let them ruin your day.) Shop some of our favorite eye creams for each dark circle type below.

Olehenriksen Banana Bright Eye Créme

Best for boosting collagen and brightening

Give yourself a jolt of collagen-boosting vitamin C with this cult-favorite eye cream that reduces dark circles, targets signs of aging, and features tinted "banana powder," which color-corrects the eye area for an instantly brighter look.

BUY IT: $40; olehenriksen.com

RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream

Best for combating signs of aging and hyperpigmentation

Known as the number one-selling drugstore eye cream in the nation, this staple is formulated with retinol to directly address dark circles, wrinkles, fine lines, and puffiness in one fell swoop. Expect results in just a couple weeks.

BUY IT: $19.99; walmart.com

The Inkey List Caffeine Eye Cream

Best for eliminating puffiness and "eye bags"

This lightweight eye cream fortified with de-puffing caffeine is perfect for waking up your complexion in the morning and has raked in amazing reviews as an effective skin-care option on a budget.

BUY IT: $9.99; sephora.com

Pathology FlashPatch Restoring Night Eye Gels

Best for majorly rejuvenating the under-eyes overnight

When you want a little bit of everything and then some, these overnight eye patches with retinol feel like a one-two punch to dull, dark circles. Plus, they make bedtime feel like a spa experience.

BUY IT: $20-60; nordstrom.com

Eating foods rich in vitamins A and C may help prevent skin aging and the onset of eye bags.

Image Credit: Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Lack of sleep, heredity and aging are the major factors that cause bags under the eyes. The vitamins in your diet may not play a major role in any of these causes, but making sure you include foods rich in vitamins A, C and E may help offer some protection against the aging process. Consult your doctor to discuss how diet affects your health, including the bags under your eyes.

Vitamin C

One of the major causes of eye bags is the weakening of the ligaments underneath your eye that hold the fatty tissue back. According to a study published in 2007 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, not getting enough vitamin C in your diet increases skin aging. The authors of the study theorize that it has something to do with the role vitamin C plays in the production of collagen, which is the protein that makes the ligaments under your eyes. To help reduce the risk of bags under your eyes, include red and green peppers, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, cantaloupe and tomatoes to get more vitamin C in your diet.

Vitamin A

The 2007 study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also noted a relationship between lower intakes of vitamin A and an increase in skin aging. Vitamin A doesn't have a direct impact on eye bags like vitamin C, but it may offer some protection against damage from the sun, which may help delay the skin aging process. Sweet potatoes, carrots, black-eyed peas, milk and eggs are good food sources of vitamin A.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E also protects the skin from sun damage, which may also help delay the aging responsible for eye bags. Additionally, vitamin E is an important antioxidant that protects your cells from the oxidative damage that's known to be a major factor in the aging process. Vitamin E is found in almonds, wheat germ, sunflower seeds and peanut butter.

Other Diet Factors

Vitamins play more of an indirect role in helping you manage the bags under your eyes, but there are diet changes you can make that may have more of a direct impact. For example, limiting your intake of foods that cause fluid retention such as fast food, processed meats and salty snacks may help prevent some of the puffiness. Also, watch your intake of caffeine to help ensure that you get an adequate amount of sleep each night.