The Orange Juice Hack That Can Get Rid Of Dark Circles Under Your Eyes
Maybe you pulled an all-nighter trying to finish your thesis. Maybe you were up partying all night and didn't go to bed until 3 a.m. Or maybe you're just plain exhausted. Whatever the case, we've all been there at some point or another: your body didn't get the rest it needed, and now you've got dark circles.
People have been trying to solve this age-old problem for years, heaping on the soothing moisturizer and La Prairie caviar eye cream in hopes that their dark circles will fade. While these methods can freshen up your under eyes, they can also drain up and dry out your wallet. Anyone who's taken a cursory glance at the supermarket's skincare aisle knows that there are way too many skincare products out there that aren't worth the money. When your under eyes and your wallet desperately need a pick-me-up, what can you do?
Look no further than your fridge. Apparently, all the solutions to your dark circle woes are contained in a bottle of orange juice. Yep, you heard that right. By combining orange juice with a few drops of glycerin, you can erase those dark circles in no time.
What's the recipe?
The process is pretty simple. Pour yourself a glass of orange juice, add a few drops of glycerin, soak a cotton pad in the mixture, and apply it to your under eyes. For maximum benefit, fold the cotton pads and let them sit under your eyes for about ten minutes, as @skinbydulce shows. You can buy a bottle of glycerin at your local supermarket or pharmacy, and it's completely safe to use on the skin. Still, you'll want to be careful when using it, as you would with any new skin care product, so as to prevent rashes or other adverse reactions.
To exercise caution, dilute the glycerin in rose water or vitamin E serum. Doing this is not only safe for your skin, but can boost your mixture's potential. If you've used glycerin before, or are a DIY skin care expert, then there's no need to do this if you don't want to. By adding only a few drops to the orange juice, you will have already diluted it, while still reaping its benefits.
You'll want to slowly incorporate this into your routine, using it about once or twice a week. Only increase the amount if you find that no changes are occurring. Be careful with the type of orange juice you use, too — orange juice from concentrate is high in added sugars. It's 100% orange juice that you're looking for.
How it works
Orange juice contains high concentrations of vitamins A and C. A 2015 study published in the National Library of Medicine found that Vitamin C is a powerful skincare ingredient, and highly effective when it comes to slowing down the aging process. Vitamin A is nothing to scoff at, either: the form of vitamin A in orange juice is also known as retinol, which can be found in a number of skincare products. What's more, studies have indicated that orange juice can help reduce inflammation, though it's unclear if that only applies to internal consumption. Either way, it can't hurt to try.
But, it'll take a bit more than a glass of plain orange juice to get the job done. Luckily for you, this won't take more than one shopping trip. You'll actually only need to add one more ingredient: glycerin. While not everyone incorporates this into their orange juice skin care recipe, it's actually crucial to achieving your desired results.
Why glycerin? Well, this naturally occurring compound is a big-time hydrator and is often used in face washes to moisturize and hydrate your skin. Cosmetic scientist Rachael Polowyj told Byrdie that glycerin is "used a lot in pharmaceutical creams, promoted by doctors to treat extreme dryness and repair skin elasticity." So, if you have dry under eyes and want to smooth them out, adding glycerin to your orange juice concoction can do the trick.