Millions of Americans deal with dark under eye circles,
whether they're from a lack of sleep, allergies, or irritation. Since
those can be tough conditions to get rid of, everyone's looking for a
quick fix. Enter: a new DIY trick from beauty blogger Farah Dhukai.
[post_ads_2]
Dhukai mixes buttermilk with turmeric, then applies it under her eyes. After it dries, she rinses it off and poof! Her circles are
gone. The apparent reasoning behind this trick: "Turmeric temporarily
stains the skin yellow, which is an optical neutralizer for the color
purple, just as green is for red," explains Dr. Lisa Donofrio,
Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Yale University School
of Medicine. But here's a catch: If your complexion is naturally light,
this may not be for you. "You don't see the yellow so much because
[Farah's] skin is pigmented, but in lighter skin it could look a little
too sallow."
[post_ads_2]
As for the safety of fixing your dark circles with turmeric, board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Christine Choi Kim is wary of putting a spice so close to your eyes — particularly without doing a patch test
first. "Apply a little on the inside surface of your forearm, then wait
a full two days to see if you have any allergic reaction," she advises.
Dr. Kim notes that while people in South Asian countries have been
using turmeric on their skin for a long time, in the science community,
anecdotal tips are considered the weakest form of evidence.
Cosmeceuticals require some testing, while any prescriptive skincare
product is subject to large scale clinical trials — ones that will weed
out potentially dangerous products.
As always, talk to your dermatologist before you start any new skincare regimen, whether it seems "all natural" or not.
