For a long time now I have been getting a lot of queries on under eye dark circles, wrinkles and puffiness. Today, I want to cover in detail the causes for these problems and some of the solutions.
The skin around the eyes being thin and delicate and lacking oil glands is very prone to puffiness, under eye bags, darkening and wrinkling around the eyes. Regular eye care, balanced and nutritious diet and protection from sun and other environmental pollutants will go a long way in avoiding these problems.
Puffiness and under eye bags tend to develop due to collection of fluid in the skin around the eyes. Excessive intake of salt, high blood pressure, undue strain on the eyes due to working in front of computers for long hours, refractory errors of the eye, lack of sleep and fatigue, anaemia and allergy to cosmetics and eye care products can lead to these problems. In some people these problems may be familial.
Dark circles and wrinkles around the eyes in a lot of people may be familial and nothing much can be done about it. Anaemia, drop in haemoglobin level,  lack of sleep, irritation in and around the eyes due to cosmetic and eye care products, stress, use of contact lenses/glasses etc. are some of the common causes of dark circles. Try and get your haemoglobin levels checked and take some iron and multivitamin capsules to correct the anaemia.
Consult your eye specialist to rule out any eye problem and take necessary treatment if there is a problem.
In diet, restrict intake of salt and take balanced nutritious diet. Lay emphasis on fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables as they are rich in micro nutrients, iron and other minerals. Drink plenty of water and fresh juices to keep yourself hydrated throughout.
For puffiness, hot and cold compresses done alternately over the eye 2-3 times a day would help a lot. Refrigerate used tea bags and apply over the eye for 15-20 minutes and leave on to help reduce puffiness as well. Eye exercises aimed at relaxing muscles of the eye and ensuring ideal lighting conditions and distance while working in front of computers or studying or watching television etc. will help a lot. 
For dark circles, at home you can use cucumber pads or grated potato packs (with the peel) around the eyes for 15-20 minutes. Paste of blanched almonds with rose petals also helps in clearing dark circles and wrinkles around the eyes.
There are a lot of good cosmetic eye products available in the market these days for under eye dark circles and puffiness. For under eye dark circles, creams and gels with mild retinoic acid, kojic acid and vitamin C etc. will help.
For under eye bags, eye surgeons can do blephroplasty and remove excessive deposit of fat under the eyes. For darkening there is no permanent solution, but you can consult a good beauty therapist and do regular advanced dark circles treatments to help reduce darkening. For wrinkles, semi-permanent solutions like Botox and Restylene can help.

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Beauty expert Manjul Gupta answers queries on style  and grooming. Write to her at Living c/o Deccan Herald,  No. 75, M G Road, B’lore -1 or email: styletips@ rediffmail.com