I just finished my first workout on the kinect Zumba! Core game. I went into the bathroom to clean the copious sweat my from my face, and I was shocked by the dark circles under my eyes. Seriously, it looked like maybe someone punched me a couple of days ago.

I've been noticing them more lately in general. I've always been prone to under-eye circles, but they've been more pronounced lately. I thought it might be due to allergies or age, since I've had more problems with allergies since I moved to my current location and obviously I have never been as old as I am right now, but I swear Zumba made them worse! Can exercise do that? Is there a way to combat it? I don't usually worry about this much, but it's seriously dramatic right now. Obviously concealer is one answer, but a) I don't wear makeup every day anyway, b) I just bought makeup, not including concealer, and I don't have room in the budget for more right now, and c) I have a hard-to-match cheaply skin tone anyway. So if there's a way to actually improve the circles themselves, what is it?

I really liked that workout, so I don't want to never do it again or anything. And anyway I do go running reasonably regularly and it only make me red and sweaty, not zombified. Is this some hidden Zumba curse?

I have dark eye circles, but notice that they're darker when I don't get enough sleep, don't drink enough water (which may be if you're doing more exercise), and if I don't moisturize well enough under my eyes.

You don't need a fancy moisturizer. I use benefit it's potent but I have had similar luck using my regular Eucerin face cream or just a bit of organic coconut oil.

All of them seem to work best at night so that they have time to set in before I put on concealer in the morning. If I do it too close to the time I put makeup on, the concealer doesn't really stick

My best suggestion is to drink more water. It is very possible that you are dehydrated from zumba, which in turn could cause the dark circles. Try drinking at least 16 more ounces a day and see if it helps.

My college roommate used to put Preparation H cream on her undereye circles. I've seen something about that online lately -- maybe you could Google it for more information. It would be a cheap solution if it works for you.

No, Zumba does not do that to your eyes. Maybe the lighting in the room is harsh and makes you think that but Zumba itself as opposed to other forms of exercise does not cause dark circles.

Dark circles are hereditary, I have them myself. They are exacerbated by poor sleep, nutrition, and poor hydration. There's the usual topical methods like wearing eye masks and using cucumbers and the old trick of keeping a spoon in the freezer and placing it on your eyes to depuff. And then there's the promises that eye creams make, there are certain ones that promise to get rid of circles but you really shouldn't need anything other than a basic moisturizer and a basic eye cream, sunscreen in the day time and plenty of water and rest.

A girl like me cannot live without concealer. I wear it even when I'm not wearing any other make up. Concealer is just a fact of life, if I don't wear it people are always asking me "what's wrong, are you ok?" because my dark circles make me look like I just went to a funeral or something. It's sad but it gets worse with age. So I invest in concealer. The best I have found so far is Givenchy concealer. It's pricy I ain't gonna lie but it does not cake and it does not get trapped in fine lines. I apply it after my moisturizer sets in and just cake it on a bit and leave it before dabbing it. It instantly makes me feel 10yrs younger and for me that feeling is PRICELESS.

And girl, what are you doing trying to match your own concealer? Go to a pro! Seriously, go into Macy's or Bloomies and sit down at Givenchy and let them match you to your concealer. Go in prepared to buy it. You gotta spend the money on it because this is certainly not something you can fix by quitting Zumba lol.

I agree, as another with hereditary dark circles, concealer is my best weapon.

Thanks, y'all! They're looking better again, so I think dehydration may have been the main factor, but I'll get some concealer the next time I go shopping. Now if only I lived in a town where I didn't have to drive for an hour to do that!

This article may be worth linking into for ya. Good luck!