By Smooth Fine Lines, Reduce Eye Bags & Brighten Dark Circles—Naturally!
Posted on March 6, 2025 Written by: 100% PURE®
Are you noticing fine lines around your eyes that make you look older than you feel? Crow’s feet are one of the first signs of aging in the skin. They are the expression lines of smiles and joy— and age. If you’re not always happy to see them appear around your eyes, you’re not alone!
Crow’s feet and their closest eye relative culprits, eye bags, and dark circles, can appear due to aging, sun exposure, and lifestyle habits. While many turn to Botox or fillers, natural remedies can smooth wrinkles, reduce puffiness, and brighten your under-eyes without invasive treatments.
Keep reading to discover scientifically backed, natural solutions to erase crow’s feet and refresh your eyes—including the best skincare products and plant-based peptides to support youthful skin. It’s time to be happy and have those crow’s feet land elsewhere!
What Causes Crow’s Feet & Eye Bags?
Crow’s feet, eye bags, and the other oddly descriptive eye concerns fall under the less than eye-dyllic facet of aging skin. Those small fan-shaped folds resembling a crow’s foot or claw, are the fine lines that appear around the outer corners of your eyes, while eye bags are mild swelling or puffiness under the eyes.
The eye area is one of the most delicate parts of the face due to its thin skin and unique structure. Unlike areas on the body, the skin around the eyes is much thinner, making it more susceptible to visible issues like dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines. But there are other causes of crow’s feet and eye bags. Let’s go through some of the biggest – and sneakiest – culprits!
#1. Loss of Collagen & Elasticity
As we age, collagen production declines, leading to less firm skin. These proteins are essential for maintaining skin firmness and elasticity. Additionally, our skin naturally thins, causing puffiness and discoloration.
As our body’s production of collagen and elastin naturally decreases, this results in visible fine lines around the eyes and eye bags.
#2. Dehydration & Lack of Moisture
Dry skin makes crow’s feet and fine lines more pronounced. Dry skin around the eyes exacerbates the appearance of wrinkles. Without proper hydration, the skin lacks the plumpness needed to stay smooth.
A hydrating eye cream can plump the skin and prevent further damage. Ingredients like hyaluronic acid and peptides to hydrate and plump the skin around the eyes, and to stimulate collagen production.
#3. Repeated Facial Expressions
Smiling, squinting, frowning, or repeated muscle movement contribute to wrinkles around the eyes.
While these expressions are natural, keeping skin hydrated and nourished helps minimize their effects. Drink plenty of water throughout the day and incorporate a hydrating eye cream with peptides to strengthen and repair the delicate skin around your eyes.
#4. Poor Circulation & Fluid Retention
Eye bags form when excess fluid accumulates under the eyes. When blood flow is poor, fluid can collect under the eyes because the body isn’t effectively removing excess fluid from the area.
Poor circulation exacerbates puffiness and dark circles. Poor circulation leads to eye bags because when blood flow is reduced around the eyes, it can cause fluid to accumulate under the skin, resulting in puffiness and the appearance of “bags” due to inadequate drainage of toxins and waste products from the area.
, or a slight discoloration around the eyes due to the buildup of deoxygenated blood.
Natural Remedies to Smooth Crow’s Feet & Reduce Eye Bags
Crow’s feet and eye bags don’t have to be permanent fixtures on your face. With the right natural remedies, you can minimize their appearance and restore smoothness to your eye area.
#1. Hydration & Moisture: The Key to Smoother Eyes
is more prone to fine lines and wrinkles. When the skin lacks hydration and moisture, it appears sunken and dull, making eye bags and crow’s feet stand out. Dehydration can contribute to eye bags because when your body is parched, it retains fluid wherever it can, including under the eyes, causing puffiness that looks like bags.
Why it works: Hydrated skin looks plumper and more youthful, reducing the appearance of fine lines and under-eye bags.
How to do it:
Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. Water helps flush toxins and waste out of your body, which can help prevent fine lines and wrinkles and those pesky eye bags.
Apply a hydrating eye cream with natural oils and humectants. Keeping the skin hydrated is essential, and using an eye-specific moisturizer ensures you get the lightweight, nourishing formulas this delicate area needs. Ingredients like caffeine can plump the skin by attracting moisture.
👉 Best Product: is a cult-favorite eye cream packed with antioxidants to smooth crow’s feet, brighten dark circles, and smooth fine lines. Its hydrating formula features caffeine and green tea to encourage healthy circulation, meaning a de-puffed under-eye with fewer dark circles.
#2. Cold Compress & Cucumber Slices for Puffiness
When your body is dehydrated, it retains fluid wherever it can, including under the eyes, causing puffiness that looks like bags. Using some timeless frosty facial tricks is the trick to get those eye bags packing for good.
Why it works: reduces inflammation and shrinks blood vessels, helping with eye bags.
How to do it:
Apply chilled cucumber slices over closed eyes for 10 minutes. Placing chilled cucumber slices on the eyes can reduce swelling by constricting blood vessels, reducing inflammation, and tightening the skin.
Massage the under-eye area with a cold spoon or ice roller. This will help constrict the vessels and reduce inflammation.
👉 Best Pairing: are highly caffeinated eye masks designed to brighten, de-puff, and refresh the eye area. They are formulated with cooling cucumber and natural caffeine to reduce puffiness, while firming and brightening the skin.
#3. Peptides for Collagen Boosting & Wrinkle Reduction
Peptides are short chains of small amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, including keratin, elastin, and, most importantly, collagen. Their small size allows them to easily penetrate the outer layer of skin and perform anti-aging magic on the deeper layers of our dermis, boosting collagen and reducing wrinkles and fine lines.
Why it works: , helping restore firmness and smooth crow’s feet. Peptides stimulate skin to make more collagen. That helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles and helps make skin tighter and smoother. These tiny but mighty ingredients promote cellular repair, hydrate the skin, and provide .
How to do it:
Apply a peptide-rich eye cream before bed. This will help regenerate collagen and reduce fine lines and wrinkles while you sleep, which is prime time for your skin to go into repair and renewal mode.
Look for plant-based peptides that support anti-aging. For example, mushroom peptides and quinoa peptides are great at protecting and nourishing your skin.
👉 Best Product: is an ultra-rich moisturizer designed to deeply hydrate and repair the skin while you sleep. It’s infused with plant-based peptides to encourage collagen production and restore skin’s elasticity for firmer, smoother skin.
#4. Aloe Vera & Rosehip Oil for Skin Regeneration
Similar to the behaviors of moisturizers being effective hydration heroes, aloe vera and rosehip oil have a wide range of anti-aging benefits.
Why it works:
Aloe vera soothes and hydrates the delicate under-eye area. Aloe vera plumps the skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines by improving hydration levels.
Rosehip oil contains natural Vitamin A (a retinol alternative), which helps reduce fine lines and has been . It also contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids known for hydrating the skin, locking in moisture, and strengthening the cell walls to prevent water loss.
How to do it:
Apply a drop of under the eyes before bed. This richly moisturizing organic oil promotes collagen synthesis essential for skin elasticity and firmness, and helps minimize the signs of aging, including fine lines and wrinkles.
Use fresh aloe vera gel as an overnight eye mask. Hydrating botanicals like aloe help reduce dark circles and eye bags and hydrate the skin.
👉 Best Product: is an anti-aging retinol cream with plant-based retinol, hydrating botanicals, and nourishing antioxidants to enhance skin’s natural glow. Vegan retinol helps lessen the appearance of lines and wrinkles while rich plant oils soften and deeply moisturize skin.
#5. Facial Massage to Boost Circulation & Drain Fluid
Incorporating a facial massage into your skincare routine can help to relax face muscles, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, increase collagen production, bring more oxygen and blood flow to the skin, and remove extra fluid and toxins with lymphatic drainage. Focusing on the eye area with an can increase circulation and reduce fluid buildup.
Why it works: Stimulates lymphatic drainage, reducing eye bags and puffiness. An eye massage encourages lymphatic drainage, blood flow, and fluid buildup, which can reduce puffiness and dark circles. You can also massage in small circles where crow’s feet may appear, or where they may appear in the future to encourage collagen production in that area.
How to do it:
Use a jade roller or your fingertips to massage the under-eye area in an outward motion. For a massage, you’ll want to use more eye cream than you usually do for plenty of slip for your finger tips to glide around the eye area without pulling or tugging. Start at the inner area of the upper lid by the bridge of the nose with your thumb, and glide it along the brow bone. For the lower eye, you can start at the inner corner and glide outward.
Perform for 2 minutes before bed to help with fluid retention. Massaging around the eye area boosts lymphatic drainage and encourages blood circulation, which in turn helps to reduce eye bags and dismal dark circles.
Preventing Crow’s Feet & Eye Bags Long-Term
While self-care is personal and individual, there are some factors to use as a starting point for healthier habits and more youthful skin. Buying thoughtfully formulated eye (and skin) products that feature natural ingredients rather than harmful chemicals is a great first step toward taking conscious care of your skin and helping to reduce wrinkles and fine lines.
However, other lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep cycle, and skin care can have an enormous impact on the health of your skin, body, and the fragile skin around your eyes. Let’s address the top tips for healthier, happier skin and more youthful peepers.
#1. Wear Sunscreen Every Day
Sun damage breaks down collagen, leading to premature wrinkles. UV rays break down collagen in the skin, leading to a loss of elasticity and the formation of premature wrinkles, particularly noticeable around the eyes due to the delicate skin in that area.
How UV exposure accelerates aging skin. We’ve all heard this before, but it’s important to . Over time, your body produces free radicals in response to UV exposure. These rogue electrons can cause irreversible damage throughout your skin tissue, leading to wrinkles and fine lines, dark spots, and the loss of suppleness and elasticity.
Whether it’s rain or shine, summer or winter, a crucial step in your daily beauty routine is applying broad-spectrum sun protection to guard your skin against sun damage. Use a SPF 30 or higher with UVA and UVB protection. Wear sunglasses to shield your eyes from damaging UV exposure.
#2. Get Enough Sleep & Sleep on Your Back
Sleeping on your back and getting enough sleep can help prevent crow’s feet by reducing friction on your skin and encouraging healthy skin cell renewal. Sleeping on your back can help with eye bags because it reduces fluid buildup around the eyes.
A lack of sleep makes eye bags and dark circles worse. You need to get 7-9 hours of restful sleep for skin repair each night. A lack of sleep can leave your skin looking dull and lifeless. Sleep deprivation leads to fluid retention around the eyes, causing puffiness and discoloration, which makes dark circles more prominent.
When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces larger quantities of the stress hormone cortisol, which triggers inflammation. As inflammation takes hold, your body produces less collagen and which results in a loss of skin brightness, smoothness, and suppleness. Your body also takes care of important processes like balancing hydration as you sleep, so missing out on shut-eye will deprive your body and skin of a chance for moisture to be properly regulated.
Sleeping on your back prevents fluid buildup under the eyes. If you sleep on your side, your face is likely pressed to your pillow for a while; seven to eight hours is a long time for your face to be mashed! This creasing can contribute to lines and droopiness around the eyes even after you wake up. Lying flat can cause fluid to pool under your eyes, worsening puffiness and dark circles.
The best position to prevent wrinkle formation and fluid build-up is sleeping on your back with your head slightly elevated. A good night’s sleep also allows your body to repair and rejuvenate your skin naturally.
#3. Avoid Excess Alcohol & Salt
Sodium & alcohol cause water retention, making eye bags more prominent. Alcohol leads to dehydration and loss of elasticity due to its diuretic properties, meaning it causes the body to lose fluids, which in turn draws moisture from the skin, leading to dryness, dullness, and wrinkles. If you’re dehydrated, it also impacts the production of collagen and elastin, which is essential for healthy skin.
Switch to hydrating, antioxidant-rich foods for better skin. Consuming high amounts of sodium (salt) or salty, fatty foods can lead to water retention in the body, which makes under-eye bags appear more prominent due to fluid buildup in the delicate skin around the eyes. It’s important to have an antioxidant-rich diet with hydrating foods and foods high in vitamin C, vitamin E, and omega fatty acids.
A rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants contributes to healthy skin from within. Foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins provide essential nutrients that promote skin elasticity, repair, and overall vitality.
FAQs About Crow’s Feet & Eye Bags
What’s the best natural remedy for crow’s feet?
Rosehip oil and aloe vera are excellent for smoothing fine lines and improving skin elasticity. Rosehip oil contains vitamin A, a natural retinol alternative that boosts collagen, while aloe vera deeply hydrates and soothes delicate skin. You can also look for caffeine to reduce puffiness, vitamin C to brighten, retinol to smooth fine lines, hyaluronic acid for deep hydration, and peptides to boost collagen and improve skin firmness.
Can eye bags be permanently removed?
There are some surgical treatments for eye bag removal that you should consult with a professional surgeon about if you’re interested in this procedure. Other non-surgical treatments include consulting with a professional on laser treatments or injectables for eye bags. As we’ve discussed here, there are also natural, effective remedies and lifestyle changes that can reduce eye bags.
How long does it take to see results from natural remedies?
Natural remedies take time and consistency. Most people notice a visible reduction in puffiness within a few days, while improvements in dark circles and fine lines may take a few weeks to a couple of months.
Are peptides really effective for eye bags and dark circles?
Yes! While peptides are well-known for smoothing wrinkles, certain peptides also target puffiness and dark circles. For example, tetrapeptides can help reduce inflammation and fluid retention under the eyes, while copper peptides promote circulation, which may brighten dark circles over time.
Can I use retinol around my eyes?
Yes, retinol can be used around the eyes, but with caution. It’s best to start with a plant-based retinol to reduce potential irritation that could occur with a conventional retinol.
Final Thoughts: Say Goodbye to Crow’s Feet Naturally
We’ve discovered on our journey to more youthful eyes the power of natural remedies. Crow’s feet, eye bags, and dark circles can be treated naturally with hydration, peptides, and circulation-boosting remedies. Natural remedies can smooth wrinkles, reduce puffiness, and brighten your under-eyes without invasive treatments.
Natural remedies to help smooth crow’s feet and reduce eye bags range from maintaining proper hydration inside and out by drinking adequate water, using a hydrating eye cream, applying cold compresses, and performing eye massages to reduce fluid and boost circulation. These natural remedies reduce under-eye puffiness and smooth crow’s feet.
It’s also important to incorporate natural ingredients and skin products that can reduce the signs of aging around the eyes, like plant-based, peptide-infused skincare, hydrating aloe vera, and anti-aging rosehip oil, which can reduce eye bags and crow’s feet for smoother, more youthful skin around the eyes.
Additionally, adhering to some lifestyle habits, such as wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen, getting adequate sleep on your back, and avoiding excess salt and alcohol can make a difference in erasing crow’s feet and refreshing your eyes.
It’s time to be happy and have those crow’s feet land elsewhere by incorporating these simple remedies and skincare products into your routine for brighter, smoother eyes. Be sure to shop and to restore your youthful glow today!
