The Best Sleep Eye Mask for Dark Circles

Whether you need complete darkness to fall asleep, shutting out nightly distractions, or wanting to protect the delicate skin around your eyes, finding the best sleep mask can make a difference in your sleep routine. In this article, we will go through the benefits of a good sleep mask. Subsequently, we will also introduce the best sleep eye mask for dark circles and eye wrinkles.

Why are sleeping eye masks beneficial?

Sleep masks are relaxing, soothing, and a sleep aid that brings a multitude of benefits along with getting some shut-eye. Sleep masks force us to completely unplug and unwind from our hectic lifestyles. They can help to conquer stress, insomnia, fatigue, and tired, dry eyes.

Additionally, sleep masks can also offer benefits to the delicate skin around the eyes. In particular, silk-like fabrics cause less friction between the skin and the fabric – helping to minimize possible wrinkling. This is especially useful for protecting the eyes in those who sleep face first into the pillow.

By sitting directly over your eyes, sleep masks gives both your eyes and mind a much-needed break from technological devices. Therefore, this grants you the total darkness deserved for a better night’s rest. Furthermore, undisturbed sleep is vital as it allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and ready to start a new day when you wake up. At the same time, healthy sleep improves one’s abilities to concentrate and think clearly.

The Bedtime Ritual Bundle includes all you need for a good night’s sleep. The CUIONS Anti-Aging Beauty Copper Pillow Case to reduce face wrinkles and prevent acne, the Anti-Aging Sleeping Eye Mask to prevent puffy eyes and dark circles, and the Lipisilk Cocoon Night Hair Wrap to condition hair while sleeping, nourishing soft and smooth tresses

Improve sleep quality

In this technological day and age, we’re inundated with artificial light from the street, other rooms or even blue light from devices inside your bedroom. This is despite our efforts to darken our bedrooms as much as possible, disrupting our sleep cycles.

Sleeping in darkness helps improve sleep quality as humans are naturally diurnal – where we’re awake during the day and asleep at night. Our brains are hard-wired into associating darkness with sleep. More melatonin, which is the hormone that controls our sleep and wake cycles is produced by the brain when they sense an absence of light, which can be achieved with a sleeping eye mask. Furthermore, dark sleeping conditions contributed by sleep masks is linked to an increased time in REM sleep and decreased wakefulness. Therefore, one would be more likely to sleep deeply and to sleep through the night.

Biofunctional textiles

Copper is an essential natural occurring trace element involved in many physiological and metabolic processes, including skin formation and wound repair. Copper is safe for usage as demonstrated by the widespread and prolonged use of copper intrauterine devices by millions of women worldwide, as well as over‐the‐counter wound healing treatments containing copper. The risk of adverse reactions as a result of dermal contact with copper is extremely low. The technology now exists to incorporate insoluble copper nanoparticles to coat each strand of fibre to produce 100% copper fibre fabric.

Does the material of our pillowcase matter?

An average person spends 229,961 hours in their lifetime sleeping, given that an average person sleeps 8 hours every night. Dermatologists advise that the material in contact with your skin during sleep, especially your pillowcase, is key, given the long-term exposure to it. A group of Korean dermatologists demonstrated that there are statistically significant results between the groups of patients sleeping on the pillowcases containing copper-impregnated fibers, as compared to the control pillowcases in 2012. Sleeping on copper‐containing pillowcases has a positive cosmetic effect such as reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines and improving overall skin appearance. Data from two randomised controlled trials also demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in facial wrinkles after 2 weeks of exposure to copper oxide infused textile.

The CUIONS Anti-Aging Beauty Copper Pillow Case includes clinical proven anti-wrinkle effects, and antibacterial functions suitable for acne patients. Made of copper nanoparticle impregnated treated synthetic silk fabric, it has improved evaporation coefficient so it doesn’t get saturated with sweat or moisture. This maintains a cool and dry skin microenvironment which is beneficial for the treatment and prevention of acne. 

Main benefits of copper sleeping eye mask

Anti-dark eye circles

The copper–impregnated eye masks serve as a continuous source of copper ions that are released in the presence of skin moisture. Copper ions result in an increased level of elastin and collagen, with elastin conferring elasticity to the skin while collagen confers firmness. Being a potent antioxidant, copper serves as a cofactor of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme present in the skin that is important for protection against free radicals and inhibits cellular oxidative effects, such as membrane damage and lipid peroxidation. Hence, with increased collagen, skin elasticity is maintained and dark blood vessels beneath your skin are less visible, improving dark eye circles.

The CUIONS Anti-aging sleeping eye mask can also be used in conjunction with the CutisCool™ Biological Gel Pack, which can help to achieve anti-puffiness, anti-fatigue and reduce as well as improve dark eye circles. CutisCool™ Gel is sealed in a leak-proof packaging to form a cooling mixture but without the discomfort of ice.

Anti-wrinkle under the eye

If you sleep on your side or stomach, the combination of the pressure against your skin and any rubbing on your pillowcase that makes impressions on your face can lead to the breakdown of collagen, wrinkles, and crow’s feet. The best sleep eye mask serves as a protective layer between you and your pillow, hence you’re less likely to wake up with sheet lines and therefore less likely to suffer collagen breakdown.

Wearing a copper eye mask further helps in reduction in wrinkles, fine lines and improvement of the overall appearance. While sleeping, the skin absorbs copper ions, which stabilizes and stimulates the formation of extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagen, fibronectin and integrin. Copper ions facilitate efficient collagen and elastin cross-linking. Superoxide dismutase enzyme, which is copper-dependent, helps to protect against free radicals, in the skin, preventing premature ageing. Hence, copper ions help prevent wrinkles from forming as well as improve the appearance of the skin.

References:

Baek JH, Yoo MA, Koh JS, Borkow G. Reduction of facial wrinkles depth by sleeping on copper oxide‐containing pillowcases: a double blind, placebo controlled, parallel, randomized clinical study. Journal of cosmetic dermatology. 2012;11:193-200.

Borkow G. Using Copper to Improve the Well-Being of the Skin. Current chemical biology. 2015;2014;8:89-102.

Ogen‐Shtern N, Chumin K, Cohen G, Borkow G. Increased pro‐collagen 1, elastin, and TGF‐β1 expression by copper ions in an ex‐vivo human skin model. Journal of cosmetic dermatology. 2020;19:1522-1527.