The cucumber has long been touted as a treatment to aid with the discomfort of eye strain, reduce eye puffiness, and eliminate bags under the eyes. The coolness of cucumbers, along with their anti-inflammatory properties, are effective at reducing swelling in sensitive areas. Combined with some other ingredients, cucumbers on eyes can also treat dark circles.

Cucumbers contain ascorbic acid, which helps to prevent water retention. When cucumbers are left on closed eyelids and the under-eye area, puffiness and swelling are reduced as the vegetable draws moisture out of the skin cells. Tired, puffy eyes may be relieved by the coolness of cucumbers on the eyes. Anything cool placed on the skin area will generally help to reduce swelling beneath the skin.

A fully reclining position is preferable to a sitting position for getting the full effects of cucumbers on eyes. The cucumber slices should be thin, so the slices will be more flexible and follow the contours of the eye area. When placing cucumbers on eyes, be sure to have the cucumber touch not only the eye area, but the under eye area as well. For this purpose, it's best to choose a cucumber with a large circumference to get the largest slice of cucumber possible.

A mixture of cucumbers and potatoes has been touted as being effective in reducing or removing dark circles under the eyes. Equal quantities of mashed raw potato and cucumber create a soft paste that can be used to reduce dark circles, as an alternative to simply placing cucumbers on eyes. After the paste is mixed well, it should be placed under the eyes and left there for approximately 15 minutes then rinsed away with cool water. Whenever anything is being applied or removed from the sensitive under-eye area, it is always advisable to avoid unnecessary pulling. The skin under the eyes is thinner than the skin of the rest of the face and should be treated delicately to avoid causing damage.