Dark Circles Under Eyes

September 8, 2022

Dr. Benyamin Mansoori

MD, FRACGP, FACAM
Advance Diploma in General Dermatology
Diploma of Cosmetic Medicine

Dark circles under the eyes are common problems and many people suffer from this issue. You may also suffer from dark circles under your eyes and therefore you are thinking about treating it or you may have already requested treatment from your doctor.

Today I want to share with you the causes, prevention, and treatment of dark circles under the eyes

What causes dark circles under your eyes?

Elderly
Translucent lower eyelid kin because of Genetic or/superficial blood vessels and age
Increase the under eye skin pigmentation because of sun exposure, dermatitis (atopic or Contact) and rubbing the eye
Puffy and bulging the eyelid due to hay fever, thyroid disease, or dermatitis
Shadowing of under eye skin because of dehydration, periorbital oedema, lack of sleep and fatigue
Superficial blood vessels
Anaemia
Smoking and excessive alcohol use

What is the treatment?

lifestyle modification is the first step you can take to treat dark circles under the eyes. These measures can include :

improve your sleep with adequate sleep, elevate your pillow to reduce eyelid oedema and keep hydrating yourself during the day
cut down or stop smoking
cut down alcohol
applying cold compress if there is dilated blood vessels and then massage the lower eyelid
using sunglasses to protect your eyes

Although the above items are important to reduce the development of dark circles under the eyes, unfortunately, they do not have much effect on the treatment.

What is the medical treatment?

Laser, chemical peeling, and IPL can be mentioned for the treatment of pigmentation
In case of lower eyelid bag, surgical treatment and removal of excess fat, muscle and the skin may be more appropriate. Also filler injection is an alternative treatment specially if there is a hallow (loss tissue) under eye.

You should note that the injection of filler in the tear trough must be done by a cosmetic doctor specialist who has enough cosmetic experience, because the side effects of injecting filler under the eyes by inexperienced doctors greatly increase the possibility of injection complications. These complications can include blindness or skin necrosis.