Dark circles under your eyes occurs when the skin beneath both eyes appear darkened. It is different from bruising around one eye from an injury or redness and swelling in one eye caused by an infection. Dark circles under your eyes usually are not a sign of a medical problem. They are common in men and women. Often accompanied by bags, dark circles can make you appear older than you are. While fatigue may seem like the most logical explanation for this condition, there are a number of factors that can contribute to dark circles under the eyes.
The Cause Some common causes of include:
Fatigue – Oversleeping, extreme fatigue, or just staying up a few hours past your normal bedtime can cause dark circles to form under your eyes. Sleep deprivation can cause your skin to become dull and pale, allowing for dark tissues and blood vessels beneath your skin to show. Lack of sleep can also cause fluid to build underneath your eyes, causing them to appear puffy.
Age – As you get older, your skin becomes thinner. You also lose the fat and collagen needed to maintain your skin’s elasticity. As this occurs, the dark blood vessels beneath your skin become more visible causing the area below your eyes to darken.
Eye strain – Staring at your television or computer screen can cause significant strain on your eyes. This strain can cause blood vessels around your eyes to enlarge. As a result, the skin surrounding your eyes can darken.
Allergies – Allergic reactions and eye dryness can trigger dark circles. When you have an allergic reaction, your body release histamines as a response to harmful bacteria. Other than causing uncomfortable symptoms — including itchiness, redness, and puffy eyes — histamines also cause your blood vessels to dilate and become more visible beneath your skin.
Dehydration – When your body is not receiving the proper amount of water, the skin beneath your eyes begins to look dull and your eyes look sunken.
Sun overexposure – Too much sun, particularly for your eyes, can cause pigmentation in the surrounding skin to darken.
Genetics – Family history also plays a part in developing dark circles under your eyes. It can be an inherited trait seen early in childhood and may worsen as you age.
What are availave options to treat this condition?
There are number of treatment options that can be useful to be done at home such as applying cold compress, getting extra sleep, lots of water, and such but this is a medical condition and requires a bit of work to treat it.
For a more effective and permanent solution, some medical treatments are available to reduce the appearance of dark circles. Some of the more common methods include, chemical peels, laser treatment to resurface the skin and enhance skin tightening, fillers to conceal blood vessels and melanin that are causing skin discoloration beneath your eyes, fat removal to remove excess fat and skin, revealing a smoother and more even surface and surgical implants of fat. These options are available; however every patient is different.
Recommendation – Using our imaging technology, we examine layers of your skin to determine which option(s) is best for you before making recommendation. You may book your appointment today >>>
