SKIN CARE CONCERN

Dark Circles:
Causes, Treatments, & Top Ingredients

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What Causes Dark Circles?

Genetics

This is the most common cause of dark circles. So, the next time your family looks at your eyes and tells you to get more sleep, let them know they might actually be the cause of the below types of dark circles you may be suffering from.

• Genetic periorbital hyperpigmentation: (aka pigmented dark circles): causes extra melanin to be produced in the skin below your eyes, darkening the area. This typically affects people with genetically darker skin.
• Genetic vascular dark circles: if your genes have blessed you with poor blood circulation or more transparent-looking skin, this may be the cause of your dark circles.
• Genetic structural dark circles: genetics determine your facial bone structure and how deep your tear ducts are. Sometimes, the two combine to create shadows and/or an indentation that looks like dark circles.

Unfortunately, there is nothing currently on the market money to make dark circles caused by genetics go away permanently (a.k.a. there’s no way to buy yourself out of this one). But don’t despair—there’s still a lot you can do to minimize their appearance and keep those eyes bright.

Aging

Wrinkles isn’t the only thing you acquire with age. As you get older, your skin loses collagen (its elasticity - so it gets saggy) and subcutaneous fat (the one time losing fat actually has a negative outcome.) As a result, the skin under your eyes gets thinner which leads to:

• Vascular dark circles: as you age, your skin loses its ability to hide the color (blue, pink, or purple) from the blood vessels under your eye - this makes the area your under eye appear darker because you are literally seeing the blood under the surface of your skin when light gets reflected off your blood vessels.
• Structural dark circles: your skin loses volume with age (especially in the face), causing shadows and creating the illusion of eye bags and dark circles.

While we haven’t found the fountain of youth (or fountain of youthful eyes) yet, there’s a lot you can do to minimize the appearance of dark circles caused by aging.

Sun Damage

The skin around your eyes is some of the thinnest on your body, so it’s extra sensitive to sun exposure. And when it gets hit with sun damage, we see increased blood flow and age spots, resulting in periorbital hyperpigmentation (pigmented dark circles). Unfortunately, you can’t undo the effects of sun damage, so be sure to use preventative measures (it’s never too late to start).

Chronic Eye Rubbing

We get it, you’re tired—but try not to rub those eyes! The skin near your eyes is super delicate, and rubbing it can easily break the blood vessels in the area, causing swelling, inflammation, and—yes—vascular dark circles.

Lack of Sleep

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces extra cortisol, which leads to more blood pumping through your veins. And that means those enlarged vessels show through the skin as vascular dark circles. It’s a no-brainer, but we have to say it: find a way to get some more shut-eye (7-9 hours per night, ideally). If need be, try sleeping on your back to avoid constricting blood vessels in your face or sleeping with extra pillows to elevate your head and reduce eyelid swelling.

Lifestyle Choices

Certain lifestyle choices can worsen the appearance of your dark circles. Those of you who engage in the below activities...do everything in moderation so you don’t look like a hot mess:

• Too much caffeine
• Excessive alcohol use
• Smoking

All the above things can cause dehydration, leading to the skin under your eye getting thinner, bringing to light the blood vessels beneath the skin under your eyes, and ultimately resulting in vascular dark circles.

Periorbital Puffiness

This is fancy medicine-speak for bags under your eyes. It’s the annoying swelling that makes your dark circles look even darker. In younger people, periorbital puffiness is usually caused by fluid buildup from illness, allergies, lack of sleep, or excessive salt consumption. The buildup causes increased pressure on the skin and blood vessels, pushing blood vessels closer to the skin’s surface, and making vascular dark circles appear more prominent. However, it doesn’t just affect the young. Periorbital puffiness can also be a result of old age (a.k.a. infraorbital palpebral bags).

Allergies

Allergies can trigger the release of histamines in your body, which cause blood vessels to dilate under your eyes. Allergies can also make your eyes itch, and it’s only natural to rub them—but that rubbing can lead to swelling, inflammation, and broken blood vessels in the eye area. These are all types of vascular dark circles. For allergies, use an under-eye cream in the AM with caffeine (to help shrink swollen blood vessels) and antioxidants (like green tea, which helps reduce inflammation).

Medications

Any medication that causes your blood vessels to dilate will also lead to increased blood flow. When it comes to the delicate area below your eyes, that increased blood flow can show through as vascular dark circles.

Poor Nutrition and Anemia

Vitamin deficiencies (especially vitamin K), protein deficiency, iron deficiency anemia and dehydration can contribute to vascular dark circles. Take a multivitamin to help with vitamin deficiencies. If you lack vitamin K, eat more broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, kale, cabbage, spinach, blueberries, soybeans, and/or edamame. If you are iron deficient, eat more red meat, seafood, green leafy vegetables, beans, dried fruit, iron-fortified cereal, eggs, and/or whole-grain bread.

Pigmented Dark Circles

Common in darker skin tones

Brown circles from skin pigmentation - more common in darker skin tones

Caused by: sun damage or genetics

Structural Dark Circles

Contours and shadows caused by your unique facial bone structure, which make the skin under your eye look darker than it actually is

Caused by: aging or genetics

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