Dark circles are a common aesthetic problem that affects men and women equally.
These dark circles, also known as infraorbital hyperpigmentation, and can make a person appear
tired, dull, and older than they are.
This can affect the facial aesthetics of the person and even impact the way that they are
perceived.
People with dark circles are more likely to be presumed tired and incapable of keeping
up as they are at peak fatigue levels.
Dark circles are a sizable cosmetic concern as they are hard to completely conceal with
makeup and their presence alters facial perception and beauty negatively.
So what counts as Dark Undereye Circles?
From clinical analysis by Huang et al there are 4 main types of dark undereye circles
classified by hue and tone, with V for Vascular, S for Structural, M for Mixed and P for Pigmented.
For most people the pigmented and vascular types are the most visible and troublesome.
Using this, Huang’s paper sets up an assessment score that looks at 9 factors, including hue,
lesions, puffiness, undereye bags, grooves and eyelid sag.
In this figure, it’s apparent to see how the 4 different classified skin types change
with increasing undereye darkness, with the right set of images being taken under UV light.
It’s important for a surgeon or clinician to correctly classify the undereye circle
as the treatments are completely different for each.
For instance, Pigmented types require bleaching agents or light and heat laser treatment whereas
Vascular types require Vitamin K, or special vascular lasers.
Structural types require fillers or upper and lower blepharoplasty as the name suggests,
because the issue is underlying.
As the paper notes, most common therapeutics are ineffective because they assume all undereye
dark circles are the vascular type and try to solve the solution with topical Vitamin
supplements.
While papers such as Ahmadraji Et al show an improvement in skin elasticity and darkening
using Vitamin K and caffeine eye pads, your mileage will most definitely vary as we’ll
show you in a second.
Before that, If you’re looking for help identifying and treating dark undereye circles
then I recommend using our free Facial Assessment Tool which uses Machine Learning to identify
cosmetic flaws and then recommends articles that our Doctors have written to learn more
on the topic.
We get asked this a lot, but no your images aren’t saved anywhere (read the FAQ), it’s
free to use and we designed the algorithm from the ground up to include an even mix
of faces from every colour, ethnicity, shape, size and age for the most comprehensive evaluation.
It is still in it’s early stages and we’ll be increasing detection functionality but
it’s getting there steadily.Also, a lot of big publications have given their honest
thoughts on the Tool so you should take a read of those too if you're interested in
our AI applications in beauty research.
To understand what type of treatment you should be seeking out for dark circles, let’s first
look at the potential causes.
Fatigue, stress, and tiredness, in general, are the main reasons for the development of
dark circles but it is important to note that it is a multifactorial condition meaning that
more than one factor can result in the development of dark circles.
Some of the common causes for dark circle formation from Vreck Et al include:
1.
Genetics: For some people, the formation of dark undereye circles is associated with their
genetic makeup and inherited traits than it is with their personal factors.
Some hereditary medical conditions can make the affected person highly vulnerable to dark
circles.
From Hacker 1996, inherited dark circles are more common in people of darker skin and Mediterranean
ancestry, becoming more apparent during adolescence.
The notion that dark circles form just because you’re tired isn’t entirely correct and
for some races it’s a natural feature.
Regardless, it’s quite hard to differentiate from actual disorders such as edema or a build
up of fluid in the under eye region.
2.
Sun Exposure: Spending too much time in the sun is associated with the stimulation of
melanocytes to produce melanin, aka Dermal Melanocytosis, creating dark lesions in the
undereye region.
This hyperpigmentation is more likely to occur around the eyes with overexposure to the sun
but they aren’t dark undereye circles per say, just a concentrated cluster of freckles.
3.
Dehydration: Not drinking enough water can affect the proper functioning of all the organs
in the body.
The skin often appears mottled with dehydration but the effects of dehydration appear exaggerated
on the skin under the lower eyelid.
The eyes can appear quite sunken in and dark because as the water and fat content decreases,
the skin overlying the orbital cavity sinks in.
4.
Eye Strain: Putting extra pressure on the eyes in the form of increased screentime can
result in increased blood supply to the eyes.
This increase in blood supply is facilitated by dilation or enlargement of the blood vessels
surrounding the eyes.
Which is fine and dandy normally, but for those with fragile vessels, they can break
and spill blood which dries up leaving behind dark hemoglobin pigments.
5.
Allergies: Allergic reactions are modulated by histamine which is a vasodilator.
The dilation of the vessels around the eye can also leak and darken the undereye in a
similar way to the previous case.
Another way as Chen and colleagues found is with allergies causing deoxygenated darker
blood to pool up in the undereye as the nasal passage becomes blocked leading to a completely
different type of undereye darkening.
It’s a lot more smooth and consistentwithout any ripples so it’s not a structural or
pigmented type but rather a vascular dark circle.
All of the reasons mentioned above can result in the formation of dark circles but the exact
mechanism and visual characteristics in the development of dark circles is individual
specific.
Some important factors like the anatomy of the skin, deep facial anatomy, and soft tissues
are believed to play an important role in the formation and determine if the dark circles
are going to be temporary or a persistent feature of the face.
The under eye skin is one of the thinnest coverings of the body and so subdermal strain
are very clearly expressed on the surface.
Given that dark circles affect mental health and the physical attractiveness of a person,
it is important to treat them appropriately to prevent any long-term issues with the self-image
and the worth of the person.
Although the treatment of dark circles is mostly determined by the underlying cause,
there are general home remedies and topical agents that can help reduce their appearance
significantly.
Some of the home remedies for the treatment of dark circles include the use of a cold
compress and tea bags.
Personally, I really like the use of a cold compress which is basically an Icepack for
your undereyes.
Both of these remedies follow the same pattern of redirecting the blood circulating in the
undereye region.
A cold compress can shrink the blood vessels resulting in improved microcirculation of
the skin pushing the dark blood down deeper into the face and away from the surface.
Teabags work in the same way but it is important to note that these tea bags should be soaked
in water and then refrigerated before being used on dark circles.
Unlike a simple cold compress, teabags provide added caffeine for vascular stimulation.
Topical agents are one of the best ways to reduce the appearance of dark circles.
There are several topical agents available on the market, but there is no solution that
can fix all three types of dark undereye circles and so proper diagnosis is crucial.
A decent topical cream or lotion should contain one of the following ingredients as they can
improve skin tone and consistency by enhancing self-repair features of the skin: Before I
tell you, be sure to leave a like on this video to help us create new content.
* Caffeine: This improves the microcirculation of the skin and shrinks the blood vessels
surrounding the eyes which results in the brightening of the under-eye region.
* Niacinamide: This is another name for vitamin B3 and this specific ingredient works wonders
on dark circles by increasing the collagen production in the skin and reducing skin inflammation.
Pilkington and colleagues found this to be especially good at periocular rejuvenation,
which is what we’re after, with marked improvements in texture, a reduction in fine lines and
hyperpigmentation.
However, a technicality is that the research is referring to melanocyte dark circles, so
this type we talked about previously, and not your typical vascular dark circles which
I would argue is more common for most.
* Vitamin C: Which has great antioxidative properties that helps eradicate free radicals,
highly reactive atoms or molecules, the presence of which can be detrimental by reacting with
skin structures that it shouldn’t.
* Vitamin K: This vitamin not only brightens the undereye region via its effect on the
blood vessels but also repairs the skin from the inside, allowing it to heal and look bright.
This is the goto ingredient for vascular dark circles, and it’s most likely that this
is the type you will have problems with due to our modern lifestyles and screen time.
* Retinol: This is a derivative of vitamin A and is a superstar in pharmaceuticals.
As a result it also carries a premium cost but it encourages sloughing off of pigmented
skin by promoting skin cell regeneration which results in a bright and younger-looking under-eye
region.
Given that the undereye region is thin and sensitive, be careful about the concentration
and use only products designed for the region as this can be quite harsh.
* Hyaluronic Acid: This is another superstar ingredient in dermatology that’s naturally
occurring in the body as a component of the skin cell matrix.
It’s a humectant, meaning that it binds to water at almost a 1:1000 ratio but it helps
maintain elasticity and regulate hydration as Wiest and Kerscher found.
As for professional Medical treatment of dark circles includes professional chemical peels,
laser treatments, and tissue fillers; all of which try and improve the blood circulation
and the deep anatomy of the skin to reduce the appearance of dark circles.
Cryolasers have been found to be especially effective, but as most dermatologists suggest,
prevention is the best treatment.
My favourite piece of mantra and something I follow closely is wearing sunscreen before
midday and using a retinoid based product at night.
Chemical peels are a great way to reduce the hyperpigmentation of the skin, regardless
of the cause but they are more aggressive.
Laser treatment of the skin refers to laser surgery which aims to resurface, tighten and
whiten the facial skin.
The procedure should be performed by a professional unless you have a 100,000 laser lying around
for whatever reason, to ensure that no unnecessary complications arise.
Ever saw that laser scene in Final Destination?
Another form of medical treatment of dark circles includes tissue fillers for structural
dark circles which may sound unorthodox but they are quite helpful in concealing any visible
blood vessels and repairing contour deformity such as hollow eyes which occur naturally
with age.
If you would like to get your dark undereye circles assessed, order a QOVES facial report
over at the website to get 7000 words of technical feedback and guidance on how you can improve
your looks.