Dark Circles Under Your Eyes: Here's What Causes Them and How Their Appearance Can Be Reduced

It is common for several people to have dark circles under their eyes. This could be could be due to allergies, genetics, or other causes.

Dark Circles Under Your Eyes

Periorbital hyperpigmentation (POH), or dark circles under your eyes, could have the appearance of brownish, blackish, bluish, or purplish shades.

While anyone can be affected by this condition, they are more common among individuals with darker skin tones and who are more susceptible to hyperpigmentation surrounding the eyes, with a genetic predisposition for POH, and older adults.

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Causes of Dark Circles Under the Eyes

It is generally believed that fatigue could be the most common reason for such a condition. However, this is quite controversial, as there are actually several reasons for this. Aside from fatigue, other causes include aging, allergies, eyestrain, ocular hypotensive drugs, sun overexposure, dehydration, anemia, genetics, and lifestyle factors.

Aging is the most common cause for the condition. As a person ages, the skin under the eyes start loosening and thinning out, making blood vessels below the skin more visible. This could lead to a darker appearance under the eyes.

On top of this, hollowed areas, known as tear troughs, could also end up developing. These tear troughs may cause shadows that boost puffy eye appearance.

A study also suggests that low vitamin B12 levels could boost skin pigmentation, which may fuel the development of dark circles under the eyes. Iron deficiency anemia could also be another culprit.

Treating Dark Circles Under Your Eyes

Dark circles under the eyes are quite common and not alarming in most cases. They also tend to come and go.

Nevertheless, there are still ways to treat the condition, though these are mainly for cosmetic rather than medical reasons.

Home remedies for treating dark circles under the eyes include applying cold compress on the under-eye skin for 20 minutes, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, elevating the head when asleep, applying eye creams, placing soaked and chilled green or black tea bags over the eyes for 10 to 20 minutes, and concealing them with makeup.

There are also medical treatments available to offer more permanent solutions in reducing dark circles, though these dark circles do not necessarily need fixing. Such treatments may include chemical peels, medical tattoos for pigment injections, laser surgery, fat removal, tissue fillers, carboxytherapy, and surgical implants.

Some older studies also suggest that vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin E in topical products could aid in dark circle reductions. Several products also have retinoid, which is made from vitamin A and which can modify one's skin tone.

In some cases, dark circles could also signify iron deficiency anemia. If this is the case, taking iron supplements could be helpful in normalizing one's blood levels.