Aging, allergies, genetics or fatigue are the causes of Dark Circles Under Your Eyes. You can reduce their appearance with home remedies like cold compresses or tea bags and other medical treatments. Dermatologists also may help you reduce Dark Circles Under Your Eyes.
Dark circles are the patches around your eyes that are darker than the surrounding skin. They are also known as periorbital hyper-pigmentation (POH). Sometimes they also appear in colors other than black i.e. brown, purple or blue. Dark circles are not considered a serious health issue but they make your appearance unhealthy, older and fatigued. That can affect anyone but commonly they are found in:
- People with darker skin tones.
- Old age people.
- People having genetic predisposition to this condition.
Causes of Dark circles around the eyes are controversial but there are several natural home remedies and medical treatment options that help remove or lessen the appearance of dark circles under your eyes.
Keep on reading to learn about possible causes, diagnosis and treatment options to remove dark circles under your eyes.
Causes of Dark Circles Under Your Eyes
There are different causes of appearing dark circles under eyes but they are not scientifically proven. Studies show that these reasons are controversial and researchers are still striving to find more authentic causes of the condition. Anyways, the common causes till the date are jotted below:
Genetics
A 2015 study found that genetics play in the development of Dark Circles under your eyes. If anyone in your family had suffered from POH, they may hate you and may be affected by the condition. This means family history has a strong association with POH. This is an inherited trait that can appear in early childhood. Dark circles appear at early childhood and may get lighter or darker over time.
Age
Age is the second most obvious factor that is associated with the appearance of dark circles under your eyes. With the passage of time, as you get older, your skin tends to become thinner or get sagged. Old age is also linked with the risk of decrease in collagen and fat that is essential for maintaining the elasticity of your skin. When POH occurs, the dark blood vessels beneath your skin become more visible that makes the area below your eyes darker.
In addition, with older age, your tear troughs become more hollow. This makes your appearance more older, tired and unhealthy.
Eyestrain
When your eyes get strain due to a long time staring at a computer, cell phone or television,POH happens. The eye strain causes enlargement of blood vessels around your eyes leading to dark circles appearing under your eyes.
Fatigue
Your skin becomes pale or dull when you oversleep or have a lack of sleep. Due to the dullness of your skin, the dark tissues and blood vessels beneath your skin might become more visible. In addition, lack of sleep is also associated with building up a fluid beneath your eyes, leading to puffiness around your eyes. Your dark circles actually have become the shadows cast by your puffy eyelids.
Allergies
Dry eyes and eye allergies also trigger dark circles. Ahn allergic reaction causes release of histamines hormones to fight off the invader. The hormone increases the chances of appearance of red, puffy and itchy eyes. When you scratch the itchy skin around your eyes, it leads to broken blood vessels, swelling and inflammation. The condition is called post-inflammatory pigmentation.
Dehydration
Dehydration can increase the risk of POH development. Dehydrated body causes your eyes to be dull and tired. Your eyes also look sunken due to the skin beneath your eyes.
Lifestyle Factors
Several lifestyle factors, such as drinking alcohol, smoking nicotine or tobacco, and consuming caffeinated beverages can lead to developing POH. That’s why people having a sedentary lifestyle with unhealthy eating habits have more chances to have dark circles under the eyes.
Overexposure to Sun
Exposure to the sun directly for a long period of time can cause dark circles under your eyes. The conditions are known as post-inflammatory pigmentation. This is because prolonged sun exposure produces excess melanin, a pigmented substance that gives color to your skin. Excess melanin gets deposited under your eyes, results in hyper-pigmentation, leading to dark circle appearance.
Anemia
The lower level of red blood cells than the required level can cause anemia. Lack of red blood cells leads to feelings of dizziness, tiredness, and weakness. A 2015 studio showed that blood deficiency also causes shortness of breath and light-headedness in anemic people.
In addition, a number of studies found that nearly 60 to 65% of POH affected people had been found anemic. However, treating anemia can help remove or reduce dark circles beneath your eyes.
Moreover, anemic people often have paler skin that must have dark circles under your eyes. So when you feel that your body is suffering from a lack of red blood cells, talk to your doctor to check your iron levels. Iron deficiency is actually a main reason for anemia.
Ocular Hypotensive Drugs
If you’re using any ophthalmic solution, such as bimatoprost or latanoprost to treat your glaucoma, you should be careful because such ophthalmic solutions often cause POH. Regular prolonged use of such solutions increases the risk of developing dark circles under your eyes. So, if you notice a major discoloration, talk to your doctor immediately.
Diagnosis of Dark Circles
Dark circles are not serious conditions and usually do not need treatment. They don’t cause an alarming situation. However, if you are worried about the increasing darkness and swelling, speak to your doctor. They may help you princess the correct diagnosis of POH. they may perform some tests to assess the symptoms of POH, which generally include:
- Liver and blood function tests.
- Medical and physical history examination.
- Slit lamp exam.
- Eyelid stretch test.
Wood’s lamp examination, that can help check any corneal abrasions, fungal or bacterial infection or skin pigmentation.
Your dermatologist uses these results of tests to classify your POH or dark circles types and causes. These may include:
- Vascular.
- Pigmented.
- Structural.
- Mixed-type.
- Post-inflammatory.
However, the research on the causes of dark circles is limited.
How to Get Rid of Dark Circles Naturally?
People often use at-home or natural remedies to treat dark circles. No doubt, natural remedies can reduce the appearance of dark circles under your eyes but it’s not a permanent treatment. In addition, everybody is different and reacts differently to the natural home remedies.
Vitamin E and Almond Oil
A gentle messaging with the mixture of vitamin E And almond oil on your dark circles just before bedtime can help reduce or lessen the dark circles under your eyes. Studies show applying this mixture and washing you the area in the morning with cold water is a great natural remedy for the condition. Although limited research prevents you from believing this idea, a few research have suggested that the massaging can be beneficial for periorbital hyper-pigmentation. Continue the massaging with oil mixture every night till the desired results are achieved.
Elevation
Keeping a pillow under your head while sleeping can help prevent puffiness around your eyes caused by fluid pooling in your lower eyelids.
Cold Compress
Dilated blood vessels in the skin of the area under your eyes can darken your dark circles. Apply a cold compress to lessen inflammation. This technique is effective to constrict the blood vessels, which may result in the reduction of dark circles under your eyes.
Cucumber
A temporary relief from dark circles is applying cold cucumber slices or paste under your eyes. This may also cause:
- Soothing the area under eyes.
- Relieving puffiness.
- Hydrating the skin.
- Boost ion vasoconstriction.
You just need to cut chilling cucumber slices and place them on your dark circles for 5 minutes. After five minutes, wash the tea with normal water. Repeat the remedy daily for better results.
Vitamin K
Old studies show that people in the old days used to place pads full of vitamin K and caffeine mixture under their eyes. They used to do this technique to reduce wrinkles and dark circles. New research also supports the idea. You can try this at-home natural remedy.
Limit the Sun Exposure
Prolonged sun exposure causes hyper-pigmentation. This means less sun exposure can help reduce dark circles as well. Long-term sun exposure also affects the tone of exposed parts of skin such as the neck and face. Wearing sunscreen or sunblock cream can limit the sun exposure and help manage dark circles under your eyes.
Tea Bags
If you’re fond of tea, this remedy is fun for you. Applying soaked tea bags to your eyes helps get rid of dark circles. They relieve inflammation and sloth the area under your eyes. However, research is limited.
You can soak tea bags in lukewarm water then place them in the refrigerator to get chilled for a few minutes. After ten minutes remove the bags and wash the area with water. Repeat the princess every day till you receive the desired results.
Moisturizers
You can buy several over-the-counter moisturizers to get rid of dark circles under your eyes. These moisturizers contain:
- Retinol.
- Aloe vera.
- Caffeine.
- Vitamin C.
- Hyaluronic acid.
However, limited research supports the use of moisturizers for reducing dark circles but you may try it. But always remember to speak to a dermatologist before trying a new moisturizer.
Good Sleep
Good sleep not only has positive impacts on your mental, emotional and physical health but it is also crucial for your facial beauty. Yes, sleep deprivation is a commonly reported cause of dark circles. Poor sleep cycle causes paler skin which makes your blood vessels more prominent and visible. Getting a good quality sleep can help get rid of dark circles. The recommended sleep hours for adults are 7 to 8.
Medical Treatment of Dark Circles
A dermatologist may recommend you to treat dark circles under your eyes with medical treatment options. They may suggest you laser therapy, fillers and skin lightening creams to get rid of dark circles permanently. However, mostly the type of treatment depends on the underlying cause of POH.
Laser Therapy
Heat energy used in laser therapy to vaporize the damaged skin cells. The dark pigmented cells tinder your outer skin are targeted. This technique is also considered for inducing new collagen formation to make your skin light toned.
Fillers
Hyaluronic acid type substances are injected into the area under your eyes. But the procedure can only be done by a professional plastic surgeon or ophthalmologist. Fillers are an effective way to recover the volume loss which was the cause of dark circles.
Skin-Lightening Creams
Dermatologists usually prefer to lighten the under-eye pigmentation with some creams containing glycolic acid, hydroquinone, or azelaic acid. These creams are also available as over-the-counter creams with Retin-A formula. These creams help lighten the dark tone skin under your eyes.
Blepharoplasty
A plastic or oculoplastic surgeon can remove the fat found in the lower lid by a procedure cal;led blepharoplasty. This procedure is used to decrease the appearance of your dark circles by decreasing the shadow casted by your eyelids.
Chemical Peels
This medical treatment helps lighten the dark pigmentation under your eyes. Generally, glycolic acid or retinoic acid are used to perform a light chemical peel. Sometimes, dermatologists also recommend a jessner peel which contains a mixture of lactic acid and salicylic acid.
Conclusion
Having dark circles under your eyes is not a serious health concern but you want to get rid of dark circles to improve your facial beauty. Dark circles often make you uncomfortable among the other normal people. They impact your look and this is sometimes embarrassing.
Dark circles may be discussed by your lifestyle factors, genetics or results from stasis of blood vessels. But research also suggests that mostly dark circles are part of the aging process. Al;though, they do not belong to an alarming health condition, if the swelling or inflammation gets worse, you should speak to your doctor. They may help you receive a correct diagnosis of the POH.
Anyways, whatever the reason, you can get rid of dark circles by adopting some natural home remedies or undergoing a few medical princesses. These natural at-home remedies or medical treatment options can help remove your dark circles. But you have to check with a dermatologist to see which one is best for you.
