Shedding Light on Dark Circles Under The Eyes

Dark circles often occur when the skin under the eyes becomes thin and more transparent as a person naturally ages. Dark under-eye circles can make you appear older, more tired and worn out. This is common among women, but you would be surprised to find out that various causes are to blame. And luckily, there are treatments.

You might assume under-eye circles are due to age, stress, or lack of sleep. To some extent, this is partially true. Lack of sleep affects blood flow around the eyes, which can cause swelling and dark circles. So, get more sleep and problem solved? Surprisingly, getting enough sleep may influence dark under-eye circles too. Because we lay down when sleeping, fluids can pool under the bottom eyelid due to gravity, causing puffiness and dark circles.

Other causes include chronic skin disorders like atopic eczema. Also, menstruation and pregnancy can result in skin looking pale, which only enhances the under-eye area drawing more attention to puffy dark circles.

Another cause is sun exposure, which affects skin pigmentation and can deepen our skin tone, especially under our eyes.

And when all else fails, blame your parents as dark under-eye circles may be inherited from your family and allergies. 

Treating and correcting the appearances of dark under-eye circles can be done in a variety of ways. Along with getting enough sleep and using sunscreen around the eyes to prevent skin pigment from darkening, eye area products with vitamins - especially vitamins C or K, alpha hydroxy acid, and / or kinetin work to target dark under-eye circles as well as other symptoms like lines and wrinkles around the eyes.