

Patients can also look for creams with brightening agents, such as vitamin C, niacinamide or alpha hydroxy acids. Banks recommends over-the-counter retinol or gentle prescription retinoid creams. There are topical treatments that can temporarily improve the appearance of under eye circles. This will assist with pigmentation, maintain collagen, and prevent skin cancers, which are common on the eyelids. Banks recommends a tinted mineral sunscreen daily on the entire upper and lower eyelid. Regardless of the cause of under-eye circles, it is important to protect the skin from damage and premature aging from the sun. In some patients under-eye circles are genetic, due to pigmentation, location of blood vessels or more prominent fat pads. This can present under the skin as dark circles. Aging can also make the blood vessels under the eye appear more prominent. Each factor is treated differently.Īging leads to thinner tissue in the lower eyelid and volume loss, causing the fat pads under the eye to become more visible.

What causes dark under-eye circles?ĭark circles under the eye can be caused by overall puffiness and fluid, pigmentation, excess skin, blood vessels, fat protruding in the lower eyelid, or a combination of all these factors. Banks explained what options patients have to alleviate these dark circles. Caroline Banks, a facial plastic surgeon at Mass Eye and Ear, told Focus.ĭr. “It might just be that the fat under the eyes is protruding, causing the dark under-eye circles, and most non-surgical treatments won’t change that,” Dr. That’s because these treatments do not address the underlying cause of the circles. And no matter the treatment they find online or in the makeup aisle, they can’t seem to get rid of them. However, some people have had these circles from a young age. Facial plastic surgeon Caroline Banks, MD, explained why some marketed treatments are only temporary, and why surgery is sometimes the only way to fix the issue.Īnyone with persistent dark circles, or bags, under their eyes has heard this remark countless times from well-meaning peers. Pause and think next time you reach for an expensive cream to get rid of dark under-eye circles.
