Do the big purplish, bluish, or brownish patches under your eyes give away your secret identity as a zombie? We are talking about the gift your adulthood or endless sleepless nights have given you – the infamous dark circles.
Dark circles are no fun. They plague several men and women around the world. While they do not have any adverse side effects, people wish to get rid of them for cosmetic reasons as dark circles make you appear older than you are.
In this article, we are explaining everything you want to know about dark circles. What are dark circles, why do they occur, and how can you treat them?
Dark Circles Under Eyes: 7 Main Causes and Treatment
Let us first understand what dark circles are. According to dermatologists, dark circles are often a combination of pigment making the skin darker and redness from dilated blood vessels. Many think fatigue or poor sleep to be the main reason for dark circles under the eyes. While these can be the two main causes, several other reasons can cause you dark circles. Let us get to know them –
What Causes Dark Circles?
1. Fatigue
Sleep deprivation makes your skin dull and pale. It is why the dark tissues and blood vessels under your eyes appear more prominently. Staying up a few hours past your bedtime or even oversleeping can cause dark circles under your eyes.
2. Age
Natural aging is one of the most common causes of dark circles. You will be shocked to know that it is all the play of rightly placed fat under your eyes. The fat pads under your skin fit like puzzle pieces. With age, you lose fat and collagen, which can impact your skin’s elasticity. The shrinkage of fat pads creates a hollow between the puzzle pieces that don’t reflect light, causing darkening.
3. Iron Deficiency
When your body is low on iron, it does not oxygenate its tissues effectively. The thin tissues around your eyes are amongst the first tissues that show this. The under-eye area starts appearing dark or dusty, showing dark circles under your eyes.
4. Alcohol
You must be aware that alcohol causes severe dehydration in your body. It explains the reason why you have a hangover the next day.
Since your body remains dehydrated for an entire night, your skin holds less water than necessary. The under-eye skin is already very thin. The lack of water makes vasculature under the thin area more noticeable, making dark circles appear.
5. Smoking
Smoking is directly linked to aging. It deprives your skin of collagen and elastin, making their skin lose elasticity. Hence, smokers look older than their stated age. The thinning skin prominently shows the lost collagen under the eye area. The dark blue veins cast a dusky shadow, causing dark circles to appear.
6. Genetics
Your genetics can also play a role in the mystery of your dark circles. If your family has a history of dark circles, you may develop them from an early age in your life. You can either get dark circles as an inherited trait in your childhood. They may worsen as you age. Or they may disappear slowly.
7. Excessive Sun Exposure
When you expose your skin to the sun too much, your body produces an excessive amount of melanin. It is a pigment that provides your skin with color. It causes pigmentation in the surrounding skin, causing it to darken.
Dark circles under your eyes are annoying. Everyone wants to get rid of them. Here are some treatment options for your dark circles…
How to Treat Dark Circles Under Your Eyes?
1. Use a Cold Compress
To eliminate dark circles, you need to shrink dilated blood vessels under your eye area. Applying a cold compress can help you do so.
Rub ice cubes under your eye area for a few minutes regularly. You can also dampen a washcloth with cold water and rub it for 20 minutes if you can’t put ice. Or you can put cucumber slices over your eyes.
2. Use Tea Bags
The caffeine and antioxidants in tea constrict blood vessels, reducing liquid retention beneath your skin. It makes the dark circles less prominent. Soak black or green tea bags in hot water for five minutes and then put them in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Keep them on your closed eyes for 10-20 minutes.
3. Antioxidant skincare products
Antioxidants such as Vitamin E and C are known to treat dark circles. The skincare industry has several under-eye creams that claim to contain these antioxidants and reduce dark circles.
4. Laser Therapy
If you wish to get rid of dark circles permanently, there are certain medical treatments available. One of them is laser therapy. It can work if the reason behind the dark circles is blood vessels or extra pigment. Lasers can increase the amount of collagen and elastin in the under-eye area and reduce melanin. They work perfectly on people who have lighter skin tones.
5. Tissue Fillers
If the reason behind the dark circles is thinning of the skin or loss of fatty tissue, you can think about tissue fillers as a medical treatment. The process involves infusing platelet-rich plasma or hyaluronic acid gel through injections into the area under the eye.
6. Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy
This therapy is suitable for people with dark skin types. If volume loss isn’t the reason behind dark circles, it can work for you. The therapy uses your body’s blood to stimulate collagen and rejuvenate your under-eye area. They release growth hormones that stimulate the regeneration of tissue.
The therapy works in a series of treatments. Hence, it takes around 4-6 months to show results.
The good news is dark circles are no cause for alarm. In the majority of cases, they are results of aging or lifestyle habits. If you figure out the reason behind your dark circles, you can get rid of them through various above-listed at-home or medical treatments.
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