What are dark eye circles?

Dark eye circles make your eyes look tired and aged, causing you to appear older and less radiant. This may result in others mistaking you as fatigued or unmotivated. While dark eye circles don’t pose a threat to your overall health, its appearance can affect one’s self-confidence.

What are the causes of dark eye circles?

It is a common misconception that lack of sleep is the main cause of dark eye circles. In reality, there are many more contributing factors to dark eye circles. Determining the contributing cause of your dark eye circles is key to treating the root cause of the problem.

Skin Pigmentation

Skin pigmentation is the most common cause of dark eye circles. It is caused by the pooling of blood in the blood vessels under the eye. This occurs when red blood cells leak out of capillaries. Since the area under the eyes is the thinnest and most delicate part of the skin, the leaky blood vessels stain the skin with a dark blue-black colour.

Thin Skin

Thin under-eye skin may cause dark eye circles to be more apparent since it exposes the bone structure in the under-eye area easily. It also exposes capillaries that are beneath the thin skin surface, increasing the prominence of dark eye circles.

Ageing

As one ages, collagen in your skin starts to degrade, and there is also a reduction in the production of skin-boosting collagen, resulting in the thinning of the skin. Ageing also increases the chances of pigmentation, and this causes the capillaries to be more visible.

Furthermore, ageing can result in increasingly sunken eyes, which is a result of the loss of fat in the under-eye area. Capillaries under the skin become closer to the skin, giving rise to dark eye circles.

Sun Exposure

Excessive exposure to UV rays, whether from sun exposure or other forms, can damage your melanocytes. This may cause an overproduction of melanin, resulting in skin pigmentation under the eyes.

This is further exacerbated in Singapore due to the year-round summer sun we are constantly exposed to.

Eye Bags

Eye bags are caused by the accumulation of excess fat deposits in the under-eye area. When eye bags are formed, the capillaries under the skin are pushed closer to the surface of the skin due to the accumulation of fat deposits. Since the area under the eye is extremely thin, the blood vessels are more visible and result in discolouration.

Prominent eye bags may also cause a shadow to be cast over the under-eye area, resulting in a more dull and dark appearance.

Lack of Sleep

The lack of sleep causes your blood vessels to dilate and increases the retention of blood and fluid around the eyes. Since the area under the eyes is the thinnest and most delicate part of the skin, the blood vessels become more visible, causing a darker appearance in the under-eye region.

Genetic Predisposition

Family history has a part to play in the development of dark eye circles as well. Generally, people with darker skin tones have higher chances of getting dark eye circles. The skin tends to produce more melanin, resulting in higher chances of skin pigmentation.

People who have genetically thinner skin may also have more prominent dark eye circles due to the increased visibility of the capillaries.

Allergic Reactions

When allergic reactions occur, cells in your body release a chemical component that causes fluids to leak from your capillaries, resulting in a dark blue-black pigmentation in the under-eye area.

Dark Eye Circles vs. Eye Bags

Dark eye circles are commonly confused with eye bags. While they often occur together, they are different.

Dark eye circles appear in a dark, blue-black discolouration in the under-eye area because of excessive skin pigmentation. It causes a rather dull and dark appearance to the eyes.

On the other hand, eye bags often result in swelling or puffy looking eyes. They are formed due to the weakening of the muscles around the eye, resulting in a gravitational pull that causes a pouch to form. Over time, an accumulation of excess fat deposits in the pouch, producing the eye bags.

There are many different contributing factors that cause dark eye circles. There is no one size fits all approach to reducing these dark eye circles. At Fusion Medical, we discuss with you to customise a targeted approach to remove your dark eye circles in a non-invasive way.