Dark Eye Circles – Causes & Removal Treatment 

Demands create supplies. Little wonder why so many advertisements promising effective dark eye circles removal treatments vying for our attention.

Why Do We Get Dark Circles Below the Eyes?

Periorbital dark circles are a result of the thin layer of skin below your eyes showing the blood vessels and the blood they contain more clearly than anywhere else on your body. To put it in perspective, the skin under your lower eyelid, called the periorbital skin, is usually about 0.5 mm thick whereas the skin covering the rest of your body, is about 2 mm thick on average.

Bluish Dark Eye Circles

Now, as many of us may be aware, veins often appear bluish  because your skin and the subcutaneous tissue allows only light of blue/violet wavelengths to pass through it. This is the reason, only blue light gets reflected back and the veins appear bluish to the eye.

This is the same principle at work with the skin area below your eyes. Those unattractive, dark bluish circles are formed when the blood vessels located just underneath the surface of that very thin patch of skin, begin to reflect the light falling on them. This is also the reason why facial bruises are usually more pronounced in areas located under or around the eyes; the thin skin only displays the blood from the cracked blood vessels with relatively more clarity. Let's look at the causes before jumping into your options for dark eye circles treatment.

Factors Contributing to Dark Eye Circles

• Stress

  When the body is undergoing stress, it channels blood away from areas such as the face, to the main organs that need it more. As a result of less blood supply, the face acquires a drained and pasty complexion.  The dark circles under your eyes can look even more pronounced, when contrasted with the skin color on the rest of the face or body.

• Collagen Loss

  As we grow older, loss of elasticity and decreased ability to regenerate, leaves our skin thinner. This is the reason why, despite sleeping longer hours,, aged persons usually have periorbital dark circles that are more pronounced.

• Periorbital Hyperpigmentation 

  This is a condition wherein the skin beneath the eyes, produces more melanin is produced, leading to darker coloring or pigmentation of the specific area in higher quantities.

• Genetics 

  Our genetic make up also has a major say in the appearance and severity of dark circles under the eyes. As a result, some people are more prone to dark circles formation. Particularly, if you are born  with very pale skin, then you are more likely to suffer issues with darker pigmentation. Moreover, broken capillaries are likely to stand out more prominently on your skin.

• Iron Deficiency

  Sometimes, dark circles can be an indication  of iron deficiency conditions such as anaemia. In people suffering from less iron in their body,  the red pigment, haemoglobin, which transports oxygen to cells, gets broken down very easily, imparting a dark or bruised look to the skin in areas below the eye.

• Broken Capillaries 

  The thinnest and most delicate skin area around your face, lies just below the eyes. Being the most sensitive skin areas on your face, the capillaries located under this thin dermis, are more prone to breaking, generally due to stress or exposure to harsh sun light. The blood cells that  spread out from these spaces, usually gather just below the skin surface, to  oxidise and form a dark purple hue.

• Sunken-Looking Eyes

  With advancing age, the bones forming the orbit, tend to shrink and enlarging the orbital cavity. Some of the periorbital fat which cradles and cushions the eyes, is lost with the passage of time.  As a result, we end up with sunken-looking eyes,  making the dark circles look worse.