Dear Dr. Seckel, What causes dark circles under the eyes? Thank You, Caitlin, Boston, Massachusetts
Dear Caitlin,
Thank you for your email and I would be delighted to review your photos.
Dark circles under the eyes are a very common problem for people all over the world. The treatment of dark circles under the eyes must be directed at the cause of the dark circles. There are many different causes of dark circles under the eyes which I have written about in a previous article Medical Causes of Dark Circles under the Eyes.
Once you have diagnosed the cause then you can plan an effective treatment for dark circles under the eyes.
It is important to understand that everyone has dark eyelid skin which is darker than the skin of the rest of the face. This is because the eyelid skin is much thinner than the rest of the facial skin and the color of the underlying muscle of the eyelid shows through and creates a bluish or purplish color to the eyelid. This is the normal condition. There is no treatment for dark circles under the eyes caused by the normal darker color of the eyelid skin. If however this dark color is caused by pigment from the sun or an excessive number of blood vessels in the eyelid skin, treatment of this type of dark circle under the eyes can sometimes be treated with an IPL or laser.
The most common type of dark circle under the eye which I see is a condition I call the Arcus Deformity which is a curved, crescent shaped depression below the eyelid just above the cheek bone which casts a dark shadow or dark circle beneath the eyelid. Treatment of dark circles under the eyes caused by the Arcus Deformity requires a procedure called an Arcus Marginalis release and fat repositioning or fat grafting to effectively treat the dark circle under the eye.
Please check my clinical website for correction of dark circles under the eyes for a thorough discussion and photographs of a clinical result of the Arcus release procedure.
Another common condition called dark circles under the eyes is what I call the Hollow Eye Syndrome. In this condition there is actually a hollow beneath the eyelid which creates a severe dark shadow. Treatment of dark circles under the eyes caused by the hollow eye syndrome requires the Arcus Marginalis release and fat grafting but usually extra fat is needed to plump the hollow eye. I take this extra fat from the abdomen around the belly button. The scar is placed inside the belly button and is usually well hidden.
As we age and the eyelid skin becomes lax eye bags develop and worsen the dark circles under the eyes. When eye bags are present I usually treat the dark circles under the eyes by using the protruding fat which causes the eye bag, to plump the dark circle in a laser eyelid rejuvenation procedure which includes the Arcus Marginalis release.
The treatment of dark circles under the eyes requires an understanding of the cause and the application of the proper treatment. I have written a detailed blog on the treatment of dark circles under the eyes which you should read.
If you would like more information on the treatment of dark circles under the eyes or facial rejuvenation in general please read my book Save Your Face or contact me. Since you live in the
Thank you,