“People keep asking if I am tired.” We hear it every week. If sleep, water and eye cream have not made a difference, your dark circles are probably not about tiredness at all.
1. Pigmentation
Some people naturally have more pigment under the eyes, and it is often more visible in deeper skin tones. Rubbing, sun exposure and allergies can make it worse. Pigmentation looks brown rather than shadowy, and it does not change much when you tilt your head towards the light.
2. Thin, crepey skin
The skin under the eyes is the thinnest on the face. As collagen and hydration decline, it becomes crepey and more translucent, so the blood vessels beneath show through as a bluish or purplish tone. Treatments that work on skin quality — such as PRP, polynucleotides or under-eye Profhilo — are often the most helpful here.
3. Volume loss
With age, the under-eye area can lose volume and form a hollow. That hollow casts a shadow, which reads as a dark circle. A shadow tends to look worse under overhead lighting and better when you face the light directly.
Why it matters which one you have
Each cause needs a completely different treatment, and many people have a combination. Treating volume loss when the real problem is pigment, or the other way round, is a common reason people feel a treatment “did not work”.
What you can do at home
- Wear SPF and sunglasses — sun makes pigmentation worse.
- Try not to rub your eyes, especially if you have allergies.
- Use a gentle, hydrating eye product, but keep your expectations realistic.
Not sure where to start? Book a Skin Health Assessment and we will look properly at your skin, explain what is happening and write you a plan — whether or not you ever book a treatment.