Dark circles are a common ailment affecting a large number of men and women of all ages. While a 18 year old complaining of dark circles could be because of sunken eyes, a 60 year old could possibly have it from thickened aging skin.

Dr. Vrushali believes there’s no ONE treatment for dark circles. It is first important to identify the cause of dark circles and then treat it. Using an expensive dark circle cream in a fancy bottle with magical ingredients without identifying the cause, often leads to frustration.

Here are some common causes of dark circles :

Anemia (low hemoglobin)- This is a very common cause for apparent dark circles. The skin falls pale and the eyes look darker in comparison to the surrounding pale skin. Correction of the cause is the treatment here.

Sunken eyes due to bony framework – This is almost a misnomer as there are no dark circles here, just sunken eyes and the lower eyelids cast a shadow on the skin below. They can be very easily corrected by hyaluronic acid filler injections from a dermatologist.

Thinned out skin and underlying blood vessels – The purple hue of the blood vessels is seen thru a thinned out skin giving a dark discoloration. Using a cream containing Vitamin A and Vitamin K assists thickening the skin. Also procedures like microneedling with PRP can further add to making the skin thicker.

Thickened skin from allergy – A lot of people have dry eyes or dryness of skin around eyes, both because of allergy resulting in frequent rubbing of eyes which in turn causes wrinkling of skin, thickening of skin and dryness all of which gives an appearance of dark circles.. The allergy needs to be identified and treated followed by correction of the skin changes with creams and peels.

Photoaging skin and wrinkles – Skin when wrinkles, gathers together and gives an appearance of darkness. If u stretch the skin, the darkness goes. Such skin should be managed with sunscreen, antiaging cream, and botox/ mesobotox.

Actual pigmentation – This can be treated with the appropriate skin lightening creams and peels. Dr. Vrushali Recommends a specialised chemical peel for actual pigmentation around the eyes. It contains trichloroacetic acid, retinol and arbutin which facilitate the shedding of epidermis and reduce melanin in the undereye area. It is specially formulated for the sensitive under-eye skin for dark circle treatment.

Other causes – Hereditary causes, Less sleep, puffy eyes, stress.

The whole point is until the cause is identified, the dark circle treatment cannot give good results. So if you have dark circles, before using a skin lightening cream, visit your dermatologist in Mumbai, identify the cause of darkening and treat accordingly.