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Symptoms, Their Causes & Cures: Eyes Dark Circles

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Eyes Dark Circles

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

If you have dark circles under your eyes, it's a good bet that your father, mother and siblings have dark circles under their eyes, too.

"The most common type of under-eye circles are usually an inherited trait like varicose veins and have nothing to do with underlying disease or how much sleep you get," says Paul Lazar, M.D., professor of clinical dermatology at Northwestern University in Chicago and author of The Look You Like.

The skin under the eye is very thin, he says. In fair-skinned people, blood that passes through the large veins close to the surface shows through the skin, producing a bluish tint. The more transparent your skin, the darker the circles. In both fair and dark-skinned people, dark circles under the eyes can also be from a higher-than-normal amount of skin pigmentation in this area.

The paleness that occurs with fatigue, a cold or sinus infection or during menstruation or pregnancy may accentuate the circles even more, adds Dr. Lazar. And with age, the under-eye circles are likely to become more pronounced and permanent. Aside from inheriting circles, if you're allergy-prone, you may develop shadowy under-eye smudges in hay fever season. Substances that you are sensitive to can dilate the blood vessels in the delicate under-eye area, says Dr. Lazar. The blood then shows through the skin, he explains.

Dark circles can also develop if you have eczema, an itchy skin condition, under your eyes. Inflammation and rubbing your eyes can thicken and darken the skin.

Symptom Relief

You can't totally eliminate dark circles any more than you can banish freckles. But here are a few ways to make them less noticeable.

Go the camouflage route. For women, color-correcting underbases worn under foundation makeup can improve unattractive skin tones, according to Fredric Haberman, M.D., clinical instructor of dermatology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and author of The Doctor's Beauty Hotline. For bluish circles, apply a pale yellow underbase before applying your regular foundation, he says. Use a pale blue or mauve underbase for brown circles.

Mix your own. Commercial concealer makeups are fine, but stay away from too-light ones or you'll look like a raccoon in reverse. You can custom-blend your own concealer by mixing a bit of moisturizer with a drop of foundation, says Dr. Haberman.

Don't bleach or peel. "Chemical skin lighteners or peels remove only the topmost layer of skin and are practically ineffective at permanently removing dark circles," says Dr. Lazar.

Wear tinted lenses. A pale rose tint on the bottom third of your eyeglasses will help disguise dark circles, says Dr. Lazar. Your optician can add a flattering tint to your glasses.

Reach for an antihistamine. If allergies are causing your dark circles, a combination antihistamine/decongestant may be of some help. Staying indoors in air-conditioned rooms during hay fever season may also deter dark circles, says Minneapolis allergist Malcolm Blumenthal, M.D.

Get treatment for your itch. Prescription steroid skin creams can help reduce the thickness in under-eye skin that causes eczema-related dark circles. Ask your doctor whether this medication is appropriate for you.

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