What are Dark Eye Circles?
- Allergies
- Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
- Heredity — dark under-eye circles can run in families
- Lifestyle factors, such as physical or emotional stress, smoking, or chronic alcohol use can take a toll on your appearance
- Nasal congestion (which can dilate and darken the veins that drain from your eyes to your nose)
- Pigmentation irregularities — these are a particular concern for people of color, especially blacks and Asians
- Rubbing or scratching your eyes
- Sun exposure, which prompts your body to produce more melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color
- Thinning skin and loss of fat and collagen — common as you age — can make the reddish-blue blood vessels under your eyes more obvious.
- Not sleep well
Dark eye circles can make people look tired and old, even if they are not a day over 25 and receive eight to ten hours of sleep at night. Men and women from all races can have dark circles under their eyes, but it’s mostly prevalent in African Americans, Southern Italians, and Southeast Asians. Those who suffer from this annoying problem may often wonder if there is anything that can be done about it. No matter what methods people decide to try in order to rid themselves of dark eye circles, it’s important for them to understand why they appear under the eyes so they can learn to effectively combat them. The sensitive skin beneath the eyes is thin and doesn’t have as many glands as other parts of the body. As a person grows older, this thin skin tends to get drier and more wrinkled. The veins in the skin below the eye become more visible and dark eye circles begin to form. When people have dark circles under their eyes, they may be plagued with them for a variety of reasons. People wit
