What causes dark under-eye circles?
There are several factors that contribute to dark circles. Skin color is due to melanin, blood and other plasma constituents. Temperature influences skin color. When it’s hot the skin appears red, when it’s cold, blood flow is sluggish causing the skin to have a bluish color. These color differences are exaggerated in the eye area because of the thinness of the skin. Allergy resulting in edema (excess fluid with swelling) contributes to darkening of the eye area. Recurrent swelling around the eyes causes the tissue to become even darker in appearance. Regular exposure to sunlight produces melanin pigmentation or a darkening of skin in the eye area. All of these factors contribute to weakening of the blood vessel network causing leakage of blood and darkening the eye area.
Most people think dark under-eye circles are caused by staying up too late. This isn’t the case: in fact, lack of sleep makes the skin around the eyes paler, allowing the purplish color to be more visible. Anything that makes your face paler (illness, menstruation, etc.) make dark circles look darker. Spending time in the sun also makes dark circles look darker. Allergies can cause dark circles to appear (sometimes simply due to rubbing the eyes!). The primary “cause” of dark circles is hereditary. You inherit from your parents the genes that determine the strength of the capillaries in your skin — determining exactly how “leaky” these capillaries are. Furthermore, heredity can determine the thickness and opacity of the skin around your eyes, which can make dark circles look even worse. What are dark circles under the eyes? Dark eye circles are formed by the same biological process that causes bruises to turn dark blue/purple. When something strikes your skin, small blood vessels are
