Skin Care Education

Dark Circles

Shadowing or discolouration beneath the lower eyelids caused by pigmentation, visible blood vessels, or structural hollowing. Rarely caused by tiredness alone.

What Are Dark Circles?

Dark circles is the common term for the darkened, shadowed, or discoloured appearance beneath the lower eyelids. They are one of the most frequently reported cosmetic concerns and affect people across all ages, skin tones, and lifestyles. Despite their strong popular association with tiredness and lack of sleep, the majority of dark circles have underlying causes that are structural, vascular, or pigmentation-related, and which persist regardless of how much sleep a person gets.

What makes dark circles particularly worth understanding is that there are three distinct types, each with a different underlying mechanism and each requiring a different approach to address. Treating a pigmentation-based dark circle with an approach designed for structural hollowing, for example, is unlikely to produce results. Identifying which type or combination of types is present is therefore the essential first step.

Most people with persistent dark circles have more than one contributing type simultaneously. Structural hollowing can cast a shadow that is then compounded by pigmentation in the under-eye skin, and vascular visibility can add a bluish or purplish tone on top of that. Understanding the relative contribution of each type guides the most effective approach.

Types of Dark Circles

Vascular (blue or purple): caused by blood vessels and their deoxygenated blood showing through the extremely thin and translucent skin beneath the eye. Typically appears as a bluish or purplish tint and is most visible in lighter skin tones with naturally thinner periocular skin.
Pigmented (brown): caused by an excess of melanin in the skin beneath the eye. Appears as a brownish discolouration and is more common and more pronounced in medium to deeper skin tones. Can be worsened by UV exposure and eye rubbing.
Structural (shadowing): caused by a depression or hollowing in the tear trough area between the lower eyelid and the cheek, which creates a physical shadow beneath the eye. This type is structural in origin and is not related to pigmentation or vascular visibility.

Causes and Contributing Factors

Factor	Description
Genetics and anatomy	The depth of the natural tear trough, the thickness of the under-eye skin, and the baseline level of pigmentation in this area are all largely determined by genetics. Some individuals have a naturally pronounced tear trough or very thin periocular skin from a young age, independent of ageing or lifestyle.
Age-related volume loss	As the fat pad underlying the tear trough area reduces with age, a hollow develops that casts an increasingly prominent shadow beneath the eye. This structural type of dark circle tends to worsen progressively with age as facial volume loss continues.
Thin and translucent skin	The skin beneath the eye is the thinnest on the entire face. In individuals with naturally very thin or translucent periocular skin, the blood vessels beneath are visible through the surface, creating the characteristic bluish or purplish vascular discolouration.
Melanin pigmentation	Excess melanin in the under-eye skin produces a brownish discolouration that is distinct from the shadow created by structural hollowing. This is more common in medium to deeper skin tones and can be exacerbated by UV exposure, which stimulates additional melanin production in the already susceptible periocular area.
Allergies and nasal congestion	Chronic nasal congestion from allergies causes the veins that drain from the eyes to become dilated and darker, increasing the visibility of vascular dark circles. Habitual eye rubbing associated with allergies also causes inflammation and pigmentation changes over time.
Fatigue and poor sleep	Sleep deprivation can temporarily worsen the appearance of dark circles, primarily by making the skin appear more pallid, which makes vascular discolouration more visible by contrast, and by increasing fluid retention that can cause mild puffiness. Sleep alone does not create the structural or pigmentation causes of dark circles, however, and improving sleep will not resolve those types.
UV exposure	Sun exposure stimulates melanin production in the periocular skin and can deepen existing pigmented dark circles and slow their natural lightening. Consistent SPF use around the eye area supports prevention of pigmentation worsening.
Dehydration	Dehydrated skin appears less plump and more transparent, which can temporarily make vascular and structural dark circles more pronounced by reducing the visual buffer that well-hydrated skin provides.

Frequently Asked Questions: Dark Circles

Because in the majority of cases, dark circles have a structural, pigmentation-based, or vascular cause that is not related to sleep. Insufficient sleep can temporarily worsen the appearance of existing dark circles, primarily by making the skin appear paler, which increases the visual contrast of the discolouration beneath the eye. However, structural hollowing caused by volume loss, pigmentation caused by excess melanin, and vascular visibility caused by thin skin are all present regardless of sleep quality and do not improve with rest alone.

Yes, though the dominant type varies by skin tone. Pigmented dark circles, caused by excess melanin, tend to be more pronounced in medium to deeper skin tones, where higher baseline melanin activity means a more intense pigment response in the periocular area. Vascular dark circles, caused by visible blood vessels, tend to be more apparent in fairer skin tones with naturally thinner and more translucent periocular skin. Structural dark circles from hollowing affect all skin tones as part of the ageing process.

The structural type typically worsens with age as the fat pad underlying the tear trough reduces and the shadow it casts becomes deeper. The skin also thins further with age, which can make vascular visibility more pronounced over time. Pigmented dark circles can also deepen with cumulative UV exposure. The combination of these processes means dark circles often become a more noticeable concern as people move through their 30s, 40s, and beyond, even if they were present in a milder form earlier in life.

Under-eye hollows and the structural type of dark circles refer to the same underlying condition: a depression or volume deficit in the tear trough area that creates a physical shadow beneath the eye. The term under-eye hollows emphasises the structural aspect of the condition, while dark circles is a broader term that encompasses all three types, including pigmentation and vascular causes. Many people use the terms interchangeably, though they are not technically identical.