Dark Circles
Many consider the eyes to be the window to the soul and hence are the focus of the face particularly during the majority of social interactions. Dark circles can develop under the eyes with age and are challenging to treat. Central to successful treatment and improvement of these dark circles is a thorough understanding of the causes.
Why do we get dark circles?
The skin under the eyes is the most pigmented and thinnest of the face. With ageing the pigmentation of this region can increase and become darker. In addition ageing results in the development of fine lines and wrinkles that are worsened by excessive sun exposure and smoking. The presence of dark circles below the eyes is also influenced by the breadth of the hollow that develops below the eyes with time. This ultimately leads to the development of tear troughs. The face has a complex arrangement of parcels of fat that lie immediately below the skin. These parcels of fat provide the skin with a youthful contour particularly around the cheeks and eyes. With age these parcels of fat lose volume and become deflated as well as drop downwards due to the effects of gravity, and stretching and laxity of the ligaments that hold them in place. Together these two factors lead to the development of dark circles under the eyes.
What else can make dark circles worse?
Many general health problems can increase the likelihood of developing dark circles. These include thyroid problems, kidney problems, multiple skin allergies and eczema. Lifestyle factors that can significantly worsen dark circles include excessive eye make-up, eye drops, excessive caffeine consumption, smoking and alcohol. Too much sun exposure without adequate protection such as sunscreen and sunglasses, can result in photo damage and deepen pre-existing fine lines and wrinkles. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can also worsen dark circles.
The two main aesthetic concerns in dark circles are volume loss resulting in a tear trough and hyperpigmentation of the lower eyelid skin. Volume loss, as mentioned above is usually the result of loss of volume in the pockets of fat that sit below in the eye in what is known as the superior orbicularis oculi fat pad. With age, as these fat pads shrink there is hollowing out of the under eye area resulting in a dark circles effect. Where there is no volume loss or perhaps in addition to this volume loss, there can be darkening of the skin in the lower eyelid area itself. This is also known as hyperpigmentation and can be caused by a variety of reasons as mentioned above. Treatments for dark circles are predominantly based on these two causes.
Lifestyle changes necessary to kick off any treatment include stopping eye rubbing, stop smoking and all eye makeup should be removed prior to going to sleep. Effective sunscreens and sunglasses should be used for UVA and UVB protection as well as overall reduction in sun exposure.
Dark pigmentation issues should be addressed initially with a change in daily skin care program. Products containing vitamin C, retinol, kojic acid and resveratrol antioxidant will help to brighten and thicken the skin under the eye as well help to increase fibroblast activity and thereby stimulate increased collagen and elastin production.
Dermalux LED phototherapy has been shown to provide general beneficial effects to skin under the eye and can aid in improvement of fine lines and wrinkles. This will improve the appearance of any excessive pigmentation under the eyes. It will also help to thicken skin and restore good skin health.
The most effective treatment we offer at Rejuvence Clinic for hyperpigmentation under the eyes is Aerolase Neo Elite – a 1064nm Nd:YAG laser that can specifically target the excess melanin and help to reduce the effects of pigmentation thereby lightening the under eye area.
Magellan plasma therapy has been used in the under eye region for dark circles as a solitary treatment and in combination with microneedling. A few studies have demonstrated improvements in under eye skin quality as well as helping to even out colour tone and stimulate a lightening effect
Dermal fillers, specifically hyaluronic acid, are being increasingly used to help restore volume to the deep fat parcels that lie under the eye and hence address the hollowing effect that develops with age. They provide significant improvements in the tear trough deformity that forms and provide an immediate rejuvenating effect.
A new more exciting development is the use of your own fat instead of dermal fillers to treat the tear trough and hollowing out below the eyes. At Rejuvence Clinic we use liposuction techniques to harvest your own fat cells and then we can combine this with Magellan Therapy to produce potent fat that can be used as a permanent filler. When injected into the regions of the face such as the tear trough we can replace volume and the regenerative cells released from the fat cells can help to provide a fantastic rejuvenating effect. The added benefit of fat is that it will last much longer than dermal fillers.
A new and exciting treatment for dark circles is the use of nano fat rich in regenerative cells and growth factors. At Rejuvence Clinic we are able to harvest your own fat cells using minimally invasive liposuction techniques. Your fats cells are then spun in a centrifuge. These fat cells are then micronised using a special fat cell filter to produce small uniform fat cells that release a rich supply of growth factors. This can then be combined with Magellan Therapy and injected into the dark circle area and help to improve the pigmentation, brighten the skin and treat fine lines and wrinkles.
Aerolase NEO Elite for Dark Circles
Aerolase Neo Elite is a 1064nm Nd:YAG laser and uses a 650 microsecond pulse meaning it is practically painless and safe in all skin types, especially skin of colour. The Neo Elite is able to treat hyperpigmentation and can significantly revitalise the under eye area. At Rejuvence we often combine Aerolase Neo with treatments such as Tear Trough dermal fillers to help with hyperpigmentation as well as volume loss in the tear trough region and this can make a significant improvement to dark circles.
Sylfirm X for under eye skin tightening
Sylfirm X is Radio Frequency Microneedling similar to Morpheus. Sylfirm X is considered to be better as it offers a continuous and pulse wave setting that means it is safer in more delicate areas as well as being able to address pigmentation and redness in addition to skin tightening. This can also be combined with Exosome mesotherapy to offer under eye rejuvenation and an improvement in dark circles.
Rejuvence Philosophy
Dark circles are notoriously difficult to treat and require patience and dedication. With the appropriate lifestyle changes and a bespoke treatment plan combining the most effective and cutting edge procedures we have gained good success in helping to reduce dark circles and provide eye rejuvenation.
