30 May What causes dark circles under the eyes also called tear throughs

Many people come to the clinic to improve the appearance of the dark circles under their eyes because it makes them look tired, mad or sad even when they have slept well and feel great. There are two major things that contribute to developing dark circles under the eyes: a loss of volume due to weight loss, ageing or some people born with little or no fat in this area AND the color of the skin .

Skin is usually white to brown. There are three major layers of tissues contributing to this color: the upper layer being the skin, the fat underneath the skin and the muscle below it. In the area under the eyes, the fat layer is very thin or absent, this gives the skin a purplish color because what we are seeing is the muscle under the skin. Other causes of dark skin are due to allergies (atopy) which causes the skin to be darker and genetics.

In more advanced cases of tissue or weight loss, the normal support from the cheek can also contribute to the deepening of dark circles and shadow.

How to correct dark circles under the eyes

Since dark circles are often a combination of fat loss and skin color we can correct the fat loss with filler made of hyaluronic acid. In our clinic we usually use a product made specially for tear trough correction. In cases where there is a big loss of volume there can also be a loss of support from the cheek and surrounding structures such as fat pads. In these cases we may also add volume to the adjacent cheek.It should be noted that we can not change the color of the skin, only improve the shadow to lighten the area and make the dark circles less apparent.

At the first visit we aim to correct the sunken area by 50% because the product will fill in over the following 2 weeks. The correction typically lasts 12 months.