Why Do I Have Dark Circles Under My Eyes?

Dark circles are one of the most common concerns people bring to Dr Maryam Zamani's Chelsea clinic. They are also one of the most persistently misunderstood.

Most people assume they are caused by tiredness, and for some, that is a contributing factor. But for the majority of patients with persistent dark circles, sleep is not the cause and better sleep will not be the solution. The reality is more nuanced, and more treatable, than that.

As a fellowship-trained oculoplastic surgeon whose entire clinical practice is built around the anatomy of the eye and the structures that surround it, Dr Zamani approaches dark circles differently from most practitioners. She begins with identifying the exact mechanism driving the darkness, because treating the wrong cause produces no result at all.

This guide explains what actually causes dark circles, what you can do at home, when to seek clinical treatment, and what results are realistic.

What Are Dark Circles?

Dark circles are areas of discolouration beneath the lower eyelids that appear darker than the surrounding skin. They can present as blue, purple, brown, or black tones depending on the underlying cause and your natural skin tone. They affect people of all ages, skin types, and ethnicities, and in most cases are a cosmetic concern rather than a medical one.

What makes them particularly complex is that they are not a single condition. There are several distinct mechanisms that create the appearance of darkness beneath the eyes, and many patients have more than one operating simultaneously.

What Causes Dark Circles Under the Eyes?

1. Volume Loss and Hollow Tear Troughs

As the face ages, the fat pads beneath the eyes gradually diminish. This creates a hollow depression known as the tear trough, a concave shadow between the lower eyelid and the upper cheek. When this area is hollow, it casts a shadow on the skin below the eye that reads as darkness.

This is one of the most common causes seen clinically, particularly in patients over forty. It is also the most frequently mismanaged, because this type of dark circle has nothing to do with pigment or blood vessels. It is a structural problem, and no topical cream will resolve it. The hollow needs to be addressed through structural means.

2. Vascular Visibility

The skin beneath the eyes is the thinnest on the face, ranging from 0.5 to 1mm in thickness. Through this tissue, the underlying blood vessels and capillaries become visible as blue, purple, or dark red tones.

This vascular component is often genetic and tends to worsen with age as the skin progressively thins. It is also more pronounced following poor sleep, when blood vessels dilate and blood pools in the periorbital area, which is why tiredness makes it temporarily worse without being its root cause.

3. Hyperpigmentation

Some patients have excess melanin deposition in the skin beneath the eyes, presenting as brown-toned darkness. This is more common in patients with darker skin tones and a genetic predisposition, and can be worsened by sun exposure, friction from rubbing the eyes, and hormonal changes.

This is the type of dark circle most responsive to topical brightening treatments and pigment-targeting clinical procedures. It is also the type most likely to improve meaningfully with a targeted skincare routine.

4. Skin Laxity and Crepey Texture

With age and the progressive loss of collagen and elastin, the skin beneath the eyes becomes thin, fine-lined, and loose. This creates an uneven surface that reflects light poorly, contributing to a dull, shadowed appearance across the entire under-eye area. This is distinct from a discrete dark circle and tends to present as a diffuse dullness that worsens throughout the day.

5. Lifestyle and Environmental Factors

Lack of sleep causes peripheral vasodilation, making blood vessels more visible beneath the thin periorbital skin. Dehydration causes the skin to appear dull and the orbital bone to become more prominent. A diet high in salt leads to fluid retention and puffiness that accentuates shadows beneath the eyes. Chronic allergies cause repeated eye rubbing, which increases vascular congestion and can cause post-inflammatory pigmentation over time. Smoking accelerates collagen breakdown and impairs circulation throughout the face.

These factors rarely act as the sole cause in patients with persistent dark circles, but they compound the appearance of all the mechanisms above.

Why the Cause Matters

This is the most important clinical point: the treatment must match the mechanism.

Treating a vascular dark circle with a brightening Vitamin C cream will have minimal effect. Treating a structural hollow with a topical retinoid will have minimal effect. A patient who has spent years applying eye cream to a tear trough hollow is not addressing the actual problem.

Understanding the cause is the difference between wasting money on products that do not work and choosing a treatment that actually delivers visible, lasting change.

How to Get Rid of Dark Circles: At-Home Options

While clinical treatment is often necessary for meaningful improvement, the following approaches form an important foundation and can produce visible results for some causes, particularly hyperpigmentation, dehydration, and mild vascular visibility.

Get adequate sleep and elevate your head

Seven to eight hours of sleep per night allows the skin's natural repair processes to function properly. Elevating the head with an extra pillow reduces fluid from pooling beneath the eyes overnight, which can worsen puffiness and shadow the under-eye area.

Use a cold compress

Applying something cold, such as chilled spoons, a cold damp cloth, or chilled eye masks, to the under-eye area in the morning constricts dilated blood vessels and reduces puffiness. This works particularly well for vascular dark circles and morning puffiness. The effect is temporary but immediate.

Reduce salt and alcohol intake

Both cause fluid retention that leads to puffiness beneath the eyes. Reducing salt in the diet and limiting alcohol, particularly before sleep, can make a meaningful difference to the appearance of the under-eye area within days.

Protect from UV exposure daily

Sun exposure is one of the primary drivers of collagen degradation and pigmentation in the periorbital area, worsening both structural and pigmentation-related dark circles over time. Daily broad-spectrum SPF applied every morning is the single most evidence-based preventative habit for dark circles across all causes.

Address allergies

If you have seasonal or chronic allergies and frequently rub your eyes, managing the allergy itself is part of managing dark circles. Antihistamines, avoiding known triggers, and being gentle with the periorbital skin all reduce the vascular congestion and pigmentation that rubbing causes.

Stay hydrated

Dehydration causes the orbital bone to become more prominent and the skin to appear dull, which significantly worsens the appearance of shadows beneath the eyes. Adequate daily hydration, alongside a hydrating eye product, keeps the skin around the eye area plump and reduces the sunken quality that exaggerates dark circles.

The Best Skincare for Dark Circles

A targeted skincare routine forms an important clinical foundation. The following MZ SKIN products are formulated specifically for the delicate periorbital area.

Soothe & Smooth Hyaluronic Brightening Eye Complex

An ideal starting point for dark circles related to hyperpigmentation, dehydration, or skin thinning. Powered by Vitamin C to inhibit excess melanin production and support collagen synthesis, it visibly brightens dark circles, improves uneven tone, and enhances firmness over time. Hyaluronic Acid provides deep hydration to plump and smooth the skin, reducing the dehydration-related shadowing that compounds the appearance of darkness. Apply morning and evening using the ring finger, tapping gently into the orbital bone.

Intensive Bio-Placenta Eye Cream

For dark circles where collagen loss and skin laxity are contributing factors, this peptide-rich formula works at the deepest layers of the skin to stimulate collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid simultaneously. Powered by a Firming Peptide Complex, Bio-Placenta growth factors, bakuchiol, and the proprietary M5Rx complex, it rebuilds the structural quality of the periorbital skin over time. In independent clinical trials, 83% of users agreed the skin around their eyes looked tighter and 84% saw a visible improvement in fine lines.

Microtox Tightening Eye Serum

For patients concerned with skin laxity and crepey texture around the eye contour, this peptide-powered precision serum visibly lifts, tightens, and refines the under-eye area. The ergonomic cooling applicator provides a gentle micro-massage to reduce puffiness and improve circulation. It improves the light-reflective quality of the periorbital skin, reducing the dull, shadowed appearance that crepey texture produces.

Advanced Retinol Complex Serum

Incorporating retinol into the evening routine supports the periorbital area by stimulating collagen production and improving the density and quality of the skin around the eye over time. The MZ SKIN formula combines retinol with an advanced retinoid complex and bakuchiol, clinically proven to improve skin texture by 14% and increase skin elasticity by over 40% after three months. Apply a small amount to the face and periorbital area in the evening, avoiding the immediate eyelid margin.

Expert UV Protector SPF50

Daily broad-spectrum SPF50 is non-negotiable for anyone seeking to prevent or improve dark circles. UV exposure is one of the primary drivers of both collagen degradation and pigmentation in the periorbital area. This lightweight, non-greasy formula provides UVA and UVB defence without the heaviness that can feel uncomfortable around the eyes.

Clinical Treatments for Dark Circles

For patients where at-home skincare has not produced sufficient improvement, the following clinical treatments are available at Dr Zamani's Chelsea clinic, each matched to the specific mechanism it addresses.

For vascular dark circles

BBL (BroadBand Light) HERoic therapy targets haemoglobin in the superficial vessels to reduce the blue and purple tones associated with vascular dark circles. Dr Zamani is one of a small number of UK-based doctors offering BBL HERoic technology and has extensive experience applying it precisely in the periorbital area.

For volume-related shadowing and tear troughs

Tear trough correction using hyaluronic acid filler restores the structural support beneath the eye that removes the shadow creating the appearance of darkness. This is one of the most commonly performed procedures at Dr Zamani's clinic. For patients with more significant hollowing, or those not anatomically suited to filler, fat transfer to the under-eye area offers a longer-lasting structural solution using the patient's own tissue.

For hyperpigmentation

BBL therapy addresses surface pigmentation as well as vascular visibility, making it effective for patients with a combined presentation. Skin-brightening peels using glycolic and other alpha-hydroxy acids reduce surface melanin and improve overall skin tone in the periorbital area.

For skin laxity and crepey texture

Polynucleotide injections repair and regenerate tissue at a biological level, supporting fibroblast activity and improving skin quality beneath the eyes in a way that is distinct from simple hydration or volume restoration. Morpheus8 radiofrequency microneedling uses targeted energy to stimulate collagen remodelling with minimal downtime. CO2 laser resurfacing delivers more significant surface renewal for patients with advanced laxity or pigmentation.

For many patients, a combined approach that addresses multiple contributing factors simultaneously delivers the most visible and lasting improvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have dark circles even when I sleep well?If dark circles persist despite adequate sleep, the cause is almost certainly structural, vascular, or genetic rather than lifestyle-related. This is the most common presentation in Dr Zamani's practice. It indicates that clinical assessment is the appropriate next step.

Are dark circles genetic?Yes. A predisposition to thin periorbital skin, prominent tear troughs, or excess melanin in the under-eye area can be inherited. Genetic dark circles are not a reflection of tiredness or lifestyle and are best addressed through clinical assessment and targeted treatment.

Can dark circles be permanently removed?This depends on the cause. Dark circles related to structural hollowing can be significantly improved through tear trough filler or fat transfer, with long-lasting results. Vascular and pigmentation-related dark circles can be substantially reduced through clinical treatments but may require maintenance over time.

Do eye creams actually work for dark circles?Eye creams can improve hydration, stimulate collagen production over time, and reduce the appearance of pigmentation to a meaningful degree. They are an important foundation. However, they cannot address structural hollowing, significant vascular visibility, or advanced skin laxity, for which clinical treatment is necessary.

How do I know what type of dark circles I have?The colour is a useful indicator. Blue or purple tones typically suggest a vascular component. Brown or black tones suggest hyperpigmentation. A shadow that deepens when you tilt your head down and look up, creating a hollow, suggests structural volume loss. Many patients have a combination. A clinical assessment is the only definitive way to identify the cause and choose the right treatment.

What makes dark circles worse?Poor sleep, dehydration, high salt intake, alcohol, smoking, allergies, and unprotected sun exposure all worsen the appearance of dark circles by different mechanisms. These factors rarely act as the sole cause in patients with persistent circles, but they compound the appearance of the underlying structural or vascular issue.

What is the best treatment for dark circles in London?The best treatment depends entirely on the cause. Dr Zamani offers the full spectrum of clinical options at her Chelsea clinic, from tear trough filler and fat transfer for structural hollowing, to BBL for vascular and pigmentation-related darkness, to polynucleotides and Morpheus8 for skin quality. The right treatment is determined at consultation following a thorough clinical assessment of the periorbital area.

Can dark circles appear in younger patients?Yes. Genetic predisposition to thin periorbital skin or early tear trough hollowing can cause dark circles to appear in the twenties and thirties. Younger patients often respond particularly well to clinical treatment as the surrounding skin quality is typically higher.

Book a Consultation with Dr Maryam Zamani

If dark circles are affecting your confidence and have not responded to skincare alone, book a consultation with Dr Maryam Zamani at her Chelsea clinic. A thorough clinical assessment of your periorbital area will identify the cause and form the basis of a treatment plan designed to deliver lasting, visible improvement.

‍