Why Do I Have Dark Circles Under My Eyes All of a Sudden?

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If you have ever asked yourself the question – why do I get dark circles under my eyes all of a sudden? – then read on.

There are a fair few reasons why we get dark circles under my eyes. Some are obvious, others are a little less well known. Pregnancy, Aging, Fatigue, Bad Circulation, Stress and Weight Loss are some of the reasons you may or may not have heard of. Remember though, they are unsightly and can be very annoying to look at, but they are not actually harmful. Although some people may argue this when the darkness under their eyes gets them down!

If you agree that feeling happy with yourself is important. Then finding a way to get rid of these dark circles will be foremost in your mind.

 

Contents

Physics Behind Dark Eye Circles

First we need to understand the physics before getting to the biological reason for it. The reason the area under your eyes are prone to darkening (be it dark circles or a punch to the face) is the skin under your eyes being thinner(0.5mm) compared to the rest of your body(average 2mm). Add to that the high density of blood vessels and capillaries in that region. And you have light reflecting off the back of the blood vessels sitting under that patch of incredibly thin skin, giving it a darkish appearance.

Now the biological reasons for the darkness increasing are not one but many; with genetics playing the more important role than others. Some of the causes are:

  1. Old age : As people age their skin loses elasticity and the ability to regenerate and as a result becomes thinner. This is the reason older people predominantly have very prominent dark circles.
  2. Preorbital Hyperpigmentation is a genetic condition in which more melanin is produced in the skin below your eyes.
  3. Another curable illness causes damaged blood vessels below your eyes to leak small amounts of blood.
  4. Fatigue: Yes fatigue can indeed cause dark circles but they are by no means the predominant factor. When the body is tired, production of the chemical cortisol is dramatically increased to help give you the energy you need to stay awake. Among many other things, cortisol actually increases the volume of the blood in your body, which causes the blood vessels (including the ones below your eyes) to engorge to accommodate it.

What vitamin deficiency causes dark circles under the eyes?

Dark circles under the eyes can be a deficiency of Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, and/or Vitamin K.

Options for dealing with the dark circles under my eyes

Conceal them with makeup?
Treat them with an Eye Cream?
Leave the dark circle well alone and do nothing?

For me leaving the dark circles under my eyes alone is quite simply not an option. Fed up with the way having these around my eyes makes me feel. Concealing them with make-up, yes a possibility but what a pain in the neck having to do this everyday. That just leaves me with treating them with an eye cream. For me getting rid of them and preventing them from re-appearing sounds by far the best option.

You can decrease the looks of dark under eyesight circles and reduce bloating by using frosty compresses over your sight. You can cover a tote of iced peas in a rinse cloth or you might use chilled tea hand bags and these can be use as wintry compresses. For dark circles that come up from allergy symptoms and nose congestion, you can treat them with saline rinse which can be found at many drugstores. Saline washes works to wash out the nose passageways and easiness congestion and decrease darkness throughout the eyes.

Makeup/Skin Care Options for Dark Circles

  1. Look into a caffeinated eye roller pen. This is your quick fix that you apply in the morning to brighten and reduce bags, but will not change your skin long term.
  2. Consider a skincare routine that includes a vitamin C serum for long term improvement you will see when you wake up in the morning. I started using the serum I’ve linked to here at night after cleansing and toning and before my moisturizer. I cannot believe the difference it made in evening out my skin tone; I saw significant improvement within a month of daily use. I wake up with bright skin that looks hydrated and even.

Several under vision cream supports lowering dark circles. Make sure that the attention creams you will purchase contain supplement C, vitamin supplements E and vitamin supplements K as advised by MayoClinic.com. Which contributes in reducing the looks of dark circles. Other lotions that contain retinol content are reported to be effective as well.