Dr Joseph Allen

So when it comes to having dark circles under eye bags, dark circles is something that people are definitely concerned about.

It's a huge topic online.

I see all the time.

People ask about it in the eye clinic.

Having dark circles under the eyes is technically different than having under eye bags.

But if you have under eye bags, it'll make the appearance of dark circles worse.

So dark circles in the clinic, we think first, what's somebody's skin pigmentation like?

Is the dark circle just because they have more pigmentation?

And if you're somebody who spends a lot of time in the sunlight, you are more likely to develop darker skin complexion around the eyelids.

The eyelids are some of the thinnest, most delicate tissue of skin on your body.

And in fact, a lot of people who don't know this, but having skin cancer on your lower eyelids is actually pretty high.

So it's good to be wearing either a wide-brim hat or sunglasses to protect the eyes from sunlight damage.

The other kind of components is that if you have vascular changes.

So myself, I have a really pale complexion.

If I have bad allergies, that can cause the blood vessels around my eyelids to dilate.

And so you'll see that color of just the blood vessels coming through the skin a lot easier.

And then there's orbital shadow effects.

Because some people's orbits, they have more prominent brow.

It may kind of cast a shadow onto the lower eyelid.

And that's where having under eye bags can also make the eyelids seem like they have kind of dark circles, because the eyelids are puffy.