Dark Circles

What are dark circles?

Dark circles are dark discolourations under the eyes. The skin there is only about half as thick as elsewhere on the face, has hardly any oil glands and little fatty tissue. That’s why everything underneath shows through more – and tiredness, dryness or age show up here first.

The three types of dark circles

• Pigmented dark circles (brown): Too much melanin, often genetic or made worse by sun and frequent rubbing. Common on darker skin.
• Vascular dark circles (bluish-purple): Blood vessels show through the thin skin. Lack of sleep, allergies and a blocked nose make them more visible.
• Structural dark circles (shadows): Over the years, the eye area loses volume and collagen. A groove forms (the tear trough) that casts a shadow. Sometimes eye bags add to this, caused by fluid retention or fat pads moving forward.

A simple test: gently pull the skin under your eye to the side. If the circle gets lighter, it’s probably vascular. If the colour stays the same, it’s more likely pigmented. If it changes with the light, a shadow is the likely cause.

What helps with dark circles?

• For pigment: Brightening actives such as vitamin C, niacinamide or tranexamic acid – plus daily sunscreen right up to the eye area.
• For visible vessels: Caffeine briefly constricts the vessels. Cooling with eye patches or a cold spoon makes the eye area look fresher immediately. Enough sleep helps most of all.
• For shadows and tear troughs: Retinal, peptides and collagen support firmer, denser skin. However, visible volume loss can only be improved to a limited extent with skincare.
• For puffiness: Less salt in the evening, sleep with your head slightly raised, cool in the morning and gently stroke from the inner to the outer corner of the eye.

How to apply eye cream

1. A rice-grain-sized amount is enough for both eyes.
2. Dot it along the orbital bone with your ring finger – not right at the lash line.
3. Pat it in gently, don’t rub.
4. In the morning, follow with sunscreen up to just below the eye.

Korean eye care

From our range: the Revive Eye Serum Ginseng + Retinal by Beauty of Joseon, the Seoul 1988 Eye Cream Retinal Liposome by KSECRET, the Vegan Collagen Eye Serum by AXIS-Y, the Tranexamic Acid Glutathione Eye Cream by Mary&May and the PDRN Pink Caffeine Collagen Eye Patches by medicube. You’ll find all products in our Korean eye creams collection.

What does the research say?

A review distinguishes pigmented, vascular and structural dark circles as well as mixed forms – and shows that the right treatment depends on the cause (Roh & Chung, Dermatologic Surgery, 2009). There are indications that caffeine reduces puffiness, but the evidence is still limited.