How To Treat Dark Circles Under the Eyes: Causes and Treatment Options

The skin around your eyes is delicate, and it's often the first area to show signs of aging. You don't need me to tell you that the lower eyelid AKA the under eye area is especially tricky to treat. There are issues like dark circles, fine lines, puffiness, and loose skin all which require a multi-faceted approach.

While over-the-counter eye creams can help, more dramatic results often come from combining in-office treatments like chemical peels, skin resurfacing, and even surgery.

In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of keeping your eye area youthful. I’ll give you an overview of the multi-faceted approach for possible treatment options I share with my patients in the dermatology clinic.

So let’s rip off the band-aid and understand that 

there’s NOT a one-time easy fix for the eye area (NOT even under eye filler… I know, right. I’ve tried it, and everything else it seems).

The good news– there are several small things we can add to our daily routine that do help our eyes look less tired. I’ll also show you some less invasive in-office treatments that can help.

Let's start here: 
What’s the main cause of your eye area concern? Maybe a combination?

I’ve found many women want results that involve more than we want to invest, including myself!

We’re going to discuss the for those who are not candidates for surgery…yet. Most of us fall into the nonsurgical category, and it’s also imperative that you know this truth many women find surprising.

The result you want might mean more time and money than you’re willing to put into the improvement process.

I have to get this out of the way because I think truth can hurt but it's also empowering and will literally save you money on purchasing empty promises.

What I’m getting at here is that surgery, called a blepharoplasty- lower and upper. This procedure removes excess eyelid skin. This is the answer for many women over age 40.

Below we’ll discuss the entire treatment ladder, but let’s start with eye cream– specialized moisturizers that improve the eye area no matter your concern.

Incorporate Eye Cream First: 

Eye creams are the foundation of conquering dark circles mainly because of the massaging motion we do when we apply them.

Texture is everything because eye creams are basically specialized moisturizers. You'll notice an IMMEDIATE improvement by simply moisturizing.

Here's my quick eye cream roundup!

   • All-Time Favorite Eye Creams
   • Drugstore/ Cheap(er) eye creams
   • Eye Creams I’ve tried and do NOT recommend

Obagi Retivance Skin Rejuvenating Complex

$140.00

Add To Cart

View Details

 You can also use Obagi Retivance or a peptide serum if you would like! (We talk more about that in Eye Area 101.)

There are at-home devices that improve the area: 

I like using ones like - ZIIP HALO and Solawave in the morning because they incorporate manual massage with advanced, proven technologies. Both have microcurrent to painlessly stimulate deep layers of skin and tone facial muscles. The Solawave device also has red light therapy. (For the record, the microcurrent is a higher level in the ZIIP HALO so I still prefer both of these. I usually reach for one or the other each morning.)

 I also use red light therapy devices that don't involve manual massage. I tend to use these at night because I can simply lie down and rest after the busy day.  You can compare the features and detailed use of all of these devices here!

Now let's talk about treatments you can do in the medical office.  These are generally medspas conencted to plastic surgery or dermatology offices.

The truth is, most less invasive in-office treatments can’t get close enough to the eye to improve under eye circles and textured skin.