What Causes Under Eye Circles?

We’ve all seen them, that reminder that we haven’t gotten enough sleep – puffy or dark circles under our eyes. The older we get, the worse they seem to look! What actually causes them, though? And how can I get rid of them?

Genetics

The first reason you may experience bags under your eyes is genetic. Unfortunately, you have your parents to thank for the increasing bags under your eyes. Aside from cosmetic procedures, there isn’t a whole lot you can do to remedy them. What’s happening there? The fat in our faces is held together by a combination of muscles and ligaments, and as we age these muscles and ligaments loosen and weaken. Unfortunately, everything starts to sag, making fat more visible. Collagen levels also decline, causing our skin to lose elasticity, further promoting sagging.

Lifestyle

The second reason you may be experiencing bags under your eyes is a combination of things. If you’re under 40, it may be a combination of lack of sleep, lack of physical activity, a high-salt diet, and water retention. If water retention is the culprit, you’ll notice that in the morning they may be especially bad, but by noon have decreased. If you suffer from chronic sinus infections, this can create a constant stretching of the skin under your eyes. As a result, this creates bags.

Dark Circles

What about dark circles? We’ve come to associate dark circles with tiredness, being overworked and not getting enough sleep. Dark circles are the thin skin under our eyes showing blood vessels. The blood contained there shows more easily than anywhere else on the whole body. Fact: The skin around your eyelids is about 0.5 mm thick compared to the rest of your body, which averages at 2 mm!) As mentioned, with age our skin loses elasticity and also becomes thinner. This is why the older we get, the more prominent these dark circles become – no matter how much sleep and relaxation we get! Other factors that may worsen the appearance or dark circles are damaged blood vessels around the eye(s).

Are there ways that I can prevent dark circles and puffy eyes from being worse than they are? Of course! First of all, curb the salt. Water finds its way from the parts of your body low in sodium to the parts that have the most (under your eyes!)

Stay on top of your allergies. Allergies and puffy eyes are almost synonymous; so make sure that you invest in basic over-the-counter medicine around allergy season to combat the puffiness! As mentioned, chronic sinus infections can produce bags under your eyes.

For your eye care needs, be sure to contact OCC LASIK!