A quick internet search for “dark circles eye treatment” will net you page after page of products and hacks, from tea bags and special pillows to jade rollers and vitamin-infused serums. Before you decide on any remedy, it’s helpful to understand why those dark patches and puffiness exist in the first place.
“The skin under the eyes is the thinnest on the body,” says Robert Morrell, MD, founder of Di Morelli Skin Care in Vancouver, British Columbia. “That makes it more vulnerable, especially as we age, and it’s why you need to treat that area very gently.”
Learning more about the causes of dark circles and puffiness — as well as the most effective ways they can be treated — can help you look more refreshed.
7 Easy Home Hacks for Healthy Skin
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The Causes of Dark Circles Under Your Eyes
Known as periorbital hyperpigmentation, under-eye circles, or a dark puffy look under the eyes, has a strong genetic component, says Laura McGevna, MD, a dermatologist in Burlington, Vermont. But even if this condition doesn’t run in your family, these unwanted issues can appear as a result of fatigue, stress, allergies, dehydration, sun damage, and aging.
“Very commonly, dark circles worsen with age,” says Dr. McGevna. “That’s because there’s a natural restructuring of the bones of the cheek, and some skin laxity in the eyelids, which leads to a hollow appearance, and a shadow from above.”
Dark bags and puffy under-eyes are also related to the veins just under the skin, says Susan Massick, MD, a dermatologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. The skin under your eyes is already thin, and as you age, you may begin to lose volume in the fat pads just under the skin there. As these fat pads thin out, you can see the blood vessels more easily, causing discoloration.
How Puffiness Under the Eyes Affects Dark Circles
The eyes are more predisposed to fluid retention as you age, says Dr. Morrell, and you also lose elastin, a protein important for skin health, resulting in sagging and wrinkling. This can puff up the under-eye area and make it look darker, he adds.
Other under-eye puff–producing factors include allergies, dry skin, and dehydration, which can also contribute to dark bags under the eyes, says McGevna.
As the skin stretches to accommodate fluid and inflammation, gravity can pull those bags downward, making them more pronounced.
How to Reduce Dark Eye Circles and Puffiness
Hyperpigmentation can be difficult to eradicate completely, says Massick, but there are ways to minimize the dark bags and puffy under-eye appearance.
Apply Brightening Creams
Products made with hydroquinone, especially when combined with retinoids, hyaluronic acid, or vitamin C, are useful for some people for lightening dark bags under the eyes.
Retinoids can affect both cellular and molecular properties of the skin and make your skin look younger. Research on hyaluronic acid has shown it to have benefits for both skin quality and signs of skin aging.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can protect the skin from the aging effects of sunlight, and it can help with depigmentation, reduce inflammation, and promote collagen synthesis.
Although these ingredient have been shown to be effective, be sure talk to your dermatologist before using them, says McGevna.
When used in excess, the skin lightening agent hydroquinone, in particular, may worsen dark spots under the eyes by causing ochronosis, which is a deposit of dark black and blue particles under the skin.
Try Using Tea Bags
If you need a quick fix for reducing puffiness and darkness, grab a couple of caffeinated tea bags. Brew them for a few minutes in hot water, allow them cool until lukewarm, and place them over your closed eyes for three to four minutes.
Dr. Massick says the caffeine may help constrict the blood vessels beneath the skin around your eyes, so they aren’t as pronounced. Research also suggests that caffeine can be an effective treatment for dark eye circles.
Consider Minor Surgery
Although surgery sounds like an extreme measure, addressing dark circles and puffiness is not a major procedure, says Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, MD, founder of Mudgil Dermatology in New York City. He says that the recovery time is about a week, and any pain tends to be minimal.
The main way surgery improves under-eye appearance is by removing the remaining bits of the under-eye fat pads and tightening the skin. This technique is often used by people who are impacted by genetics, including Dr. Mudgil himself.
“It feels like I’ve tried every eye cream that has ever been available,” he says. “I’m not alone — many of my patients come to me with plastic bags filled with thousands of dollars worth of products. I can understand their frustration. Sometimes a procedure is the only thing that will work.”
Ask Your Dermatologist About Fillers
If your puffiness and darkness are related to loss of under-eye fat, one option is hyaluronic fillers, like Juvederm, Restylane, or Belotero, says Tsippora Shainhouse, MD, a dermatologist in Beverly Hills, California.
She says these are carefully injected to fill the space where the fat once was to create a smoother, more opaque surface over the underlying blood vessels.
Try Sliced Cucumbers
Dr. Shainhouse says that the stereotypical spa look really does work for reducing eye puffiness, at least in the short term. When chilled, cucumbers are like tiny ice packs that reduce swelling in the small blood vessels under the eyes. Research also suggests that cucumbers can provide relief for dark circles in the short term, but more research is needed to determine if there are any long-term benefits.
What Not to Do to Your Eyes to Help Prevent Damage
Because the skin under the eyes is so sensitive, it’s possible to cause temporary or even longer-term damage. There are three major ways you can combat that problem:
Don’t Rub Your Eyes
If you have allergies, the simple motion of rubbing your eyes is likely to grind whatever the allergen is deeper into the skin, making the puffy-eye situation even worse. If your eyes are itchy, Mudgil suggests using a gentle cleanser instead — such as micellar water — and applying a moisturizer that’s designed to be used on under-eye skin.
Avoid Smoking and Vaping
Smoking — or being around secondhand smoke — comes with a range of potential health issues, but it’s also hard on your eyes. This includes a higher risk of dry eye, which will make you more likely to rub and scratch.
Alongside this, smoking contributes to faster collagen loss, making the skin under your eyes even thinner and those blood vessels more pronounced.
Limit Salt and Salty Foods
When you have a high sodium intake, particularly if you don’t balance it with proper hydration, you may retain fluid in your under-eye area. If this happens on a regular basis, lower your salt intake and avoid drinking fluids before bed, which can help you reduce fluid retention overnight.
Don’t Skimp on Sleep
Products and procedures can be helpful when it comes to minimizing the appearance of dark circles and under-eye puffiness, but perhaps the best tool to combat it is regular shut-eye.
“The best treatment for your eyes, much like for the rest of your body and your brain, is sleep,” says Mudgil.
Aim for seven to eight hours a night, and consistently practice good sleep hygiene.
The Takeaway
Dark circles and puffiness under the eyes are influenced by genetics, aging, bone and fat pad changes, thin skin, visible blood vessels, and lifestyle factors like fatigue, stress, allergies, and dehydration.
Treatments include brightening creams, caffeine-based remedies, fillers, minor surgery, and cooling options like cucumbers. The effectiveness of these treatments varies, and professional guidance is recommended.
Preventive measures for dark circles and under-eye puffiness focus on avoiding rubbing your eyes, smoking, excess salt, and sleep deprivation, all of which can worsen the existing problem.
Amy Spizuoco, DO, is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist. Dr. Spizuoco has been practicing medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology, as well as dermatopathology in New York City for 12 years.
She did her undergraduate training at Binghamton University, majoring in Italian and biology. She went to medical school at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. After medical school, she completed her dermatology residency at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine–Alta Dermatology in Arizona. During that time she studied skin cancer surgery and pediatric dermatology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and attended dermatology grand rounds at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. After her residency, Spizuoco completed a dermatopathology fellowship at the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology.
She was previously an associate clinical instructor in the department of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is on the editorial boards of Practical Dermatology and Dermatology Times.
Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer based in northern Minnesota. She focuses on health, wellness, and fitness, and has written for Runner's World, Bicycling, Self, Women's Health, Men's Health, Prevention, Experience Life, and more. She is an American Council on Exercise–certified personal trainer and a Yoga Alliance-registered yoga teacher. She graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in English.
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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Bravo B et al. Benefits of Topical Hyaluronic Acid for Skin Quality and Signs of Skin Aging: From Literature Review to Clinical Evidence. Dermatologic Therapy. October 21, 2022.
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Rajabi-Estarabadi A et al. Effectiveness and Tolerance of Multicorrective Topical Treatment for Infraorbital Dark Circles and Puffiness. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. September 6, 2021.
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