Dark circles, no pain, no itch,
But, really ugly.
(Source: soogif)
In addition to the giant pandas,
It seems that no one can perfectly handle dark circles.
According to the different causes of dark circles, it can be divided into 3 categories: pigmentation type, vascular exposure type, and structural type.
Pigmentation type
This is the most common type, due to excessive melanin production and insufficient metabolism.
This type is characterized by the enlargement of the dark circles after the lower eyelid is pulled down, and the color does not change significantly.
Vascular revealed type
It is because the blood in the microvascular near the eye is trapped or the subcutaneous fat around the eye is thinned, so that the blue-purple color of the blood vessels passes through the skin and presents a "blackening" around the eyes.
People who generally stay up too late are this type.
It is characterized by a pull-down lower eyelid, and the dark circles will enlarge with the appearance of violet.
Structural type
This type is when the skin of the eye is loose, and the eye bags are puffed out to form a shadow of the lower eyelid, making people look dark circles.
So the characteristics of this type are: pull the surrounding skin, and the dark circles will disappear [1].
Lack of sleep
Studies have shown that people are in a state of lack of sleep for a long time, blood circulation becomes worse, and blood flow rate becomes slower.
Therefore, the venous blood is trapped around the vascular-rich eye area [2], and the darker color of the venous blood will form dark circles.
Congenital inheritance
Dark circles can be inherited, and some healthy children develop significant dark circles shortly after birth [3].
The most common genetic relationship is female relatives, and if the mother or grandmother has dark circles, then the child is likely to be inherited.
Vitamin C and E deficiencies
A small number of dark circles are related to vitamins in the body, because melanin is tyrosine that becomes dopa under the action of enzymes, and dopa continues to oxidize into melanin.
Vitamins C and E inhibit dopa oxidation[4], thereby preventing or treating dark circles.
No sun protection
There is a strong ultraviolet light in sunlight, which acts directly on melanocytes, inducing the pituitary gland to secrete melanocyte hormones, and eventually forming melanin.
Melanin, along with the migration of epidermal cells, appears in the entire layer of the epidermis.
Allergic diseases
In patients with allergic diseases, hyperpigmentation occurs after allergic contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and pruritus, resulting in inflammation around the eyes [5].
dropsy
Edema leads to increased skin thickness, which can be similar to the structural dark circles, the severity of which is related to the degree of edema [6].
You can refer to the previously mentioned dark circles classification judgment, and then choose the following methods to alleviate and treat.
Pigmented dark circles
Use a functional eye cream
Some ingredients in skin care products, such as vitamin C and niacinamide, can reduce melanin synthesis and/or improve blood circulation.
Use sunscreen
Do a good job of sun protection, can reduce the deposition of melanin, play a preventive role, of course, physical sunscreen is more important than sunscreen.
Topical medications
Reducing the melanin content of the epidermis and increasing the thickness of the epidermal granule layer generally takes several months to take effect.
At present, the most commonly used are 5% hydroquinone, 0.1% tretinoin, 20% azelaic acid cream or 15% azelaic acid gel [7], be sure to pay attention to irritation.
Vascular dark circles
10% vitamin C lotion accelerates collagen synthesis to increase skin thickness and mask blood vessel color [8]. When it comes to drug selection, you can ask your doctor for advice.
Surgical treatment
The current level of medical care can achieve a 1.5 mm small incision to remove (need to confirm whether it is a ligation or embolism) dilated veins, reducing the color of the blood vessels in the eye.
This minimally invasive procedure has little trauma and low recurrence rate, making it an effective treatment.
Laser treatment
Destroys the dilated venules around the eye, and the skin will only have a brief erythema and edema reaction, which will be significantly relieved after 1-3 treatments [9], so laser treatment is also a popular treatment.
Filling therapy
For the thin blood vessels of the skin, the location under the eyelid can be filled with its own fat or soft tissue filler, which can play a role in covering the blood vessels [10].
Structured dark circles
At present, laser is a commonly used treatment method in beauty and anti-aging. Lasers can improve the problem of sagging and aging of the skin, and there are few adverse reactions and the recovery speed is faster.
To treat dark circles caused by depressions formed by aging, the lower eyelids can be supplemented with autologous fat or soft tissue fillers.
Contributing Author
Liang Xu | Master of Ophthalmology, Xiamen University School of Medicine
Chen Xinghong | Master of Rehabilitation, Wenzhou Medical University
Reviewer
Yang Xichuan | chief physician of the Department of Dermatology of Southwest Hospital
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