Brown, blue-purple or shadow: how to tell which dark circles you have, what lightens each type, and when they need a doctor. By a therapist in Makati.
Dark circles under your eyes come from three sources: brown pigment in the skin, blood showing through skin that is thin, and a shadow cast by the shape of the bone and fat around the eye. Each type answers to something different. Sunscreen and months of pigment-fading ingredients lighten brown. Sleep, cold and thicker skin hide blue and purple. A shadow from a hollow changes with filler placed by a doctor, and with nothing you can rub on.
Most people have a mix. In a study of 65 people in Taiwan examined with a Wood's lamp and ultrasound, 5% had pigment alone, 14% had blood vessels alone, 3% had shadow alone and 78% had a combination. A product aimed at one type works on one part of the mix, which explains a drawer full of creams and circles that look the same.
The three types at a glance
| Type | Colour | Comes from | What lightens it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pigmented | Brown to grey-brown, the same in any light | Melanin in the skin, often in the deeper layer | Sunscreen, sunglasses, months of niacinamide or vitamin C, laser by a dermatologist |
| Vascular | Blue, purple or pink, worse when tired | Blood in vessels under skin as thin as 0.2 mm | Sleep, cold, less puffiness, thicker skin |
| Structural | Grey shadow in a groove, shifts as the light moves | A hollow below the eye, or a fat bulge above it | Filler or surgery by a doctor, concealer in the meantime |
Our eye bags guide has three mirror checks that sort these in a minute: a phone torch held below the chin, a photo at 7am and another at 6pm, and a gentle sideways stretch of the skin. Do them before you spend anything.
Brown circles: pigment, often from your family
We found no Philippine study that counts brown under-eye circles. The closest large one comes from India, where 200 dermatology patients were examined in 2014. Half of them, 51.5%, had the constitutional kind, present for years and shared with relatives, and 63% reported a family history. Another 22.5% had darkening left behind by inflammation. Under a Wood's lamp, the pigment sat in the dermis, the deeper layer of skin, in 60.5%.
A cream reaches pigment in the top layer, which fades as that layer renews. Pigment in the dermis sits below the reach of most products, and DermNet notes that dermal pigment shows little response to creams and that the stronger ones irritate eyelid skin.
Two habits feed brown circles. Sun tells pigment cells to make more melanin, and few people carry their sunscreen right up under the lower lashes. Rubbing is the second. A 2018 Korean review links itchy, allergic eyelids and the rubbing they cause to pigment that stays after the itch has gone, and 32.5% of the Indian group rubbed their eyes often. If your eyes itch most mornings, a doctor treating the allergy will do more for the colour than a brightening product.
To lighten brown, wear sunscreen to the lash line each morning, sunglasses outdoors, and give a pigment-fading ingredient several months. Niacinamide and vitamin C carry the best evidence, and our eye cream guide goes through each study. Bleaching agents such as hydroquinone and tretinoin sting lid skin, so leave them to a dermatologist. For pigment in the dermis, the Korean review describes a low-fluence Q-switched 1,064 nm laser as safe and effective. That is a dermatologist's treatment.
Blue and purple circles: blood under thin skin
The skin under your eye can measure as little as 0.2 mm, with almost no fat between it and the muscle below. Blood in the veins and in the muscle shows through as blue, purple or pink. Short sleep leaves your skin paler, so the colour underneath stands out more. A blocked nose slows blood draining from the area, and the Korean review ties the dark circles of children with allergic rhinitis to that slowdown.
Three things lighten this type.
Sleep.Cleveland Clinic suggests at least seven hours a night.
Cold. A cold compress narrows dilated vessels for a while, which is why the colour looks lighter after one.
Thicker skin. In a Japanese study, researchers asked 14 volunteers to use a 10% sodium ascorbate lotion, a vitamin C form, on one lower lid for half a year, with the bare base lotion on the opposite lid. Redness on the treated lid shifted less, and its skin tended toward greater thickness, though the gap fell short of significance. In a second Japanese study, 27 of 57 adults (47%) showed less pooled blood after eight weeks of a gel with vitamin K, retinol and vitamins C and E. Their brown pigment showed no clear change, which fits the split between types.
Puffiness makes this type look worse, because swollen lids deepen the shadow below them. If yours swell every morning, puffy eyes have their own causes and fixes. Veins that stand out as distinct blue lines answer to a long-pulsed 1,064 nm laser, another doctor's treatment.
Shadow circles: the shape around the eye
The tear trough runs down and out from the inner corner of your eye. As it deepens, the groove holds a shadow your brain reads as a dark circle. A fat pad bulging above it makes the groove look deeper still. DermNet lists ageing, family and smoking as causes of the hollow, and fatigue and dehydration as things that sharpen the shadow.
A cream cannot change a shape. A soft hyaluronic acid filler, placed deep in the groove by a doctor, can. The Korean review recommends low-concentration fillers here, because a heavier one can leave the area looking puffy, and DermNet warns that poor technique can make dark circles look more prominent than before. Choose the injector by experience with this area. A fat pad that bulges the same at 7am and at 7pm needs a surgeon.
Concealer covers the gap until then. DermNet suggests a light-reflecting shade in a yellow or gold tone, set with translucent powder, placed in the shadow and kept off any puffy skin.
When dark circles need a doctor
Most dark circles are cosmetic. See a doctor if:
- the darkness or swelling sits under one eye and not the other, which Cleveland Clinic flags as a reason to call;
- puffy lids come with swollen ankles or legs, foamy urine or weight gain from fluid, signs NIDDK lists for nephrotic syndrome, a kidney condition;
- your lids swell or bulge and you have thyroid disease or hay fever, both on DermNet's list of causes;
- the lids turn red, itchy or scaly. Allergic contact dermatitis is the most frequent reported cause of eyelid dermatitis, and a dermatologist finds the trigger with patch testing.
At ICONIQUE inside The Peninsula Manila
Our non-surgical eye bag treatment in Makati starts by sorting four kinds of under-eye bags: fluid puffiness, a hollow that casts a shadow, pigment in thin skin, and fat pads pushed forward. We treat the first three without surgery. Fat pads need a surgeon, and we tell you so at the consultation.
The treatment is EyeLift Pro 360, on ICONIQUE's own devices: a cleanse, steam and an eye mask, then device work and a hydration booster. Geralyn Ramos performs it, and the visit takes 45 to 60 minutes including the consultation. Brown pigment still needs sunscreen and months at home, and a deep hollow still needs a doctor.
The clinic sits on the lobby level of The Peninsula Manila, on the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues, four minutes on foot from Ayala Triangle. Read which of the four kinds we treat, then book an EyeLift Pro 360 session, where you will find today's price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes dark circles under the eyes?
Three things: brown pigment in the skin, blood showing through skin as thin as 0.2 mm, and a shadow cast by a hollow or a fat bulge. In a study of 65 people, 78% had a mix of two or more.
What are the types of dark circles?
Pigmented (brown), vascular (blue, purple or pink), structural (shadow) and mixed. In the Taiwanese study the shares were 5% pigmented, 14% vascular, 3% structural and 78% mixed, so most people need more than one approach.
How do I get rid of dark circles?
Match the fix to the type. For brown: sunscreen, sunglasses, and niacinamide or vitamin C for months. For blue and purple: at least seven hours of sleep, cold, and vitamin C over six months to thicken the skin. For a shadow: filler or surgery by a doctor, and concealer meanwhile.
Do eye creams work on dark circles?
On the blood-coloured type, a little. In one study, 27 of 57 people (47%) had less pooled blood after eight weeks of a gel with vitamin K, and their brown pigment showed no clear change. No cream fills a hollow.
Does lack of sleep cause dark circles?
It makes them show. Short sleep leaves skin paler, so the vessels underneath stand out. Cleveland Clinic suggests at least seven hours. Sleep will not fade inherited pigment or fill a tear trough.
When should I see a doctor about dark circles?
See one if the darkness or swelling shows under one eye, if puffy lids come with swollen ankles or foamy urine, or if the lids turn red, itchy or scaly.
Written by
Geralyn RamosSenior Therapist · Six years in skin and aesthetics
Geralyn has worked in skin and aesthetics for six years, more than a year of it at ICONIQUE inside The Peninsula Manila. She performs the diamond peel, the EyeLift360 eye treatment, the Acne Clear Facial and underarm whitening at the Makati branch.
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