Concealer isn’t cutting it anymore. You’ve spent more on eye cream than you’re comfortable admitting. And you’re meticulous about drinking enough water and not skimping on sleep. Yet there they are, practically unfazed by all of it: those dark circles under your eyes.
Before we go any further, it’s time for a dose of reality: None of that was ever going to improve your dark circles. And that’s because the reason behind their presence is mostly genetic. The cosmetics industry will have you believe they have everything to do with your sleep habits and coffee consumption, but they really have more to do with the composition of your skin and the way light reflects off your orbital bone.
That doesn’t mean, however, that there’s nothing that can be done about them.
What the under-eye filler does
Dark circles become more prominent as we age. Doctors refer to them as tear troughs. The skin around our eyes is thinner and paler and lacks the proper fat restores, so the indentations grow a little deeper, giving the eyes a more tired appearance.
While that may sound like a fairly intricate (and irreversible) concern, it’s actually fairly easy to remedy—with the right know-how and technique. All it takes is a small layer of precisely placed hyaluronic acid gel to lift the delicate skin up and away from the blood vessels under your eyes.
Hyaluronic acid is a natural part of the skin’s dermis, but it diminishes as we age, which causes the undesired hollowing effect under the eyes. The hyaluronic acid in fillers helps pull water to the site of the injection, creating a plumper under-eye.
What to expect
The procedure can be a liberating experience if you find yourself increasingly reluctant to leave the house without cover-up. At a certain point, no amount of cover-up is going to disguise a hollow. But, within a day or two of having an under-eye filler, your eye area will appear noticeably brighter.
And the effect should last anywhere from six months to a year, depending on how quickly you metabolize the filler and the type that was used.
As I mentioned, the application of the injections is critical. The filler needs to be placed quite deep so it isn’t visible under the delicate under-eye skin. (A topical numbing agent can be applied beforehand to ease any discomfort, and it’s a very small needle, so the injections are virtually painless.) Which makes finding a board-certified plastic surgeon with lots of experience with the procedure all the more important.
If the idea of getting an injection around your eye is still too daunting, lasers can also help with dark circles, especially if they’re caused by visible blood vessels. Your plastic surgeon will help you determine the best course of treatment by pinpointing the root cause of your dark circles.