Dark circles can be a somewhat embarrassing and uncomely physical feature that leaves patients looking less than their best. Oftentimes, these dark circles arise out of no fault of the patient and can persist in irritating ways despite lifestyle changes. Below, we cover how oculofacial surgeons treat genetic dark circles.
In fact, many patients end up with dark circles under their eyes due to genetic traits. This can result in a life-long condition that impacts an individual’s health and self-esteem over the years.
How Oculofacial Surgeons Treat Genetic Dark Circles
If you’re suffering from dark circles and would like to know more about how professionals treat them, take a look at this overview of this phenomenon.
What Are Dark Circles?
A common outcome of burst capillaries behind the eyes is dark circles. You may experience emotional, psychological, and social changes as a result of the presence of these circles.
Dark circles don’t affect everyone in the same way. There are several intricate and occasionally erratic aspects that influence a person’s likelihood of getting this bothersome issue. You can talk to your doctor about whether or not surgery on your eyelids is necessary for your particular case of dark circles. Here are a few typical reasons for this problem.
Causes of Dark Circles
Dark circles can have a variety of causes. Among the most typical reasons are the following:
- Genetics: Dark circles might form in certain people due to a genetic predisposition.
- Dermatitis: One skin ailment that may exacerbate the appearance of dark circles is dermatitis.
- Inadequate sleep: Perhaps the main cause of enduring dark circles is inadequate sleep.
- Hyperpigmentation: Excessive sun exposure can cause hyperpigmentation, a common skin disorder.
- Dehydration: Dark circles may appear as a result of prolonged dehydration.
- Unhealthy lifestyle: Dark circles may arise as a result of an overall unhealthy lifestyle and stress.
While some of these elements are directly related to particular lifestyle choices, others are uncontrollable. Your physician should be able to identify which of these several sources is the cause of your own dark circles.
Determining the Source of Dark Circles
It can be difficult to pinpoint the precise cause of your own shadows. Sometimes, you have to make a deliberate effort to look at your own behavioral patterns and inclinations.
For certain patients, the causes will be readily apparent. It might be more subdued for others. You can speak with your doctor regarding your particular situation,
Their expert judgment will probably be able to provide you with some clarity regarding lifestyles that you might be able to change, as well as the finest and most practical course of action for you to take in order to resolve your dark circle issue.
The Role of Genetics
Genetics and family history have a large part to play in the overall composition of one’s skin and facial structure. If you have thinner skin around your eyes, this can result in having more prominent-looking blood vessels in this part of your face. This also can create the appearance of dark circles.
Genetics also has the potential to play a part in the level of general skin pigmentation in your skin. This can result in more melanin being produced around your eyes, which can subsequently result in making the skin under your eyes appear darker and more prominent.
The good news is that even if the primary cause of your personal case of dark circles is genetic, there’s a very strong chance that your surgeon will be able to rectify this issue using a variety of techniques.
Treating Genetic Dark Circles
The most common non-surgical treatment of dark circles includes the use of dermal fillers. You can customize your treatment to meet the unique needs of your particular case. Dermal fillers are considered a reliable treatment option for most types of dark circles.
The most common type of dermal filler used in the treatment of dark circles are hyaluronic acid fillers. Your physician will inject it into the tear trough area beneath the eyes. This adds volume and reduces the appearance of dark circles. This type of treatment is doubly attractive due to the fact that it works quickly and smoothly and can be completed in less than 30 minutes.
In addition, most patients who receive dermal filler treatment will be able to return to daily activities immediately after their treatment. This makes this type of treatment an overall minimally invasive treatment that should meet the needs of most clients.
On the downside, this type of dark circle treatment is unfortunately not permanent. So you’ll need to return to receive additional treatments on a 6 to 18-month basis.
Surgical Dark Circle Treatment
There are surgical dark circle treatments available for those who don’t feel like dermal fillers will meet their needs or have found that non-surgical methods are ultimately ineffective. For patients like these, eyelid surgery is recommended.
In particular, lower eyelid surgery, also called lower blepharoplasty, has the potential to resolve many eyelid issues satisfactorily. This type of treatment also has the potential to treat issues like fine lines under the eyes, remove sagging skin, and ultimately leave your eyes looking much more refreshed and youthful.
Lower eyelid surgery also has the advantage of being more or less permanent. Especially for patients who take good care of their eyes and results, a strong lower eyelid surgery has the potential to create results that last a lifetime.
Assessing Your Eligibility for Eyelid Surgery
Before deciding whether or not to have an eyelid lift, you will need to go through a series of medical exams to make sure you are in good enough physical health.
Most individuals who are generally well enough to undergo an eyelid lift will be eligible. There are exceptions for people who may be afflicted with long-term conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Even so, there’s a good chance you might be eligible based on your doctor’s assessment.
Preventing Dark Circles
There are several techniques one can employ to attempt to prevent the development of dark circles. Some of the following lifestyle habits are considered among the best ways to prevent these kinds of developments:
- Wearing sunscreen: UV rays from the sun can stress the skin and hasten its aging process.
- Changing your sleep schedule: It’s possible that insufficient sleep is the primary cause of your dark circles.
- Decrease your stress: Decreased stress is vital to general well-being. Your dark circles may disappear altogether if you manage your tension.
- Give up smoking: Smoking can seriously harm your health and increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. There should be a favorable correlation between quitting smoking and a decrease in dark circles.
- Lower alcohol intake: Relatively speaking, lowering your alcohol intake can help minimize dark circles.
Reducing your exposure to these harmful variables over time can yield some very significant benefits.
The Benefits of Dark Circle Removal
Dark circles can have a terrible impact on your overall sense of self-worth, even though they pose no medical risk.
Even if you don’t usually feel that way, waking up looking worn out and gaunt might have an impact on how you view yourself and how you handle day-to-day obstacles.
Reducing dark circles removes this way of thinking from the picture and makes you feel and look as good on the inside as you do on the outside, which should be reason enough to think about getting treatment.
The good news is that eyelid surgery is the most effective procedure if your dark circles are severe enough to require surgery and has the longest-lasting effects.
Blepharoplasty, another name for eyelid surgery, is a procedure that can produce long-lasting benefits that improve the appearance of your eyes. But of all the therapeutic approaches, it demands the greatest dedication, and one must be ready for what may be a protracted recuperation time.
But, you will have ongoing access to your doctor’s advice before and after the procedure, which ought to help you get positive, long-lasting outcomes.
Preparing for Dark Circle Treatment
How you prepare for your personal dark circle treatment will likely vary depending on whether you’re receiving dermal fillers or eyelid surgery. However, there are several steps that your physician will likely recommend to you prior to either type of procedure. Some of these steps include:
- Reducing alcohol intake
- Smoking cessation
- Getting plenty of rest
- Modifications to prescription medication intake
- Modifications to over-the-counter medication intake
If you have decided to undergo lower blepharoplasty to deal with your dark circles, you likely will undergo a more rigorous assessment to determine how the surgery might impact your health and interact with your personal medical situation. This can all be determined by your physician in the pre-surgical consultation that you’ll receive prior to your procedure.
The Best Eye Doctor in Beverly Hills
Dr. Zoumalan and the rest of his team are completely dedicated to giving the residents of Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California the best in cosmetic eye surgery. If you’re concerned about the presence of consistent dark circles and would like to discuss lower eyelid surgery, contact us today to set up an appointment.