Treating dark circles
Dark circles can make you look older than you are, and they arise due to stress, exhaustion, natural skin aging – or even just a genetic predisposition.
For many people, dark circles appear even at a young age – often with negative effects on the perception of their own appearance. In this article, you will get an overview of the possible treatment methods.
If you have further questions or are interested in a treatment, please feel free to contact my practice. During a consultation in my Berlin practice for plastic and aesthetic surgery, I will gladly address further questions and concerns regarding a treatment for injecting dark circles.
- Duration of treatment
- Depending on the extent, between 20 minutes and one hour
- Anesthesia
- Local application of an anesthetic cream
- Clinic stay
- Outpatient
- Able to work
- Immediately after the procedure
- Sport
- After two days
- Wound healing
- Not required
- Costs
- Depending on the extent of the treatment and the product used, starting from 350 Euros
- Aftercare
- Immediately after treatment, cooling; for two days, avoid hot baths, sports, and strenuous physical activities; for 14 days, avoid saunas, solarium visits, and cosmetic treatments
Before the injection, an anesthetic cream is applied to the facial areas to be treated, making the treatment almost painless. The cannulas for introducing the material are so fine that the injections are barely felt. If at all, you will only feel a slight pulling sensation at the injection sites. The treatment itself lasts between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on its extent. Its specific procedure depends on the type of finding and the injection techniques used. Depending on the treatment goal, the filler is injected into the upper, middle, or deeper skin layers. The injections can be large-area or drop-shaped, in strands or in a fan shape.
Under-eye filler treatment is a low-risk procedure. Natural filling substances that are not foreign to the body, as well as the use of very high-quality preparations, ensure that incompatibility reactions are virtually excluded. The hyaluronic acid used today for injections is almost identical to the body's own substance and is produced using biosynthetic methods without animal ingredients. Immediately after an under-eye filler treatment, redness, swelling, or slight bruising may occur at the injection sites, but these can be easily concealed with make-up and disappear after a few days. Especially on the first day, slight pain or itching may also occur. If an injection is not performed professionally and according to applicable medical standards, there is also a risk of infections and skin necrosis due to the occlusion of blood vessels. It is therefore all the more important that injections are performed exclusively by an experienced plastic-aesthetic surgeon. In my specialist practice for plastic-aesthetic surgery in Berlin, you can be sure that I and my entire team ensure that such risks play practically no role.
Immediately after the treatment, your face will be cooled with a cold mask to prevent swelling and bruising as much as possible. There is no downtime due to filler treatment. You are immediately able to work and socialize after the procedure. Redness and small bruises can be easily covered with make-up after about two hours. If necessary, you can cool the treated facial areas on the first day. The cooling pads should not come directly from the freezer. After every ten minutes of cooling, take a longer break. Special aftercare is also not required after filler treatment. In the first two days after the procedure, you should avoid hot baths, sports, and strenuous physical activities. Sauna and solarium visits are possible again after one week, and cosmetic facial treatments after about 14 days.
Causes of dark circles
Compared to other facial areas, the skin under the eyes is particularly thin and very sensitive. Connective tissue and fat deposits are hardly present here. Therefore, the blood vessels in this area become more easily visible, and the skin under the eyes then appears sunken and takes on a reddish, bluish, or brownish hue.
In plastic-aesthetic medicine, there is also talk of the tear trough becoming visible in this context. In pronounced cases, dark circles extend to the outer corner of the eye and downwards to the cheekbone. The tear trough may then appear as a deep, bluish-black furrow that can severely impair the appearance.
Tear trough or eye bags?
Tear trough and eye bags are different phenomena, although the two terms are often used synonymously.
Every person has a tear trough or tear furrow – it becomes visible as dark circles when the skin volume as well as fat and connective tissue are insufficient to conceal the underlying blood vessels.
Eye bags, on the other hand, form when fat deposits develop under the eyes as part of the natural aging process. They are removed by tightening the lower eyelid.
Treating dark circles - These methods have proven effective
There are a number of ways to treat dark circles and tear troughs:
- Hyaluronic Acid Injection: One of the most effective options is the injection of hyaluronic acid, which serves to reduce swelling and moisturize the delicate skin around the eyes.
- Autologous Fat Injection (Lipofilling): For the injection of autologous fat into the tear troughs, a small amount of fat is taken from other body areas, processed, and then injected into the tear trough. The durability depends on the extent to which the injected fat integrates with the skin cells.
- Vampire Lifting: This method (also called PRP, platelet-rich plasma) is a treatment method for dark circles under the eyes that does not use a filler. Instead, the tear trough is injected with blood plasma obtained from the patient's own blood, which sustainably promotes the regeneration of skin cells and connective tissue.
When treating dark circles under the eyes with nanofat or PRP, the same injection technique is used as with hyaluronic acid treatment. Complications and side effects are extremely rare with these methods as well, as both substances are endogenous.
Injecting Dark Circles with Hyaluronic Acid: Uncomplicated and Effective
The injection of hyaluronic acid into the dark circles under the eyes is an uncomplicated, minimally invasive treatment in which the area under the eyes is plumped up with a so-called filler.
After the treatment, blood vessels no longer show through the delicate, thin skin of the eye area, and dark shadows disappear. Smaller wrinkles are also eliminated by the injection.
What are the advantages of injecting dark circles?
The following advantages are associated with injecting dark circles:
- the tear trough and thus the dark circles become completely or almost completely invisible.
- the eye area receives a visible rejuvenation.
- the overall appearance and gaze look fresher and more awake, leading to a more positive radiance.
- the injection is performed without surgery as part of a minimally invasive treatment and takes only a few minutes.
Injecting Dark Circles with Hyaluronic Acid - Active Ingredient, Procedure, Result
Hyaluronic acid (Hyaluron) is primarily used for injecting the tear trough. This is a natural substance that also occurs naturally in the human body. It fulfills important functions in regulating the moisture balance of tissues and supports skin regeneration. However, the production of endogenous hyaluronic acid decreases with age.
Treatment Procedure:
To sustainably remove dark circles, hyaluronic acid is injected along the entire tear trough – i.e., under the lower eyelids. The number of injections and the dosage of the active ingredient depend on the extent of the treatment.
Beforehand, the treatment area is disinfected and a light anesthetic cream is applied. Alternatively, a local anesthetic injection may also be considered. Pain is rarely associated with the minimally invasive procedure – you will most likely only feel the injection as a slight pulling sensation.
No special aftercare is required after injecting dark circles. Immediately after the procedure, the active ingredient is distributed in the eye area through gentle compression. Especially on the first day, gentle cooling helps to avoid swelling, redness, and bruising.
To sustainably remove dark circles, hyaluronic acid is injected along the entire tear trough - i.e., under the lower eyelids
The injection of dark circles is performed on an outpatient basis. The treatment duration is approximately 30 minutes. You are often able to work and socialize on the day of treatment, but at the latest after one to two days. You should avoid heat and direct sunlight for about 14 days.
How permanent is the result of the injection?
A treatment with hyaluronic acid significantly reduces dark circles. Especially in the initial period after the procedure, they usually disappear completely.
At the same time, the regenerative capacity of the skin in the eye area is strengthened. The result of a hyaluronic acid injection lasts for nine to twelve months, after which a follow-up treatment is usually necessary.
Injecting Dark Circles - Costs
The cost of undereye filler depends on the extent of the treatment and the method used. In my specialist practice in Berlin, undereye filler with hyaluronic acid starts from 350 Euros.
Remove undereye circles - also for men?
Of course, undereye filler can be performed not only on women but also on men. Men also desire a fresh, youthful appearance, to which a rejuvenated eye area without a visible tear trough contributes.
Are there risks and side effects when injecting undereye circles?
Complications and undesirable side effects are hardly associated with undereye filler with hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance, and intolerance reactions occur extremely rarely.
In my practice in Berlin, I exclusively use high-quality and medically certified hyaluronic acid products for undereye filler. Redness, swelling, or slight bruising after the procedure usually subside within a few hours.
Do you have questions about undereye circles?
Frequently asked questions
For a hyaluronic acid treatment for undereye circles, you should expect costs starting from 350 Euros.
An injection with hyaluronic acid is hardly associated with risks and side effects. In the first few hours after the procedure, redness, swelling, or slight bruising may occur, which can be well treated by cooling.
For wrinkle treatment with fillers, it is not age but the treatment goal that is decisive. Lip or jawline modeling can be useful as early as the early 20s to optimize the contours and expression of the face. After the 30th birthday, volume replacement gains importance. From the age of 40, it is about building volume, and visible wrinkles are injected.
To avoid complications such as severe swelling or bruising, you should stop taking pain and sleeping pills as well as blood-thinning medications one week before the procedure. It is optimal if you reduce the consumption of nicotine and alcohol to a minimum during this time or refrain from it entirely.
If undereye filler is performed by an experienced plastic-aesthetic surgeon, the procedure is safe. Pain is eliminated by an anesthetic cream or local anesthesia.
An injection of undereye circles with hyaluronic acid is worthwhile if you wish to eliminate the deepening in the area of the tear trough. Even very pronounced undereye circles can become significantly less visible (or even invisible) with this treatment. The lower eye area is tightened and better supplied with moisture. In addition, hyaluronic acid stimulates skin renewal and reduces wrinkles. The face thus receives a significantly fresher appearance.
The durability of a hyaluronic acid injection for dark circles is approximately nine to twelve months. Over time, the treatment effect gradually weakens. After that, another injection for dark circles is necessary. The duration of the effect can be considerably extended if the injection is performed in two treatments 14 days apart.
Do you have questions about injecting dark circles?
Should you still have any questions, we would be happy to discuss them with you personally and without obligation in our Berlin practice.