Dark Circles Under the Eyes II

Other than fillers and lasers, there are less well established methods for treating dark circles under the eyes.  Chemical peels, in particular TCA and phenol peels, have been used with some success in treating this condition. There are no studies to back this up, and occasionally peels can produce adverse effects, including scarring. Dietary supplements have been claimed to improve dark circles, but the supporting evidence is very sparse. There is a single study in an obscure European journal that reported that people who took a dietary cocktail consisting of soy extract, fish protein polysaccharides, extracts from white tea, grape seeds and tomato, as well as vitamins C& E, zinc and chamomile extract had, after 6 months, significantly greater improvement of skin conditions, including dark circles when compared to those who did not take the mixture.

Topical products also have been used to address this problem. In general these products contain bleaching preparations, antioxidants, moisturizers and stimulants of new collagen growth, such as vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10, retinoic acid, glycolic acid, hydroquinone and kojic acid. None of these have been well studied. Vitamin K combined with retinol was found to be effective in one study.
While many different approaches have been used, we have found the use of the Q switched YAG laser, combined with filler, and sometimes with topical bleaching agents, to be most effective in our hands.

Gerald N. Bock MD
California Skin & Laser Center
Stockton & Lodi, CA