Dark circles: vascular, pigmented, or hollow? How to tell them apart

The eyes instantly convey emotions and vitality, but they are also the area most vulnerable to daily stress. The skin around the eyes is structurally unique: much thinner than the rest of the face, almost devoid of sebaceous glands, and with a reduced amount of collagen and elastin fibres. This fragility makes it an ideal target for premature ageing, lymphatic stagnation, and changes in the microcirculation.

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There is no single solution, but there is a strategy. In this article, we distinguish between the different concerns affecting the eye area and explore where cosmetics end and aesthetic medicine begins — a distinction that saves time and money.

The point is this: dark circles and under-eye bags are not a single cosmetic concern, but at least four different conditions, with different causes and different active ingredients. Anyone who buys a cream “for dark circles” without knowing which type they have is highly likely to buy the wrong cream.

If you are instead looking for a practical guide to choosing a product by age group, you can find it in the complete eye contour guide; for a specific focus on morning puffiness, see the article on how to reduce under-eye bags.

How many types of dark circles are there?

The classification most commonly used in dermatology recognises four types: pigmented, vascular, structural, and mixed. It is the result of a study of 65 people assessed using a Wood's lamp and skin ultrasound, not a commercial classification: the three mechanisms can be seen with different instruments because they occur in different layers of the skin.

The fourth category is the most common and the least discussed. Most people have a mixed form: a pigmented base with a vascular component on top, or a structural shadow that accentuates an existing colour. This explains why a product that “works” improves only part of the problem, and why talking about a single miracle cream is a promise no formula can keep.

Under-eye bags and structural laxity

The puffiness is caused by two factors: water retention and herniation of fatty tissue. Over the years, the supporting tissues relax and the orbital fat, which normally protects the eye, slides forward and accumulates in the lower eyelid. This is compounded by fluid retention, often worsened by a salty dinner, dehydration, or insufficient rest.

Under-eye bags are not all the same either, and the difference is decisive: bags caused by fluid retention change throughout the day, are more noticeable upon waking, and diminish after a few hours upright. Bags caused by protruding periorbital fat are always there, looking the same in the evening as in the morning. The former respond to drainage and decongestant ingredients; the latter are an anatomical issue, and no cosmetic product can remove them.

Vascular and pigmented dark circles

• Vascular dark circles (blue-purple): caused by slowed microcirculation. Poorly oxygenated blood pools in the capillaries and, given the thinness of the skin, shows through, creating a cool-toned shadow. Typical of chronic fatigue and stress.
• Pigmented dark circles (brown): caused by an accumulation of melanin. Often genetic and common in olive skin tones, they become more pronounced with unprotected sun exposure.

How to tell them apart in ten seconds: gently pull the skin beneath the eye. If the darkness fades, it is vascular; if it remains, it is pigmented. In the first case, you need ingredients that act on the microcirculation, such as caffeine; in the second, brightening ingredients such as niacinamide and vitamin C.

Hollow dark circles and the tear trough

They are a problem of volume, not color. The loss of subcutaneous fat and age-related bone resorption create a depression beneath the eye, casting a shadow that makes the eyes look tired regardless of how many hours you sleep.

Purple, purplish, reddish, or dark circles under the eyes: what the color tells you

Color is not an aesthetic detail: it is the most useful information you have available without tools. Anyone searching for “purplish dark circles” or “reddish dark circles” is already doing the right thing: observing before buying.

Purple, purplish, and bluish

They are the hallmark of the vascular component. The color comes from poorly oxygenated hemoglobin pooling in the venous plexus beneath skin that is too thin to conceal it: it is not a pigment, but a blood vessel showing through. They worsen with fatigue, cold, prolonged lying down, and anything that slows venous return. This is the type that responds best to microcirculation-supporting ingredients and lymphatic drainage techniques.

Reddish or pinkish

The same vascular family, but with a more arterial and superficial component, and often some inflammation. They frequently appear on reactive skin, in people who rub their eyes because of allergies or habit, and in those prone to widespread facial redness. Here, before using drainage-promoting active ingredients, the irritating stimulus needs to be reduced: rubbing the eye is one of the actions that most worsens this area.

Brown and dark

They are pigmentary. Brown indicates melanin, meaning the same biology as facial hyperpigmentation: hereditary predisposition, sun exposure, repeated inflammation. For this type, the sun is not a secondary factor but the main accelerator, and daily protection matters more than any serum.

When color makes no difference

If the dark circle is skin-colored and visible only because of the shadow it casts, the problem is not color but relief. No brightening or vascular-protective active ingredient can change a shadow: it changes the light that creates it. This is the case in which cosmetics improve the quality of the skin and nothing else, and that should be made clear before purchase, not afterward.

Hollow dark circles: the causes

Hollow dark circles are the type people look for most and understand least, because they look like dark circles but are not. They are a shadow: light coming from above meets a depression under the eye and outlines it on the skin. The causes are almost all structural.

• Underlying anatomy: in some people, the tear trough, the line that runs from the inner corner of the eye toward the cheek, is pronounced from a young age. It is a matter of facial shape, often hereditary, and does not depend on how much sleep you get.
• Age: over the years, the fat pads supporting the lower eyelid and cheek decrease, and the orbital bone is slowly resorbed. The hollow deepens and the boundary between the eyelid and cheek becomes more defined.
• Rapid weight loss: losing weight quickly empties the face first, and the eye contour is one of the first areas where it shows.
• Thinning skin: when collagen and elastin levels decline, the eyelid skin covers the underlying contours less effectively and the unevenness becomes more noticeable.

Fatigue and dehydration do not hollow the eye, but they make it look more hollow: the skin loses firmness and the shadow becomes more pronounced. This is the part that changes from one day to the next, and it is the only one truly affected by habits.

How to recognize it: look at yourself in the mirror first under front-facing light, then under overhead light. If the dark circle almost disappears under front-facing light and returns under overhead light, it is a shadow, meaning it is hollow. For this type, an eye contour product improves the skin's firmness and hydration, but does not fill the hollow: filling it is a matter for aesthetic medicine, as we explain below.

What makes dark circles worse

Before adding a product, it is worth removing the causes. There are few documented factors, and almost all can be modified: insufficient or irregular sleep, which accentuates both fluid retention and the pallor that makes the color stand out; smoking and alcohol, which affect the microcirculation and dehydration; unprotected sun exposure, the number-one factor in the pigmented form; mechanical rubbing, from allergies to harsh makeup removal, which stimulates inflammation and therefore pigmentation.

There is also a factor people underestimate: excess salt at dinner and dehydration. They do not cause dark circles, but they visibly worsen the fluid-retention component, which is the one that changes from day to day and therefore dominates the perception of "looking worse than usual."

The habits that make a difference

To counteract overnight fluid retention, the simplest and most effective habit is to sleep with your head slightly elevated: it uses gravity to promote lymphatic drainage and reduces morning puffiness.

Diet also matters. Reducing sodium and processed foods prevents fluid retention, while a consistent water intake keeps the skin plump. Foods rich in bioflavonoids - berries and citrus fruits - help strengthen capillary walls.

Finally, there are UV rays, which degrade this area's already limited collagen reserves and stimulate hyperpigmentation. Specific sun protection and UV-filtering glasses are the most effective shield.

Eye-area skincare

This area requires dedicated formulas: regular face creams may weigh down the tissue and encourage the appearance of milia.

Apply it by patting with the pad of your ring finger - the finger that naturally applies the least pressure - moving from the inside outward to support lymphatic drainage.

Once you understand what type of dark circles you have, the choice narrows down naturally. You can find formulas dedicated to this area in the eye contour collection.

The serum-cream synergy

The first step is a concentrated serum that reactivates the microcirculation, drains fluids, and provides an immediate tightening effect. Acetyl Tetrapeptide-5 works on fluid retention, caffeine on the vascular component, and niacinamide on pigmentation: three distinct mechanisms, which is why a multi-peptide formula makes sense only if the dark circles are mixed - as they are in most cases.

Once it has been absorbed, a richer formula is needed to support the structure. Vitis Eyes Contour harnesses the antioxidant properties of red vine to protect the capillaries and improve evenness.

If the component is mixed — and in most cases it is — it makes more sense to work on all three mechanisms together than to alternate products at random.

The refrigerator trick. Keeping eye contour serum in the refrigerator takes advantage of thermal vasoconstriction: the cold causes the superficial microcapillaries to contract, accelerating fluid drainage and enhancing the decongestant effect. It's free and it really works, especially on morning puffiness.

Distinguishing a vascular component from a pigmented one by sight is not always immediate, and the pinch test provides an indication, not a diagnosis. At LeLang partner pharmacies, someone can examine the area in person, under the right lighting, before recommending a formula.

When cosmetics are not enough

When dark circles are caused by anatomical volume loss or a deep tear trough, cosmetics can improve the skin's quality and radiance, but cannot restore lost volume. This is the point beyond which aesthetic medicine is needed.

The treatment of choice is hyaluronic acid-based filler: a gel specifically designed for the periocular area, injected with ultra-fine needles or microcannulas to lift the tear trough and eliminate the shadow effect. It generally lasts between six and twelve months.

Since this is a highly vascularized area, it is essential to rely exclusively on specialized doctors. Choosing the wrong product or placing it too superficially can cause the Tyndall effect or draw in water, worsening under-eye bags.

What is the Tyndall effect?

It is a light-scattering phenomenon that occurs when filler is injected too superficially or in excessive amounts. The extremely thin skin around the eyes allows the gel to show through; as it refracts light, it creates an artificial bluish discoloration — paradoxically similar to a vascular dark circle.

This is one of the reasons why, in this area, the practitioner's expertise matters more than the product used.

When to talk to a doctor

Dark circles are almost always constitutional, not a symptom. However, there are situations in which the right question isn't which cream to use, but whom to consult: a dark ring that appears suddenly without changes in sleep or habits; swelling in one eye only, or accompanied by itching, watery eyes, and sneezing that suggest an allergic component; pronounced dark circles in a child; or widespread pallor and persistent fatigue that go beyond the appearance of the face.

Questions about iron or vitamin deficiencies, thyroid function, or kidney or liver function are clinical questions: take them to your family doctor or dermatologist, not to a cosmetic product. An eye contour product can improve the appearance of the skin, but it can't investigate the cause.

Frequently asked questions

Does eye contour care really help?

It helps if it addresses a problem you have. For vascular or pigmented dark circles and puffiness caused by fluid retention, a dedicated formula works; on a structural hollow, it improves the skin but not the shadow. The difference between “it works” and “it doesn't work” almost always lies not in the product, but in first understanding what type of dark circles you're dealing with.

Why can't you use face cream around the eyes?

You can, but it's often not advisable. The skin around the eyes is thinner and lacks sebaceous glands: textures designed for the rest of the face can be occlusive, weigh down the tissue, and encourage milia. In addition, many face creams contain active ingredients at concentrations not intended for this area.

Which goes on first, the eye contour product or the face cream?

Apply the eye contour product first, after cleansing and any serum. The general rule is to go from the most fluid to the richest texture: apply the eye serum to clean skin, then apply the face cream, keeping it outside the orbital area.

At what age should you start?

There isn't a specific age; there is an indication. You start when there's something to treat: discoloration that doesn't go away, recurring puffiness upon waking, or the first fine lines that remain visible even when the face is relaxed. On young skin without signs, a moisturizing eye cream won't cause harm, but it won't do much either.

Can dark circles be eliminated completely?

No, and anyone who promises that is selling it poorly. A cosmetic can improve the appearance of the area - even out the color, reduce fluid-related puffiness, and make the skin look firmer - but it can't eliminate an anatomical or genetic feature. Vascular and pigmented dark circles respond the most; structural ones remain a shadow.

Does caffeine really work on dark circles?

For the vascular component, yes, and it is the active ingredient with the most extensive literature supporting this mechanism; for the pigmented component, no, because it does not affect melanin. This is another way of saying the same thing: first determine what type of dark circles you have, then choose the active ingredient. The mechanism is explained in detail in the article on caffeine in cosmetics.

Do under-eye bags indicate a kidney or liver problem?

It is a widespread belief arising from facial maps in which each area corresponds to an organ. It has no anatomical basis: periorbital puffiness depends on the structure of that area, fluid retention, and the age of the supporting tissues. Some medical conditions can cause facial swelling, but they are then accompanied by other signs and should be assessed by a doctor, not interpreted by looking at the face in the mirror.

Are men's dark circles different?

The mechanisms are the same; the context changes: skin is generally thicker, there is more sebum, and a vascular component often intensified by irregular sleep and alcohol. We discuss this in detail in the article on the men's eye contour.

Sources for this article

01 Huang Y.L., Chang S.L., Ma L., Lee M.C., Hu S., "Clinical analysis and classification of dark eye circle", International Journal of Dermatology, vol. 53 no. 2, 2014, pp. 164-170 — study of 65 cases (8 men and 57 women, mean age 38.9 years) assessed using a Wood's lamp and skin ultrasound, resulting in the classification into pigmented, vascular, structural, and mixed forms.
02 Sarkar R., Ranjan R., Garg S. et al., "Periorbital Hyperpigmentation: A Comprehensive Review", Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, vol. 9 no. 1, 2016, pp. 49-55 — review of the causes, aggravating factors, and mixed subtypes of periorbital hyperpigmentation.
03 Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 on cosmetic products and Regulation (EU) No. 655/2013 on common criteria for claims: a cosmetic product can improve the appearance of the skin, but not treat clinical conditions or replace a medical evaluation.

On the website: Eye contour: complete guide by age and treatments · Under-eye bags: causes and how to reduce them · Men's eye contour · Acetyl Tetrapeptide-5 (Eyeseryl) · Caffeine in cosmetics · Peptides in cosmetics · Eye contour collection