Aesthetic Clinic in Singapore

A common complaint seen at IDS clinic as it makes patients look more tired and older.  Makeup can only temporarily conceal dark circles. 

What causes eye bags?

The main causes are:

• Muscle weakening around our eyes
• Widening of the orbital rim(bony sockets) of the eye, allowing the forward protrusion of the fat-pads
• Fluid retention around the eyes due to poor circulation and insufficient rest.

What causes dark circles?

Aging

With aging, comes the loss of collagen and elastin. The skin around the eyes is already delicate and thin to begin with. With aging, the skin becomes thinner, leaving the blood vessels beneath the skin to appear more visible and more pronounced. There is also bone resorption, loss and descend of fat tissues in the area of the under-eyes and cheeks, the resulting hollow creates a shadowing effect, which adds to the dark colour of the undereyes.

Fatigue

Lack of sleep, extreme fatigue, or continuous late nights can cause dark circles to develop. Sleep deprivation disrupts blood circulation and consequently reduces oxygen flow to the skin. This can cause your skin to become dull and pale. Unhealthy sleep patterns can also cause premature aging as well as water retention under the eyes or puffy eyelids, which can also cause shadows under the eyes to appear as dark circles. 

An anatomical feature seen in most people is the tear troughs, which are natural depressions or hollowness which run from the inner corner of the eyes to the lower eyelid.

These get worse as we age, due to loss of collagen and fat tissue. The development of Eye bags and hyperpigmentation also worsens the look, making one look old and tired.

Allergies

Allergies can cause congestion of the blood vessels of the under eye, making them more prominent. Consultation with patients complaining of dark eye circles often reveal an underlying history of chronic allergies (eg. allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis or atopic eczema). Constant rubbing of our eyes can cause the lines to be more prominent and the skin to darken. 

UV and Blue Light Exposure

Overexposure to the sun’s UV rays and blue light can cause an overproduction of melanin in the skin and cause a buildup of pigmentation, which in turn darken the skin. Blue light, also known as High Energy Visible Light (HEVL) can be found not only in the sun but also emitted from your computer, television and mobile device screens. This can also induce oxidative stress that accelerates skin aging.

Genetics

There can be a family history of dark eye circles.  This is common in South Asian ethnic descent. 

Home Remedies

There are various DIY remedies that many have touted as ‘effective’ to treat dark eye circles and eye bags. This includes applying cold compress, sliced cucumber, tea bags, milk etc on the eyes. However, let’s face it. If these really work, nobody will be paying big bucks for expensive eye creams and treatments. The most relevant home ‘remedy’ is actually lifestyle adjustments such as having regular and sufficient sleep, and to abstain from smoking and alcohol.

Topicals

The main mode of action of topical treatment are:

1. Reduction of the pigmentation on the skin
2. Reduction of the fine-lines around the eyes
3. Constriction of the veins around the eyes
4. Protection of the skin again free radical damage from sunlight

Hence, at IDS, skincare for the eyes is a popular request.  Our best sellers for eye remedies are:

IDS Eye Rescue (ER) contains powerful ingredients like zinc, magnesium, chrysin, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-1, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, hesperidinenetyl chalcone, dipeptide-2 that reduces fine lines and wrinkles, crow’s feet, under eye puffiness and darkness.

IDS C+ is helps to lighten pigmentation of the skin around the eyes and protects the skin against damage from the sunlight through its antioxidant action.

In-Clinic Procedure

Surgery(lower blepharoplasty):

Surgery can be done to remove the fat pads under the eyes or reposition it. This is the definitive treatment for eye bags but the risk and downtime needs to be explained to the patient.

Aesthetic treatment:

There are a few non-surgical options that one can consider for the treatment of dark eye circles.   They are not definitive and as long-term as surgery but certainly have lower risk and no disruptions to one’s daily life.

Injectable fillers

Hyaluronic acid filler are inject to specific points around the eyes to:

• Lift the skin under the eyes
• Support the front of the cheeks
• Lift the depression in the tear-trough deformity

Rejuran

This is an injection that administers PDRN or polynucleotide, extracted from salmon DNA. This rejuvenates the skin by improving tissue repair and collagen stiulation.

Laser

At IDS we use a combination of lasers to:

• Lighten pigmentation around the eyes
• Reduce the appearance of blood vessels around the eyes
• Firm and tighten the skin under the eyes

Thermage FLX

We use a combination of the superficial and deep tips to tighten the skin around the eyes (upper and lower eyelids).  This is repeated yearly. 

Agnes Microneedle Radiofrequency

Another radiofrequency treatment that is an alternative to eye bag surgery is the Agnes Microneedle Radiofrequency device. Small pinpoint needles are inserted into the fat pads under the eyes, delivering heat to melt the excess fat with RF energy.

Threadlifts

Under Eye threads can be placed to increase collagen production. These PDO threads provide continuous stimulation of the skin which helps to increase the firmness and elasticity of the under eye.

At IDS we normally use a  combination of treatment to tackle dark eye circles and eye bags.  It is the synergistic action of all the treatments that give the optical result for patients.