In brief
- A bag is a swelling under your eye. A dark circle is a discolouration. You often have both, and each has its own cause.
- Bags come from fluid, or from fat that moves forward over the years. Dark circles come from thin skin, from pigment or from shadow.
- For fluid, cooling, sleep and less salt help. For pigment, sun protection helps. A cream won't change the structure of your face.
- Eye patches hydrate the skin under your eyes, so it looks smoother and fuller. They don't remove a bag caused by fat.
- Our shop has the Microchip Eye Patches by Skin Complete, per pair or as a course of four pairs.
Written by Nilay, owner and beauty therapist at Moons BeautyUpdated on
Bags or dark circles, what is the difference?
A bag is a bulge under your eye. The skin there sticks out a little, and with light from above a shadow falls beneath it. A dark circle is a colour: blue, purple or brown, in a half circle under your eye. One you can feel, the other you can only see.
They often occur together, and then they reinforce each other. A shadow falls under a bag, and that shadow looks like a dark circle. That is why the first step is always to work out exactly what you are seeing. What helps against fluid does nothing against pigment, and vice versa.
The skin under your eyes is the thinnest on your face and has few oil glands. Everything underneath shows through easily, and it dries out faster than the rest. That explains why you see tiredness there first.
Where do eye bags come from?
There are two kinds of eye bags, and you can tell them apart by when you see them.
Fluid: puffy in the morning, less by the afternoon
While you sleep you lie flat, and fluid collects under your eyes. Salty food, alcohol, little sleep, crying and hay fever make it worse. It goes down over the course of the day.
Fat: the same all day
Around your eye sits a small cushion of fat. Over the years the tissue that holds it in place becomes slacker, and the fat moves forward. A bag like that is there even when you have slept well.
Genes
Some people have eye bags from a young age, just like their parents. That is down to the structure of your face and has nothing to do with your lifestyle.
Rubbing
If you rub your eyes a lot, because of itching or when taking off mascara, you irritate the thin skin. It quickly swells up from that.
Which dark circles do you have? Three kinds, three causes.
Look in the mirror in daylight and very gently pull the skin under your eye to the side. What happens to the colour then tells you a lot.
| Topic | How you can tell | Where it comes from | What suits it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue or purple | The colour stays or becomes slightly clearer when you pull the skin to the side | Small blood vessels showing through thin skin. When you are tired you turn paler and see them more | Sleep, cooling and skin that is well hydrated |
| Brown | The colour moves with the skin | Pigment. More common in skin of colour, and gets darker from sun and from rubbing | Sun protection and sunglasses every day, and no rubbing |
| A shadow | The circle disappears when you turn your face towards the light | A hollow between your eyelid and your cheek, or a bag that casts a shadow below it | Concealing it. A cream doesn't fill a hollow |
Many people have a mix. For brown circles the same applies as for other pigmentation: without sun protection the colour keeps coming back.
What helps, and for what?
There is no single remedy that works against everything. This is what you can expect from each approach.
| Topic | What it does | Helps with |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling | Cold makes small vessels contract and fluid drain away. A cold flannel or a spoon from the fridge is enough | Bags caused by fluid, for a few hours |
| Sleep, with your head slightly higher | Less fluid collecting at night, and skin that is less pale | Bags caused by fluid and blue circles |
| Less salt and alcohol in the evening | You retain less fluid | Bags caused by fluid |
| Sun protection and sunglasses | Stops pigment getting darker, and protects the thin skin | Brown circles, and lines in the long run |
| Eye cream | Hydrates, so the skin looks smoother and shows through less. Active ingredients such as caffeine and vitamin C can add something to that | Dry, crinkly skin and light circles |
| Eye patches | Release moisture and active ingredients in one spot for a while. Afterwards the skin looks fuller and smoother | Dry skin, fine lines and a tired look |
| Concealer | Covers colour. A peach shade neutralises blue | Any dark circle, for a day |
| A doctor | A filler in the hollow under the eye, or eyelid surgery in which fat is removed or repositioned | Bags caused by fat and deep hollows. We don't do this |
What eye patches do, and what they don't.
An eye patch is a small half-moon-shaped patch that you place under your eye. It keeps moisture and active ingredients in one spot for a while, so the skin can absorb them. That is the difference from a cream, which you spread out and which partly evaporates.
What you see is skin that looks smoother and fuller. Fine dryness lines are less noticeable, and well-hydrated skin shows through less. An ordinary gel patch from the fridge also cools, which helps with a bag caused by fluid.
What a patch doesn't do: remove fat, lighten pigment or fill a hollow. The effect lasts as long as your skin stays well hydrated. Think of it as care you repeat, like a mask.
The eye patches in our shop.
We sell the Microchip Eye Patch by Skin Complete, the Dutch brand we also work with for LED therapy.
What's in them
Each pair contains 2400 microchips that slowly dissolve while you wear them. They release hyaluronic acid and a peptide into the skin under your eyes.
How to wear them
On clean, dry skin, for at least two hours or a whole night. You use each pair once.
How often
Start with once a week and build up to once or twice a week. The course contains four pairs, for four weeks.
When not to
Not on irritated or damaged skin, and avoid contact with your eyes. If your skin becomes irritated, take them off.
Good to know about bags and dark circles.
Cucumber and tea bags work because of the cold
It is the coolness that makes fluid drain away. A cold flannel does the same. Let tea bags cool down completely first.
Haemorrhoid cream doesn't belong under your eyes
It's an old trick, but the cream isn't made for the thin skin near your eye and can irritate it. Don't do it.
Drinking more water rarely solves it
If you already drink enough, extra glasses won't help. What does help is eating less salt in the evening, because salt holds on to fluid.
Remove your mascara as gently as possible
Hold a cotton pad with cleanser on your eye for a few seconds, then wipe downwards. Rubbing makes brown circles darker. You'll find a mild cleanser under cleansing.
What can a beauty therapist do about it?
Less than many adverts promise. A treatment that removes a bag caused by fat or fills a hollow doesn't exist in a salon. That is a doctor's work, and we don't do injections or surgery.
What is possible is improving the skin around your eyes: firmer, smoother and better hydrated. A face that looks calmer and fresher as a whole also draws attention away from your eyes. During a first skin appointment we look at which kind of circle or bag you have and what makes sense at home.
If you are looking for something for the skin directly under your eyes and you read about salmon DNA, read PDRN and salmon DNA first. It explains what a doctor does and what a salon does.
When to see your GP about it.
Bags and dark circles are almost always harmless. Do see your GP if a swelling appears suddenly, is on one side only, is red, itches or hurts. The same applies if you also have swollen ankles or a puffy face, if you feel tired or ill, or if your child has noticeable dark circles that don't go away. Your GP will then check whether something else is going on.
Frequently asked questions about eye bags and dark circles
What causes bags under your eyes?
Fluid or fat. Fluid collects overnight and goes down over the course of the day. Salt, alcohol, little sleep and hay fever make it worse. Fat moves forward over the years and is there all day. Genes play a part in both.
What causes dark circles under your eyes?
There are three causes. Small blood vessels showing through thin skin give a blue or purple circle. Pigment gives a brown circle. And a hollow or a bag casts a shadow that looks like a circle.
What helps with bags under your eyes?
For bags caused by fluid: cooling, enough sleep, raising your head slightly and less salt and alcohol in the evening. Bags caused by fat don't respond to that. Only a doctor can treat those.
What helps with dark circles?
That depends on the kind. For blue circles, sleep, cooling and well-hydrated skin help. For brown circles, sun protection is the basis. A shadow you can only conceal.
Can you get rid of eye bags without surgery?
You can reduce bags caused by fluid with cooling and your lifestyle. Bags caused by fat don't go away without a procedure. A cream or patch can make the skin over them smoother, though, so they stand out less.
Do eye patches help with eye bags?
A cool gel patch helps with a bag caused by fluid, because of the cold. Patches with active ingredients hydrate the skin, so it looks smoother and fuller. They don't remove a bag caused by fat.
Do eye patches help with dark circles?
A little, with circles caused by thin, dry skin. Well-hydrated skin shows through less. Against pigment or a shadow, patches do little.
How do you use eye patches?
Place them on clean, dry skin under your eyes. You wear the Microchip Eye Patches from our shop for at least two hours or overnight. Start with once a week and build up to once or twice a week. You use each pair once.
Does eye cream work for eye bags?
An eye cream hydrates and makes the skin smoother. Caffeine can temporarily reduce a slight swelling a little. A bag caused by fat doesn't get any smaller from it.
Are eye bags caused by your kidneys?
Usually not. Eye bags usually come from genes, sleep or getting older. If you also have swollen ankles or a puffy face, or the swelling appears suddenly, see your GP.
Can dark circles have a medical cause?
Sometimes. Hay fever and eczema cause circles through rubbing. If you stay tired or pale, or the circles suddenly change, have your GP take a look.
Do you get eye bags from too little sleep?
Yes, and dark circles too. A lack of sleep makes you retain more fluid and turn paler, so small vessels show through more. After a few good nights it clears up.
Does a spoon from the fridge help with eye bags?
Yes, for a few hours. The cold makes fluid drain away. A cold flannel works just as well.
Do you offer a treatment for eye bags or dark circles?
We don't have a treatment that removes bags or dark circles. Fillers and eyelid surgery are done by a doctor. We do look with you at which kind you have, and our shop has eye patches for the skin under your eyes.
From reading to doing
What we do with this in the salon
Microchip Eye Patch
Patches for under your eyes, per pair or as a course of four.
First skin appointment
We look at what is going on and what makes sense at home.
Fine lines and wrinkles
Around your eyes too: where they come from and what suits them.
Pigmentation
Brown discolouration, and why sun protection is the basis.
