Dark Circles Treatment: Hyrdoquinone or Retina-A or Filler or Nothing?
asked 2 years ago by usernameless in la jolla, ca
Latest answer by Roy A. David, MD
Question viewed 1,171 times
Tags: under eyes
i'm middle eastern and have been blessed with a beautiful natural tan but cursed with REALLY dark undereye circles. i've tried every "safe but effective" cream with things like kojic, high vitamin k from expensive to cheap! nothing works!
so i asked a family friend who is a plastic surgeon and he pulled my skin etc and then recommended a mix of hydroquinone and retin-a. i'm scared of discoloration (does hydro bleach or stop melanin?). i went to a dermatologist and she told me that he's crazy and to NEVER DO THAT which scared me even more. what do i do?
4 answers to Dark Circles Treatment: Hyrdoquinone or Retina-A or Filler or Nothing?
+2
Treating dark circles caused by thin skin and lack of fat
Retin A, hydroquninone, triluma, kojic acid are not what you need.
Your issue is not too much skin pigment. Your dark circle is optical: thin tear trough skin with no subcutaneous fat. That darkness is the result of light penetrating the skin and being absorbed by the dark red muscle that lies just below the thin skin. No skin bleacher will make a difference here.
However, by filling this area with Restylane, it is possible to lift the skin slightly filling the hollow and changing...
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+1
Prominent nasojugal crease
I agree that you likely do not have a problem with hyperpigmentation (treated with hydroquinone and retin A) but a lack of fat and thin skin over your infraorbital rim which causes the shadow. This area is also called the nasojugal crease. In my San Diego practice we use restylane (for a long lasting solution) or fat grafting (permanent) to improve or correct this. What you want is a smooth lower eyelid that blends into the cheek without an intervening "valley."...
Roy A. David, MD
San Diego Facial Plastic Surgeon
San Diego Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
Proptosis and scleral show should be evaluated by an Ophthalmologist.
There are 2 interesting features in the photo you provide: 1) You may be proptotic (eyeball protrudes too far) 2) You have a lot of scleral show (We see too much of the white of your eye below your lid margin).
Since these may be present, you should consult a board-certified Ophthalmologist for an evaluation. Proptosis can be due to an overactive thyroid (Grave's Disease), and this may also lead to excessive scleral show.
After a medical evaluation, you could consider an Injectable Filler...
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+1
Restylane Injections for Lower Eye Lid Dark Circles
Hi Anon,
You are correct in that there is not an effective treatment for dark circles. Fillers do help a little in that they fill the shadow so that there is an illusion that the circles are not as dark. I would think that based on your photo, Restylane will help. This is a very delicate and unforgiving area for injection so do make sure that you choose a physician who is experienced and skilled with lower eye lid injections.
Good luck and be well.
Dr. P
