What’s the difference between dark circles and under-eye bags?
Photos Rachelle Simoneau
Words Horace
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Learn to decipher the signs of tiredness that weigh down your eyes.
Under-eye bags or dark circles? These two physiological phenomena that make you look a little worse for wear are not always easy to differentiate. However, each problem has its own cause and treatment. To find out for sure, go take a closer look in the mirror to determine what’s causing your eyes to look so tired.
Dark circles: a change of colour
Dark circles result in a variation in the colour of the skin in the suborbital crease, i.e. under the lower eyelid. Depending on their cause, dark circles can tint the skin with different pigments, ranging from blue to brown or purple.
As explained by French dermatologist Dermato Drey, this colouring can be due to several factors: “There is a genetic predisposition, the shape and structure of the face around the nose and eye sockets sometimes lead to the subcutaneous tissue being more visible, and then there are environmental or lifestyle-related factors”. Among them, smoking, a poor diet or lack of sleep, which can disturb the circulation of blood and lymph (a liquid that carries cellular waste) and allow blood deposits to form under the eye.
Pockets: under-eye puffiness
This one is easy: if your eyes are puffy, the problem is under-eye bags. These are formed by fatty deposits or an accumulation of liquid, which creates a swelling, hence the name. These small bags, which can form on the lower but also the upper eyelid (unlike dark circles) are due to a genetic predisposition or environmental and lifestyle-related factors (much like dark circles).
However, as you get older your skin ages and slackens: it loses elasticity, and once-temporary bags can become permanent. “Because it’s so often stretched, the skin will create a kind of wrinkle that will leave part of the eyelid permanently dilated” explains Dermato Dray. As the eye muscles are naturally surrounded by a layer of fat that protects the eye socket and offers more comfort, this fat can increase in volume over time (particularly in the case of weight gain) and form bags which, in this case, will no longer be temporary.
Frequent confusion
If you struggle to distinguishing under-eye bags from dark circles, rest assured, many of us find it confusing. “People tend to confuse bags and dark circles because bags create a shadow on the skin,” says Dermato Drey. “Because of overhead lighting, your skin will look darker under your bags, but if you gently pull the skin taut, you’ll realise that its colour is normal”. Remember to look more closely and remember: dark circles are coloured, while under-eye bags are puffy.
