She had tried three different concealers before she stopped bothering.
Not because the darkness under her eyes was uncorrectable, but because covering it every single morning had started to feel like managing a problem rather than solving one.
This is the most common frustration Taneet hears about the under-eye area, and it usually comes from a misunderstanding baked into most skincare marketing.
Dark circles are treated as a single problem with a single fix. Clinically, they are almost never one thing.
Table of Contents
What Actually Causes Under-Eye Dark Circles
According to Mayo Clinic’s clinical overview of dark circles under the eyes, the appearance is usually driven by a combination of factors rather than a single one, and correctly identifying which is doing the most work in a given patient determines which treatment will actually help.
Cause
How It Looks
What It Responds To
Pigmentation
Brown or grey-brown discolouration, worse in melanin-rich skin
Chemical peels, targeted brightening actives, and laser
Volume loss/hollowing
A visible groove or shadow beneath the lower lid
Dermal filler, PRP, biostimulators like Profhilo
Thin skin / visible vessels
Bluish or purplish tint from underlying blood vessels
Skin-thickening treatments, PRP, and collagen stimulation
Puffiness / fluid retention
Swelling that shifts with sleep, salt intake, and allergies
In melanin-rich skin, pigmentation is very often the dominant driver, more so than in lighter skin tones, where thin skin and visible vessels tend to play a larger role. Treating a pigmentation-driven case with volume filler alone rarely produces the improvement a patient is expecting.
CLINICAL NOTE
Is It Hollowing or Pigmentation, and Why Does the Difference Matter
The simplest way to tell the two apart at home is the light test. Hollowing casts a visible shadow that shifts and softens under strong overhead light, since it is a structural, three-dimensional issue.
Pigmentation stays essentially the same regardless of lighting angle, since it is a colour issue rather than a shape issue. Most patients who come to Taneet convinced they need filler are, on closer clinical assessment, dealing with pigmentation that filler would do nothing to correct and, in some cases, would make more visible by adding a shadow-casting contour where none exists.
What Treatments Actually Correct Under-Eye Hollowing
For genuine volume loss, dermal filler placed conservatively in the tear trough remains the most direct correction, restoring the missing structure that was casting the shadow in the first place.
Profhilo offers a gentler, non-volumising alternative for patients with mild hollowing who want improved skin quality and hydration rather than added structure.
PRP therapy, using the patient’s own platelet-rich plasma, is often layered in to improve skin thickness and reduce the visibility of underlying vessels over a series of sessions.
What Treatments Actually Correct Under-Eye Pigmentation
Clinical assessment first, distinguishing pigmentation from vascular discolouration and from true hollowing, since the treatment plan diverges completely depending on the answer.
A graduated, melanin-aware chemical peel programme for genuine pigment concerns, using gentler acids calibrated for the eye area’s delicate skin.
Targeted brightening activities at home between sessions, since pigmentation correction is rarely a single-visit result.
A hydrating PureHydro facial layered in for overall glow and to support the skin barrier through a peel programme.
Read more about PureHydro at Taneet for the hydration side of this plan, which supports whichever corrective treatment is doing the structural or pigment work.
“Most people ask for filler under their eyes. Fewer people ask what is actually causing the darkness. That second question is the one that determines whether the treatment will work.”Taneet Aesthetic Medicine Clinic
Frequently asked questions
Is under-eye filler always the right treatment for dark circles?
No. Filler corrects genuine volume loss and hollowing, but if the primary cause is pigmentation, filler will not resolve the discolouration and may make a shadow more visible.
How can I tell if my dark circles are hollowing or pigmentation?
A useful home check is the light test: hollowing casts a shadow that changes under strong overhead light, while pigmentation stays visually consistent regardless of lighting angle. A clinical assessment gives a more reliable answer.
Are under-eye dark circles more common in melanin-rich skin?
Pigmentation-driven dark circles specifically are more common in melanin-rich skin, since melanocyte activity in the thin under-eye skin responds readily to inflammation and sun exposure.
How many sessions does under-eye pigmentation treatment usually need?
A graduated peel programme is typically a series rather than a single visit, since safely correcting pigmentation around the delicate eye area requires a conservative, incremental approach.
Is PRP effective for under-eye skin quality?
Yes, PRP is commonly used to improve skin thickness and reduce the visibility of underlying blood vessels beneath the eyes over a course of sessions.
Get a clinical read on what is actually causing your dark circles.
