Treating brown and red circles

Lipstick: the new concealer?

What does this new process actually involve? Think back to your art classes in junior high school: on a color wheel, blue and violet are the opposite of red and orange. This means that orange-red is the most appropriate color for camouflaging dark circles!

Watch this video and discover how to divert the use of your lipstick!

Treatment of dark circles

Circles are colored when the skin of the lower eyelid is darker than the rest of the face. This phenomenon can take on different pigmentations: brown, bluish, purplish, red…

This coloring accentuates a tired appearance, in the same way as hollow circles. The treatment of dark circles is complex, as there are many causes.

If you want to correct your dark circles permanently, you’ll need to use aesthetic medicine techniques, which we describe below.

The different types of dark circles associated with aesthetic medicine treatment

There are several types of dark circles. Here are their origins and the aesthetic medicine treatment associated with each type of discoloration:

• Blue-violet circles
  This coloration is caused by the transparency of the skin, which makes the bluish veins and slightly purplish orbicularis muscle visible. The right treatment is a combination of the FRAXEL® fractional laser, to “thicken” the skin, and microlipostructure, better known as lipofilling, to reduce the transparent appearance of the dark circles.
• Red circles: laser treatment
  Red circles are caused by the micro-capillaries in the inner corner of the eye. The dilation of these vessels can be due to heredity, age or extreme weather conditions. The KTP® laser is the best solution for removing red circles. The laser’s energy stimulates the vessels to retract and eventually disappear.
• Brown or dark circles: the depigmenting peel
  Hyperpigmented circles correspond to deep pigmentation spots, and are often linked to heredity as well as ethnic origins (Maghreb, India and the Mediterranean Basin) or sun exposure. The Glyco Eye peel is the only truly effective and long-lasting treatment for Maghrebian dark circles. Based on glycolic acid and lactic acid, this superficial peel effectively treats the periorbital area without irritating the skin of the lower eyelids too much.

Laser treatment of dark circles

KTP and FRAXEL lasers are therefore good alternatives to cosmetic surgery, as they do not lead to desocialization, and results are proven for the treatment of blue or red under-eye circles. For dark or hyperpigmented circles, a depigmenting peel is recommended, as it is both highly effective and fast-acting for brightening and rejuvenating the eyes.

On the other hand,hyaluronic acid injections should never be performed in colored circles, as this would aggravate the “Tyndall effect”: a transparency effect on thin skin that accentuates the bluish coloration of dark circles. So, when the skin of the colored ring is very thin and/or the pigmentation is associated with a hollow ring, a micro lipostructure will have to be performed in the operating room.

The benefits of laser treatment for dark circles

Laser treatment of dark circles has several advantages:

• No skin scarring
• Absence and removal of sutures
• Absence of post-operative oedema and haematoma
• No risk of round eyes or altered gaze

To make dark circles under your eyes disappear, book an appointment at Dr Bernard Hayot’s practice.