Written By Dr. Jetske Ultee on 20 July 2009

Is There a Cure for Bags?

I am regularly asked by people if there is really anything that can be done about bags under the eyes. There are enough skincare products around that claim to improve dark circles, wrinkles and puffiness around the eyes. But the question is, do they work? And what about pads or slices of cucumber on the eyes? Maybe going to bed a bit earlier? And then there’s even the story about haemorrhoid cream…

Firstly it is important to realise when talking about “bags” that it can be about dark discolouration as well as “pouches” under the eyes. If you want to know how your bags have arisen and what you can do about them it is important to be able to distinguish between these.

The dark discolouration under the eyes;

The dark discolouration under the eyes can be caused by blood vessels showing through the thin skin around the eyes, but can also be due to hyper skin pigmentation. The blood vessels becoming visible through the skin around the eyes is apparent in people with a thin, pale skin and with veins which lie closer to the skin’s surface. So it’s a matter of genes. Yet it is also the case that getting older worsens the problem; sun damage makes the skin even thinner and weaker so that the veins become even more visible. The pigment deposition under the eyes is more common in people with a darker skin colour. As I’ve written more often in my blog this form of pigmentation is very sensitive to sunlight.

Bags under the eyes:

There is also more than one cause for this. The bags under the eyes can arise because of relaxation of the skin (you have, as it were, too much skin) or through a build-up of localised fat. Finally, fluid can be responsible for bags under the eyes. Just as with dark discolouration under the eyes, it is important to know the cause of ‘pouches’ under the eyes in order to treat them appropriately. The skin under the eyes is thin and very sensitive to external damage: in particular the sun and smoking can greatly reduce the skins elasticity making the skin become wrinkly and sagging. Due to old age the small muscles under the eyes also become slack, the subcutaneous fat is no longer held in place and becomes visible. Bags under the eyes, as a result of fluid, are commonly seen in people with allergies, but can also be due to getting older and your body having more difficulty getting rid of fluid efficiently. This is particularly noticeable when waking up after hours of lying down in a horizontal position.

Next time I’ll tell you more about the treatment.