There is much confusion regarding what people mean when they say they have dark circles under the eyes, often referred to as the tired look. There are 4 different conditions which can cause dark skin under the eyelid which people call dark circles under the eyes:
1. Dark purple skin color on the lower eyelid skin
2. Brown pigment on the lower eyelid skin
3. A hollow eyed appearance in which the lower eyelid is sunken in.
4. A depression or deep line along the lower edge of the eyelid just above the cheek called the naso-jugal fold, the true dark circle under the eyelid and most common form of dark circle under the eyes
1. Dark Purple Color of the Lower Eyelid Skin
When the skin of the lower eyelid is a dark purple or bluish color people often say they have dark circles under the eyes. If you look closely EVERYONE has darker skin color on the lower eyelid than on the skin of the rest of the face. This is because the lower eyelid skin is the thinnest skin on the face, so thin that you can see through the skin and see the purple color of the eyelid muscle showing through the skin. In people with thicker skin the color looks more bluish, but everyone’s lower eyelid skin is darker because of the color of the muscle beneath the thin skin. There are familial and racial differences in skin thickness and muscle color so there is great variation in the darkness of lower eyelid skin. I do not call this normal phenomena dark circles under the eyelid, rather I call this normal phenomena dark purple lower eyelid. The only solution for this problem is to use a cover up make up like Covermark