Injecting dark circles under the eyes in a self-test: “I dared – and I would have liked to have known that beforehand”

Injecting dark circles under the eyes: All information about the procedure including the self-test

When it comes to beauty positivity, many people are joining indifficult. After all, the dark semicircles on the face are one of the main reasons why we look unrefreshed and tired. The frustration is therefore often great - as is the desire. Effective active ingredients such as caffeine orhelp and provide short-term visual improvements. But if there is a real loss of volume, only permanent solutions, such as injecting the dark circles under the eyes, can help.

How do dark circles develop?

In English, the deep circles under the eyes are often referred to as “natural depression”. "Becausecan either be genetically determined and be visible at a young age, or can arise from the slipping of the soft tissues in the midface as part of the aging process,” explains dermatologist Dr. Tatjana Pavicic from Munich. “This results in a loss of volume in the tear trough directly under the eyes, which is caused by the introduction of-fillers can be compensated for.”

Difference: tear trough vs. bags under the eyes

When it comes to treating dark circles under the eyes, it is first important to differentiate between tear troughs and bags under the eyes. After all, these two terms are often equated colloquially. However, they actually describe the opposite of each other. “The tear trough runs in a semicircle under the eye from the inner corner of the eye outwards to the medial pupillary line – i.e. the line that runs through the middle of the pupil,” explains Dr. Pavicic. “A tear trough is always a volume deficit, which causes dark shadows to form under the eyes,” she continues.

According to experts, bags under the eyes, on the other hand, are an excess of tissue. This has little to do with dark circles under the eyes. “Lacrimal sacs are outgrowths of the skin that either consist only of skin or are filled with fluid or fat that has been pushed through the membrane from the eye socket,” says the doctor. This is because the membrane becomes weaker as we age, allowing fat from the eye socket to penetrate into the tear sac. According to the dermatologist, bags under the eyes cannot be treated with injections. “In the case of the tear trough, on the other hand, a slight filling can lead to everything becoming a little more even and the dark circles under the eyes disappear,” says Dr. Tatjana Pavicic.

Get rid of dark circles: These different treatments are available

1. Hyaluronic acid for dark circles: How does an injection for dark circles work?

Injecting dark circles with hyaluronic acid is now a very common method for filling tear troughs. According to Dr. Pavicic's method is predictable and particularly easy to control compared to others. “As it is a very delicate region with very thin, almost transparent skin and hardly any fat, it needs to be well and homogeneously distributedFiller can be injected under the eye muscle, i.e. directly onto the bone,” explains the expert.

“In order to minimize the risk of hematomas and more serious complications such as an intravascular injection, which can lead to tissue death or, in the worst case, blindness, a so-called blunt cannula (rounded at the front) is used. A single puncture in the upper cheek area is usually used as the insertion point.”

2. Vampire Lifting: How does the treatment with your own blood work?

Although the name Vampire Lifting sounds like a surgical procedure, it is not a classic lifting procedure. It involves the injection of your own blood. “Blood is taken and centrifuged so that the platelets act like serums enriched with growth factors and are then injected intradermally into the skin,” says the expert.

“Here, many small, short needles are injected under the skin, which means that patients can easily develop bruises and should expect puffy eyes the next day. “But it’s not necessarily as effective at creating volume,” says the doctor. According to her, the treatment is more suitable for improving skin quality than filling the tear trough. “It firms and moisturizes the skin without attracting water like hyaluronic acid,” says the dermatologist. The disadvantage is that you have to plan around three treatments every four weeks. Thereafter, a refresher follows every six months. If you only carry out the treatment around the eyes, you should expect to pay around 300 to 400 euros per session.

3. Lipofilling: How does nanofat injection work?

“Lipofilling is a relatively old method and pretty much one of the first fillers that ever existed. “Fat is removed from one part of the body and injected elsewhere as a filler,” says Dr. Pavicic. In order to remove the fat from the body, a minimally invasive treatment is necessary. “A distinction is made here as to whether nanofat or microfat is removed and injected – the unit refers to the particle size,” explains Pavicic. The fat is processed, centrifuged, chopped and filtered. “At the end, the prepared fat is filled into the syringe and injected into the tear trough with a blunt cannula,” says the doctor.

The dermatologist knows from her experience: “Many patients think it's great that the filler comes from their own body and nothing 'foreign' is injected. This means that it is usually well tolerated. But the problem is that the fat often doesn't work in the new place because it doesn't belong there." Therefore, the treatment usually has to be repeated after about three to four months. In addition, calcifications can easily form, which look like small, uneven nodules under the eye.