Nutrients

TOO little iron or Vitamin C could cause dark circles under your eyes. Low haemoglobin, in particular, could be the culprit. If you think you might be anaemic, taking supplements to increase your iron intake may reduce or even cure the dark circles.

On the other hand, too much of certain minerals can be the cause. If you take in too much potassium—in bananas, etc — this may be the reason for your dark circles. Try to reduce your potassium intake or increase the amount of table salt in your diet to compensate.

Pregnancy

During pregnancy, surging hormones and other changes in the body often cause the skin colour and texture to change. This is particularly true for dark-haired women.

Pregnant women should be particularly careful to apply plenty of sunscreen and cover up (particularly with light coloured clothes) when they go out in to bright sunlight.

Continued hormonal imbalances after childbirth may also cause dark circles under the eyes. This may be in addition to suffering from dark circles during the pregnancy or may only occur after childbirth.

Rubbing Eyes

Rubbing at your eyes can cause marks in this area.

In children, particularly, constant rubbing can result in dark marks around the eyes. This rubbing may be due to substances in the air that are irritating the eyes. Such irritation could also be due to allergies.

If you rub your eyes a great deal, this could be the cause of the dark circles under your eyes or could be making them significantly worse. The advice is obvious: stop rubbing your eyes. If the urge to do so is unbearable, consider the possibility that you are suffering from an allergy or irritation.

Sinusitis

Whether caused by allergies or more specific issues, the Sinuses can be responsible for dark circles under the eyes.

Sinus or nasal inflammation results in venous congestion. Venous circulation (circulation of blood through the veins) is the return of blood to the heart. This is under low pressure (the high pressure action of the heart pumping blood through the body has slowed by the time the blood is on its way back) and, therefore, easily impaired. Chronic nasal inflammation — like severe sinitus — impedes the venous blood as it tries to pass through the tiny vessels in facial skin. The blood is trapped and shows through the skin where it has built up.

Treating the sinus problem — or allergy — should reduce the appearance of dark circles under the eyes. For many people, the dark circles will go altogether.

If you suffer from severe headaches as well as dark circles under your eyes, this could be another sign that your problems are sinus-related.