Syou sleep less, you work more, you accumulate stress. And then, one day, the mirror changes. Dark circles after the age of 40 appear deeper, darker, more persistent. It’s not just tiredness. It’s not just a sleepless night. It’s time that passes, yes, but also much more. Why the dark circles they are not just an aesthetic detail: they tell us about the state of the skin, tissues and circulation. And after the age of 50 they can become even more accentuated, thanks to the hormonal declinethe loss of collagen and the change in the structure of the face and the epidermal tissue, which thins over time. We’ll talk about it with Dr. Valentina Finotti, plastic surgeon, aesthetic and regenerative doctor in Milanto understand what dark circles really are, why some women suffer from them more than others and what are the regenerative medicine techniques that really work today.
What are dark circles really?
Dark circles are not all the same. They can be:
Vascular (tending to blue/purple), linked to slow microcirculation.
Pigmented (brown), often of genetic origin or hyperpigmentation.
Structuraldue to loss of volume and thinning of the skin.
Mixedthe most common after the age of 40.
With age, the skin around the eyes thins (it is already naturally among the thinnest on the body), subcutaneous fat is reduced, ligaments relax and the infraorbital shadow is accentuated. It’s not just “color”, it’s a three-dimensional issue.
Why do they get worse after age 50? The role of hormones
Menopause accelerates skin changes. A classic but still cited study, published on Dermato-Endocrinology (Brincat et al., 2005)demonstrated that in the first Five years post-menopause you can lose up to 30% of your dermal collagen.
A more recent review on International Journal of Women’s Dermatology (Thornton, 2013; subsequent updates 2021) confirms that estrogenic reduction involves: decrease in dermal thickness, reduction of elasticity, increased vascular fragility and greater skin transparency. Around the eyes, this translates into more noticeable shadows and thinner skin.
Regenerative medicine: what really works?
In recent years the approach to Treatment of dark circles has become more organic and less purely filler. The most interesting techniques today are those that stimulate tissue regeneration.
Polynucleotides, the scientific basis of this approach is solid
Polynucleotides (PN-HPT®, PDRN and derivatives) are highly purified DNA fragments which, once injected into the dermis, act as true biological stimulators. They don’t just fill a groove: they work on the quality of the fabric, reactivating fibroblaststhe cells responsible for collagen production.
Their effectiveness is supported by several scientific studies. Research published in 2017 on Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (Sini et al.) highlighted how treatment cycles with polynucleotides in the periocular area significantly improve skin elasticity and thickness. Already in 2012, an experimental study appeared on Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (Cervelli et al.) had demonstrated that PDRN stimulates fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis through the activation of adenosine A2A receptors, a key mechanism in tissue repair processes.
From a biological point of view, polynucleotides promote neocollagenesis, support physiological angiogenesis – i.e. the formation of new small functional blood vessels – improve dermal hydration and they carry out aanti-inflammatory action. In the eye contour this translates into a firmer skin, less transparent and therefore less predisposed to showing that dark shadow that makes the look tired. Not an artificial effect, but a progressive improvement of skin quality.
Not just aesthetics: a biological indicator
The eye contour is an early indicator of oxidative stress, hormonal alterations and systemic inflammation. Intervening in a regenerative way means supporting skin physiology. After the age of 40, and even more so after the age of 50, the dark circles are not just a blemish. They are the reflection of documented structural changes. And today regenerative medicine has scientifically supported tools to improve its appearance in a natural and progressive way.
