The hollows under the eyes that cast shadows and read as dark circles, making you look tired no matter how much sleep you got. They're not a sleep problem or a skin-surface problem — they're a volume problem, and there's a treatment that addresses the volume.
The tear trough is the groove between your lower eyelid and your cheek. In your twenties and thirties, the cheek sits high and full, so the trough is smooth — the lid transitions seamlessly into the cheek. From your mid-thirties, the cheek fat pads shrink and shift downward, the skin loses collagen, and the trough deepens into a hollow.
The hollow casts a shadow, and that shadow reads as a dark circle. It's not pigment in the skin — it's the shape of the hollow creating a shadow. That's why eye creams don't fix it, and why concealer only masks it: the shadow is there because the structure underneath has changed.
It can also be genetic. Some people have always had a deep tear trough, and it's been there since their twenties. The treatment is the same either way: replace the volume that's missing.
If your dark circles are caused by a hollow — a shadow cast by lost volume — then no cream on the surface is going to fill the hollow underneath. The cause is structural, not surface. Creams can hydrate the thin under-eye skin and that's worth doing, but they can't replace the volume that's been lost. The shadow stays because the hollow stays.
Important: some dark circles are pigment, not shadow. If the skin itself is darker, that's a pigmentation concern, and the treatment is different (see pigmentation). The consultation determines which you have.
How we treat it
Hyaluronic acid gel placed precisely in the tear trough to replace the lost volume and smooth the hollow. Reduces the shadow that creates the dark-circle appearance. Lasts 12–18 months. £350 per treatment.
Under-eye hollows are a volume problem, so the treatment has to replace the volume. Tear trough filler does this directly: a hyaluronic acid gel — the same substance that already exists in your skin — is placed precisely in the hollow, lifting it and smoothing the groove. The shadow softens because the hollow that cast it is gone.
This is an advanced technique. The skin under the eye is the thinnest on the body, the anatomy is delicate, and the product has to be placed in exactly the right plane. Not every practitioner is trained to do it — Georgie is. The choice of who performs this treatment matters more than most.
A consultation first. Georgie will assess whether your dark circles are volume-driven (shadow) or pigment-driven (colour in the skin), because the treatments are different. If they're volume-driven, tear trough filler takes 30–45 minutes with minimal downtime. There may be mild swelling or bruising for a few days. Results are immediate and settle over two weeks.
Not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or with certain autoimmune conditions.
Tear trough filler smooths the hollow and reduces the shadow very effectively when the cause is volume loss. The aim is a rested, refreshed look — you look like you've slept, not like you've had treatment. If the hollow is very deep or there's also significant skin laxity, a single treatment may not fully resolve it, and we'll tell you that honestly. If your dark circles are pigment rather than shadow, filler won't help — and we'll tell you that too, before you spend money on the wrong treatment.
Tear trough filler replaces the volume lost beneath the eye, smoothing the hollow and reducing the shadow that makes you look tired. It's a precise treatment that requires an experienced practitioner.
Under-eye hollows are caused by volume loss in the tear trough area — the groove between the lower eyelid and the cheek. As cheek volume drops and the skin loses collagen, a hollow forms, and the shadow it casts reads as a dark circle.
No. Some dark circles are pigment, not shadow. If the darkness is in the skin itself, filler won't help — that's a pigmentation concern. The consultation determines which you have, because the treatments are different.
Tear trough filler is an advanced technique that requires specific training. Georgie is qualified to perform it. The area is delicate — thin skin, close to the eye — so the choice of practitioner matters.
Book a free consultation. We'll look at your skin, tell you honestly what will and won't help, and give you a plan — not a sales pitch.
Book a free consultation