# dark circles...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 24, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989 "2003-06-24T11:05:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![remisser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@remisser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/remisser)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/1 "2003-06-24T11:05:16Z")

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I’ve, for most of my teenage and twenty-something yearold life, had dark circles under my eyes. Some people have told me it’s because I have an iron deficiency and to put more iron in my diet. Surely this is not the answer, right? What causes these dark circles? I know there’s a straight dope about ‘bags’ under the eyes, but dark circles and bags are different. 🙂

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**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/2 "2003-06-24T11:16:48Z")

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I think the circles eventually become bags. I have always had circles under my eyes, and was told it was caused by lack of sleep. I’m also an insomniac.

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**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/3 "2003-06-24T12:33:21Z")

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They’re not the same thing. Some mediterranean people are born with dark circles under the eyes - and all these babies do is sleep… must be genetic…

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**Author:** ![The\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@The\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seeker)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/4 "2003-06-24T12:40:01Z")

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I’m just wondering how many of my fellow Australian dopers immediately thought of Jon English.

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/5 "2003-06-24T12:47:31Z")

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Interesting question. I hope one of the Docs comes by and let’s us know. My wife whom I’ve known for 7 years suddenly got the dark circles one summer. almost like she woke up one day with them? So come on Quag whats up?

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**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/6 "2003-06-24T14:47:53Z")

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When I saw the thread title , I was hoping it would lead to the answer of something that’s been bugging me – why are they called black “circles”? Aren’t they more like lines , or , at most , arcs?

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**Author:** ![SeGate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SeGate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeGate)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-circles/183989/7 "2003-06-24T15:30:51Z")

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Perhaps this article will help…

[The Skinny on Shiners](http://www.discovery.com/stories/skinnyon/980415/skinnyon.html)  
It seems that there are many causes, but most are treatable.  
(I saw the same info on a number of other sites, but this was one of the ony ones that wasn’t trying to sell something.)