Periorbital dark circles (PODC) or periorbital melanosis, dark eye circles and infraorbital darkness, is a public cosmetic skin disorder with relative darkness of the periorbital areas. It can occur in both sexes and gets worse with age making people look tired and older. Thus, it negatively affects the quality of life, particularly in Women.

The present study enrolled 30 patients with PODC who received no treatment 3 months before joining the study. It randomized the patients into three groups – Group A: treated with a bilateral injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) gel; Group B: treated with a bilateral intradermal injection of CO2 with a carboxytherapy machine and Group C: treated with an intradermal injection of vitamin C. All patients received four sessions, 2 weeks apart.

The patients underwent complete history taking, general and dermatological examination, and clinical assessment to define the type of dark circles.

The study observed:•    Excellent improvement of PODC in plasma gel injection and carboxytherapy mesotherapy in 50% and 40% of the vitamin C group. •    Gradual improvement of PODC with time, but 40%, 30% and 60% recurrence rate of the studied groups after 6 months in Groups A, B and C, respectively, indicating a higher recurrence rate in Group C patients treated with vitamin C mesotherapy.

This study confirms gel injection, carboxytherapy and vitamin C mesotherapy as effective and safe therapeutic modalities in treating PODC.

Source: Mohamed Shalash A, Moustafa Fawzy M, Naiem Elfar N, Ramzy Ghaly N. Comparison between efficacy of carboxytherapy, plasma gel injection and mesotherapy in treatment of periorbital dark circles. J Adv Med Med Res. 2023;35(2):8-17.