Many women consider dark under-eye circles their biggest beauty battle... And the crazy amount of lotions and potions in our beauty arsenal is proof of this. However, looks like we may be flogging a dead horse when it comes to trying to tackle the problem with expensive under-eye creams - because they don't work. First, we need to clarify the issue here - we're not talking about puffiness which can be caused by tiredness, stress or allergies. We're referring to pigmented under-eye circles that are a noticeably different colour to the rest of your complexion. Cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Robert Anolik explains to Refinery 29:  "Dark circles are really caused by three different things. "These are either pigmentation in the skin, thinning collagen, or hyper-vascularity (veins) around the eyes." "Since the issues tend to be under the skin, topicals are fairly ineffective." (crying) The only way to beat them according to the doc? Laser treatment. He recommends a different treatment for each different type of issue. "For example, a Fraxel laser could be used to exfoliate an abundance of pigmentation, while a V-beam laser is necessary for vascularity, since it shrinks superficial capillaries." When it comes to prevention, there are some steps we can take: "Some of it is genetic, but in the long run, you want to prevent inflammation under the eye that comes from things like chronic sun exposure. "If you wear a sunscreen every morning and wear some kind of antioxidant serum at night, you can slow down the rate at which you develop the bags."