PRP Under Eyes London. Who It Works For And Who It Does Not

Under-eye PRP works well for thin, crepey skin, fine lines and the dull, pigmented shadowing that comes from poor skin quality. It does not fill hollows, and it will not correct shadowing caused by a deep tear trough, herniated fat pads or bone structure. Most disappointing under-eye results come from the right treatment applied to the wrong cause, so identifying which of the four causes you have is the entire decision.

Key points

• Dark circles have four distinct causes, and only two of them respond to PRP. Knowing which you have determines whether any treatment will work.

• PRP improves the quality of the skin itself. It adds no volume, so it cannot fill a structural hollow.

• Doctor-led under-eye treatment in central London commonly runs £400 to £850 per session or course at flagship clinics, with tear trough filler at £450 to £800 per session.

• Every enquiry here begins with a free doctor-led suitability review, where you are either approved for treatment or told plainly that something else would serve you better.

Not sure what is causing your dark circles? Message a GMC-registered doctor on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

The four causes of dark circles, and how to tell them apart

This is the part most clinics skip, and it is the most useful thing on this page. There are four distinct mechanisms, and you can get a strong indication of yours with a mirror and good light.

The first is pigmentation, where the skin under the eye is genuinely darker, often brown, and common in deeper skin tones and with rubbing or eczema. Stretch the skin gently sideways. If the colour stays, it is pigment.

The second is vascular and skin quality, where the skin has thinned enough for underlying vessels to show as a blue or purple tinge, often with a crepey texture. Push gently on the skin. If the darkness lightens, blood flow through thin skin is a large part of it.

The third is structural hollowing, a genuine depression between the lower lid and the cheek casting a shadow. Tilt your face upward toward a light. If the darkness largely disappears, you are looking at a shadow rather than a colour.

The fourth is fat pad herniation, where the fat that cushions the eye pushes forward, creating a bulge with a trough beneath it. This tends to worsen with age and is often visible as puffiness in the morning.

Most people have a combination, which is exactly why self-diagnosis takes you only so far. As our doctors put it, “the eye area punishes guesswork more than anywhere else on the face.”

Which causes respond to PRP

PRP works on the tissue itself. It uses growth factors concentrated from your own blood to improve skin quality, thickness and the vascular environment, so it addresses causes one and two well. Thin, crepey, dull skin with fine lines and a bluish tinge is precisely what it is for, and because it is autologous the risk of an allergic reaction is very low. Results build over a course rather than appearing immediately, and maintenance is needed to hold them.

It does not address causes three and four. PRP adds no volume, so a true structural hollow needs volume replacement or, where fat pads have herniated significantly, a surgical opinion. This is the single most common reason people are disappointed by under-eye PRP. They had a structural problem and were sold a skin-quality treatment. Anyone promising that PRP will fill your tear troughs is either not assessing properly or not telling you the truth.

Want to know which cause you have? Ask our doctors on WhatsApp.

How under-eye PRP compares with the alternatives

Tear trough filler adds volume with hyaluronic acid, so it addresses structural hollowing directly and works quickly. Its risks in this area are real and worth understanding, including puffiness from water retention, a bluish Tyndall effect if placed too superficially, migration, and rarely vascular complications. It is reversible with hyaluronidase, which is a prescription-only medicine that non-medical practitioners cannot legally hold or inject, which is itself a strong argument for having any under-eye work done by a doctor.

Polynucleotides, sometimes called salmon DNA, are bio-stimulators that improve skin quality and hydration and are particularly well suited to thin under-eye skin. Like PRP they add no volume. Our doctors frequently combine PRP and polynucleotides because they act on different parts of the same problem.

Surgery, in the form of lower blepharoplasty, addresses herniated fat pads and significant skin laxity, and no injectable substitutes for it when that is the problem. Skincare and lifestyle matter for pigmentation, including sun protection, treating any eczema or allergy causing rubbing, and pigment-directed topicals.

The honest summary is that under-eye rejuvenation is a matching exercise. Get the cause right and most of these treatments work. Get it wrong and none of them do.

What treatment actually involves, and how to protect your result

Blood is taken from your arm, spun in a centrifuge for around ten to fifteen minutes to concentrate the platelets, and the plasma delivered into the under-eye area with very fine needles or a cannula. Appointments generally take 30 to 60 minutes. Numbing is used, and most people describe it as small pinches rather than pain.

Expect swelling and, commonly, bruising, because the skin here is the thinnest on the body and richly supplied with small vessels. Bruising can last a week or more, so allow at least two weeks before a significant event. Results build over a course, usually three sessions spaced a few weeks apart, with maintenance every six to twelve months.

Free aftercare advice worth following. Sleep with your head slightly raised for the first two nights to reduce swelling. Avoid strenuous exercise, saunas, steam and alcohol for 48 hours. Do not rub or massage the area. Use sun protection daily, since the eye area pigments readily. Avoid anti-inflammatory painkillers around your appointment unless your doctor advises otherwise, since these can affect the platelet response, and mention any blood-thinning medication in advance because it increases bruising.

What under-eye treatment costs in London

Under-eye pricing in London varies more than almost any other treatment, which tells you the treatments being sold are not the same. At the doctor-led end of central London, under-eye PRP and combination protocols commonly run from around £400 to £850 per session or course at flagship clinics, and Harley Street practices generally charge £500 to £850 per PRP session against £150 to £400 outside the capital. Tear trough filler at leading London clinics runs £450 to £800 per session, and up to £950 in some practices.

At the lower end of the market you will find under-eye PRP advertised from around £120 to £300. That is not the same product. It typically reflects a smaller volume of plasma, a weaker preparation protocol, a shorter appointment and, most importantly, no medical diagnosis of which of the four causes you actually have.

At The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness, care is doctor-led and priced below flagship Harley Street rates, with the figure for your plan confirmed after your suitability review. We would rather quote you accurately for the right treatment than cheaply for the wrong one.

Ask what your plan would cost. Message us on WhatsApp.

The suitability review, and why we turn people away

Every enquiry begins with a free doctor-led suitability review rather than a booking. A GMC-registered doctor assesses the under-eye area, identifies which of the four causes are driving your appearance, and gives you one of two answers.

Either you are approved for treatment, in which case you will know exactly what is being treated, how many sessions, what results are realistic and what they will cost. Or you are not, in which case we tell you plainly and explain what would work better, whether that is volume replacement, polynucleotides, a surgical opinion, or simply pigment-directed skincare and sun protection. We decline a meaningful proportion of under-eye enquiries, because the eye area is where mismatched treatment does the most damage to a person’s confidence and to a clinic’s reputation.

That is the opposite of how most of this market operates, and it is deliberate. A patient treated correctly returns for maintenance for years. A patient sold the wrong treatment leaves disappointed and tells people.

Why people choose The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness

Every treatment here is performed by GMC-registered doctors, and no clinician treats a patient at our clinic until they have completed 100 supervised treatments. That matters more around the eyes than anywhere else, because depth and placement in an area of thin skin and fine vessels are entirely technique dependent.

We also offer the full regenerative range, including PRP, polynucleotides and combination protocols, which means the recommendation follows your diagnosis rather than the one product a clinic happens to sell. Across our work we report an 87 percent patient success rate and more than 187 five-star reviews. We train other clinicians in these techniques through our Academy.

Book your free suitability review. Message us on WhatsApp, email team@thewellnesslondon.com, or call +44 20 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions about under-eye PRP

Does PRP get rid of dark circles?

It helps where the cause is thin, crepey skin or vascular shadowing, and where pigmentation relates to skin quality. It does not fill structural hollows or correct herniated fat pads, which need volume or surgery.

Is PRP better than filler for under eyes?

They do different jobs. PRP improves skin quality and adds no volume. Filler replaces volume and works quickly but carries risks in this area including puffiness, Tyndall effect and migration. The right choice depends on your cause.

How many under-eye PRP sessions do I need?

Usually a course of around three sessions spaced a few weeks apart, with results building progressively, then maintenance every six to twelve months.

Does under-eye PRP bruise?

Commonly, yes. The skin here is the thinnest on the body, so bruising and swelling are frequent and can last a week or more. Allow at least two weeks before an important event.

Why is under-eye PRP so much cheaper at some clinics?

Lower prices generally reflect smaller plasma volumes, weaker preparation protocols, shorter appointments and no medical diagnosis of the underlying cause. The name is the same, the treatment is not.

What happens at the suitability review?

A GMC-registered doctor identifies which of the four causes of dark circles you have and either approves you for treatment or explains honestly what would work better. It is free and there is no obligation.

This article is for information and does not replace personal medical advice. Individual results vary and no outcome is guaranteed. All treatments at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness are performed by GMC-registered doctors.

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