Skin Care
The holiday weekend is officially over. You’ve overdosed on BBQ and little sleep. This morning and the rest of the week, things my not be looking so good for our under eye real estate. Or maybe by the time you’re reading this it’s the middle of the week, no holiday in sight, and you’re barely making it through a crazy hectic week/month/fill in the blank with life’s sleep stealing moments. Either way, you’ve found yourself here because of bags under your eyes. You woke up this morning like this (and absolutely nothing like that song talks about) and are now frantically searching the inna-nets for “bags under your eyes home remedies” and “bags under your eyes cream.” Slow down and breathe. We feel you.
Puffy eyes can be caused by a few things including being a stomach sleeper, consuming too much sodium or it’s just genetics or aging and fluctuating hormone levels. Dehydration from too little water or from a hangover is also a culprit. Outside of going to a dermatologist, you have a few home remedy options available to you. You can use any of the methods below on bags under your eyes but we’ve noted our suggestions for which remedy seem to work the fastest for each scenario.
ICE – FOR THE FASTEST RESULTS
If you’re dealing with bags under your eyes and need to get the swelling down fast, reach for some ice. Wrap your ice in a paper towel or cloth towel and place it under your eyes. It will help to constrict the blood vessels under your eyes, cool your face off and reduce redness and decrease the puffiness. The is how to get rid of bags under your eyes fast since cold reduces swelling. It won’t necessarily reduce darkness, but your swelling may disappear all together.
CUCUMBERS + POTATOES – FOR JUST WAKING UP AND INFLAMMATION
Puffiness around your eyes in the morning is from a buildup of lymphatic fluids. It sometimes takes a little longer to reduce overnight eye puffiness. Cucumbers and potatoes bags work best cold (in the same way ice would) and are thought to be great options for sensitive and irritated eyes since they contain antioxidants and lots of water which can help to calm inflammation.
TEA BAGS – FOR STUBBORN BAGS
To use tea for under eye bags, steep two bags of black or green tea in hot water and let them cool in the fridge or freezer. Once cooled, lay on your back and place them on your eyes for five to ten minutes. The caffeine will work on your eyes like it would on your thighs–by shrinking down your blood vessels and de-puffing your skin.
SPOONS – FOR SMALLER UNDER BAGS
Keep two metal spoons in the freezer if you’re prone to under eye puffiness. The cold metal, like ice, helps to constrict your blood vessels and reduce your swelling. Carefully place the spoons under your eyes (make sure your skin is dry so that the metal does not stick) and slowly rock them back and forth or side to side (which ever you prefer) over your swelling. The metal will warm quickly so you may find this works best for smaller bags and for shorter crying sessions with light puffiness.
PATCHES – FOR HEREDITARY + STUBBORN BAGS/CROWS FEET
Eye patches are a great option for wrinkle reducing, brightening and de-puffing your eyes. We really like The Face Shop Modeling Patch for a few reasons, one of them being that you can wear them for the whole 20 to 40 minutes without freaking people out. Nikia gets puffy under her eyes and really likes these. They are almost invisible on your face. Patchology Energizing Eye Patches also work very well with de-puffing cucumber extract, hydrating hyaluronic acid, skin smoothing peptides and Vitamin C to brighten.
CREAMS – FOR DAILY TREATMENT
Try an eye cream with hyaluronic acid and some form of a retinol cream also known as Vitamin C, both which help plump skin. The Vitamin C also helps to reduce swelling. InstaNatural Eye Serum For Dark Circles, Puffiness and Wrinkles is a an affordable pick that we like for its ingredients and how fast it works as well as Vitamin C Eye Gel. Murad Essential-C Eye Cream is a great long term solution and is also good for those who have dry lids and skin under their eyes. The caffeine reduces puffiness and the retinol supports natural cell renewal.
