A beauty trouble that prefers no gender, age, nor ethnicity is the pesky puffy eyes. Sometimes this problem is mixed with dark under-eye circles. At times the puffiness just stays on the upper lid, and the opposite happens on the lower lids. Sunken, hollowed under eyes. This sunken under-eye topic can be the subject of an entire blog post. And it will. For now, let’s focus on depuffing swollen eyes. Let’s see what contributes to the bloating eyebags, the natural and over-the-counter remedies, and finally, what the doctors can do to deflate the puffing.

What causes eye puffiness?

Accumulation of excess fluids called edema on the thin skin around the eyes causes the swollen and puffy appearance and skin discoloration.

Fortunately for most of us eyebag-bearers, it is possible to reduce the appearance of swollen or puffy eyes by adjusting our daily habits, applying natural remedies, skin care products, and in cases, by saying hello to the doctor.

Sleep

Sleep becomes the primary scapegoat for puffy eyes and dark circles. Even on days when you’ve had a full 8 hours of sleep, those eyebags can still make an unexpected appearance. While lack of sleep can contribute to the state of your eyes and the skin surrounding it, there are other factors that contribute to the ballooning of the bags under the eyes.

Daily habits

Unhealthy habits, which lack of sleep is a part of, play a significant role in the state of puffiness of your eyes. Daily habits, like constantly rubbing and tugging the skin around the eyes, can cause inflammation and allergic reactions. Bingeing on salty foods can cause fluid retention.

Drinking too much alcohol and not enough water, a combination sure to result in dehydration. Fearing some sort of drought, the body begins to store fluids in those same eye bags. All these habits can show in more ways than one, on the skin, especially around your eyes.

Caffeine

Too much caffeine, like alcohol and salt, is dehydrating and damaging to the body. Conversely, coffee granules on the skin help to improve blood circulation and even de-puff bloated skin.

The trick is finding the right product with only the freshest and finest coffee granules, gentle enough to handle the sensitive area around the eyes. Close your eyes, apply the product with feather-light pressure, and rinse thoroughly. Say hi to awaken eye-area. As a rule, when about to use products you haven’t tried before, patch test first.

Allergies

If the swelling comes with itchiness and redness, then the swelling can be a part of an allergic reaction. Irritating eye-makeup and eye skincare, environmental irritants such as pollution, dust, and pollen, even pet allergies, can puff up the eyes. If you suspect allergies to be the culprit for puffy eyes, try to stay away from things that may cause you to react.

Choose natural, organic skin care and safe make-up. Consult a doctor about your situation, if you’re reacting to environmental conditions. Your doctor may prescribe medications to lessen the body’s reaction to allergens.

Sun damage

Excessive and prolonged exposure to the sun can dehydrate the eye area. Sun damage will lead to sagging, dry skin, and irritated eyes. Irritated eyes inflame and appear to swell.

When outdoors, wearing SPF 30 or higher and wearing sunglasses can greatly improve the health of your eyes and the area of skin around them.

Age

As age creeps up, the eye muscles supporting the eyelids and under-eyes weaken. The skin also becomes thinner, allowing the fat that’s supposed to support the eyes to push forward and sag, hence creating the bags under the eyes. 

Face yoga and under-eye exercises seem to help strengthen the weak muscles. Those with severe lower lid baggage and upper lid puffiness may opt for clinical procedures such as laser blepharoplasty.

Genetics

Some of us do numerous stuff to get rid of puffiness, short of visiting the neighborhood cosmetic surgeon. Still, the same bags greet us every morning. We’re sorry to say that genetics may play a role in this and you can go ahead and blame innocent generations of familial eyebags sufferers.

Some of us, unfortunately, have puffy eyes just because it’s a genetic trait and prominent eyebags run rampant and heavy in the family. It can also be not the eyebags themselves, but the inherited facial structure that makes eyebags more pronounced.

If it’s genetics, all we can do is adopt a healthy lifestyle, religiously apply eye masks, chilled cucumber slices and dab under-eye concealers to reduce the appearance of excessive puffing. Make our peace with eye puffiness and carry on. If that’s not an option for you, the doctor’s scalpel and the laser beam will have to take center stage.

Hydration

Who could have thought that inadequate water intake leads to puffy eyes? Turns out when you’re not properly hydrated, the body tries to hold on to water by storing water in ‘pockets’ in your body. Drinking enough or even extra water if you feel you’re on the dry skin side, will prevent your body from going into water hoarding mode. Help the skin to hydrate both from the outside in and the inside out.

Aside from adequate drinking of water, applying hydrating eye masks and moisturisers will deliver extra moisture to dry, puffy under eyes.

Sinus Problems

How does having a sinus problem create puffy eyes? Sinuses are located just under the eyes. When the sinuses become infected and inflamed, the pressure around your eyes can result in difficulty in breathing, as wells as eye puffiness. 

Breathing in warm, moist air from steam inhalation relieves sinus pressure. The steam helps to open the nasal pathways. And may help thin the mucus and allow them to be flushed more easily. An over-the-counter decongestant can release mucus build-up in the sinuses, relieve the nasal congestion, and lessen eye puffiness. A doctor’s assistance is valuable in combating inflamed sinuses, especially when this condition becomes chronic.

Poor Circulation

When stressed and tired, the circulation of blood and fluids in the eye area become slow and sluggish, making those fluids gather. Salt from tears may cause fluid retention in the same area. Additionally, the blood vessels may stretch and leak, causing not only puffy eyes but dark circles as well.

A gentle eye massage will help move things along. Use a product with gentle and natural exfoliant particles to tenderly assist the movement of stagnant fluids. Have a face massage and ask the masseuse to teach you how to do simple, gentle eye massages you can do at home. Acupressure also greatly improves circulation; it also helps relax the eye area. Search for safe tutorials for eye area acupressure points, from books or videos.

Medical Condition

Aside from inflamed sinuses, other health conditions such as thyroid issues or kidney problems, iron deficiency, and even hormonal changes can cause the eyes to puff up. Genetics aside, if you’ve been keeping healthy habits and checked the list above and still the problem persists, have yourself checked for other possible underlying causes of eyebags and puffy eyes.

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