Eye baggage can be attributed to anything from tucking into salty chips to being saddled with not-so-eye-friendly genes. As long as your genetic makeup is not the culprit, a tweak in your daily habits and skin care routine can definitely help de-puff your skin in a pinch. So, where do you begin?
Thanks to the dizzying number of perspectives on how to reduce puffy eyes, the path to perky peepers only gets blurrier. Here’s a little help from us to help you sort through all the noise.
What Causes Eye Bags
Before we delve into products and home remedies for eye bags, let’s have a look at what causes puffy eyes.
- Sleep is more fantasy than reality:
- Sure, your 9 to 5 (Read: 9 to 10) is working great at inflating your company’s growth but it also does the same to your eye bags. The resulting fatigue and the late-night series binge until dawn don’t make things any better. Lack of restorative sleep at night then causes congestion of blood and fluid retention which leads to puffy eyes in the morning.
- Saltiest is the tastiest:
- Who doesn’t love an occasional indulgence in a salty fare especially in response to hormonal imbalance? The problem is when you give in to salty temptations regularly. The excess sodium content can result in water retention that causes swelling of the eye tissue and thus. reveals eye bags.
- Eye care routine done wrong:
- You got yourself the most expensive eye cream yet the puffy skin in the under eye area refuses to pack its bags and leave. Ugh. Question: Are you dabbing on the product too much and too close to your lash line? If you do, your blinking lashes will pick microscopic amounts of the product and eventually deposit it into your eyes. The entry of any irritant in your eyes can result in swelling. Besides, the surplus cream will remain unabsorbed and seep into the eyes resulting in puffiness.
- Your diet features more alcohol than water:
- Happy hour cocktails do not necessarily mean happy hour for your skin too. A night of heavy drinking dehydrates your body and the delicate skin under your eyes becomes puffy and weak, caving in to the formation of bags.
- Extreme sun exposure:
- Venturing out in broad daylight on a sunny day and braving it without a sunscreen can damage under eye skin cells due to the sun exposure. It depletes your skin of the vital moisture and results in sagging skin. Besides, sun exposure also triggers the production of melanin, the ramifications of which are quite dark. (Read: dark circles)
- It’s a family thing:
- If your eyes seem perpetually puffy and no product seems to work its magic on your self-willed peepers then maybe it’s in your genes. You can start with a trip to your dermatologist and check for treatments and solutions.
Home Remedies For Puffy Eyes
We’ve rounded up effective home remedies for eye bags to save your eyes the trouble of searching for one.
1. Egg White
Step 1: In a bowl, whip an Egg White until it becomes stiff.
Step 2: Using a brush, pick the Egg White and apply it on your under eye area.
Step 3: After leaving it on for 10 minutes, wash off with lukewarm water.
2. Green Tea Bags
Step 1: Soak 2 used Green Tea Bags in a cup of water for a minute and then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours.
Step 2: Now close your eyes and place the cool tea bags on your eyes for 15 minutes.
Step 3: Remove the tea bags and wash your eyes with cold water.
3. Potato Slices
Step 1: Peel a Potato and grate it. Slice a few pieces and refrigerate it for an hour.
Step 2: Close your eyes and place the cool slices on your eyes.
Step 3: After leaving it on for 15 minutes, rinse off with water.
4. Aloe Vera
Step 1: Scoop out the gel from an Aloe Vera Leaf into a bowl and refrigerate it for an hour.
Step 2: Now, apply the cool gel on your eye bags and leave it on for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Wash off with cold water.
5. Coconut Oil
Step 1: In a bowl, add and mix 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and 1 drop of Lavender Essential Oil.
Step 2: Using your fingertips, massage this solution on your under eye area and let it sit overnight.
Step 3: In the morning, wash your face with a mild cleanser.
6. Baking Soda
Step 1: In a cup of warm water, add 1 tablespoon of Baking Soda. Stir it well.
Step 2: Now soak 2 cotton pads in the solution and then remove the excess water. Place these pads on your eyes for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Remove the pads and wash your eyes with water. Follow it up with a dab of moisturizer.
Best Products For Eye Bags
Here’s a lowdown on the hero products that can help you leave at least your eye baggage in the past.
1. Alanna Under Eye Gel
An overnight therapy for your eyes can work wonders at reducing under eye swelling and brightening skin tone. This gel does just that. Packed in a cute looking container, it houses ingredients (hello Aloe Vera, Castor Oil, Sweet Almond and Liquorice Extracts) that do a great job at disguising the fact that you managed just three-ish hours of sleep last night. Plus, the heavenly scent of Peppermint calms troubled eyes. So don’t be surprised if you get addicted to the cute plus reliable guy here.
2. Juicy Chemistry Damask Rose & Coffee Organic Eye Cream
Post-party, this should be your eye candy. This concentrated eye cream delivers a cool blast to under eyes and instantly erases all traces of sleepless late nights. Packed with an impressive list of ingredients including highlights like Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter Carnauba Wax, apart from a blend of essential oils, this formula is set up to deflate puffiness.
It's just a bonus that it also contains Caffeine, which helps reduce pigmentation and soothe skin irritation.
3. Dromen & Co Mini Jade Facial Roller
Whether you’ve been crying your eyes out or running low on sleep turn to a roller to plump and tighten even the puffiest of eyes for brighter, more-awake look. Featuring a natural stone called Jade that’s known for its detoxifying and anti-aging properties, this travel-friendly tool boosts blood circulation, stimulates collagen production and helps relax the nervous system. The result? Reduced appearance of eye bags, wrinkles, and dark circles. Best used a night time treatment, it can also double up to help your skin better absorb creams, serums and oils. Pro tip: Keep it in the refrigerator for a cooler effect before use.
4. Zenvista Dermanill Under Eye Cream
A bevy of ingredients report to duty when you gently pat on this under eye cream: puff-combating Carrot Seed Oil and a hydrating blend of essential oils (hi, Almond and Buchanania Lanzan Oil). Besides, it’s enriched with Matrixyl that strengthens the delicate under eye area and reduces the appearance of dark circles. It’s also topped off with vitamins and butters that increases skin's moisture retention capacity to deflate eye bags and give your face a noticeably well-rested look.
5. Lotus Herbals Nutraeye Rejuvenating & Correcting Eye Gel
Address puffiness with an ultra-nourishing gel formula geared to hydrate and target under eye concerns. This eye gel taps a powerful cocktail of ingredients to do just that. Hydrolyzed Wheat Proteins, Soy Bio Peptides, Rice Bran extracts and Vitamins A and E team up to coddle the delicate skin under your eyes. Reach for this rejuvenating formula before you catch some z’s.
