Waking up with puffy eyes can be a real turn off when you have a big day ahead. Due to the tired and lifeless look puffy eyes bring along, they remain a fairly common cosmetic problem among women all across the globe.
Puffy eyes are a result of a loss of the supporting fatty skin layer beneath the eyes. This causes the skin to lose its elasticity and droop downwards. The thin sagging skin under the eyes allows the accumulation of fluid and gives your eyes a puffy and swollen appearance.
Commonly known as eye bags, puffy eyes also tend to develop dark circles underneath. With a progression in age, puffy eyes occur more often.
Causes of Puffy Eyes
Puffy eyes are mostly associated with a lack of sleep, excessive crying, stress, and smoking. Other causes include:
- Seasonal allergies
- Allergic reaction (for example, to animal dander and pollen)
- Sleep deprivation
- Crying in extremes
- Overexertion
- Genetics
- Contact dermatitis (by using a new product such as a shampoo, eye cream, and even new bedsheets)
- Stress
- Excess salt intake
- Smoking tobacco
- Seasonal changes
- Poor diet
- Sinus problems
- Dehydration
- Habit of rubbing your eyes
- Sinus problems
- Aging
- Hereditary
Medical Treatment
Puffy eyes can medically be treated with topical creams. Several creams containing hyaluronic acid and vitamins A, C, and E may be prescribed.
These may help diminish the puffy area under your eyes by inhibiting fluid accumulation, supporting the under-eye area, and reducing the fine lines, wrinkles, and visible darkness underneath.
Natural Ways to Fix Puffy Eyes
Several women have resorted to the use of makeup concealers in order to mask the swollen and dark under-eye area. However, there are some easy-to-follow remedies to help overpower the curse of puffy eyes.
1. Implement Lifestyle Changes
Puffy eyes can be a result of various factors that can be worked upon by making changes in your lifestyle:
Cut Down on Salt Intake
Excess intake of salt contributes to water retention and bloating, causing the skin under your eyes to look swollen. Limit your salt intake to just the required amounts.
Stay Hydrated
The easiest way to get rid of puffy eyes is to drink water. When the body is well hydrated, there is less chance of water retention that can cause your under-eye area and other parts of your body to swell. Water also helps flush toxins out of the body.
- To stay well hydrated, drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water each day.
- Limit the amount of salt you consume to reduce water retention in the body.
- Avoid caffeinated and carbonated beverages, which can be dehydrating.
Quit Smoking
Smoking causes the skin under your eyes to look wrinkled and droopy. This can contribute to swollen and puffy eyes.
Remove Eye Makeup Every Day
Make sure to wipe off your eye makeup before bedtime.
Restrict Your Alcohol Consumption
The skin around your eyes is very delicate. Because alcohol consumption can cause water retention and pull the water out from the skin, the skin under the eyes tends to sink into a bag. Limit your alcohol intake if you suffer from puffy eyes.
Sleep Properly
Lack of sleep is one of the several reasons that give your eyes a puffy appearance. Make sure to get 7-9 hours of sleep every day.
Protect Your Under-Eye Area from the Harmful UV Rays
Exposing your eyes to the harmful UV rays can induce wrinkling in the skin underneath your eyes.
- Always use sunglasses and sunscreen when going outdoors.
- Use under-eye creams to keep the area moisturized and wrinkle-free.
2. Use Soaked Tea Bags
Tea bags, whether green tea or black tea, can help soothe puffy and irritated eyes. The caffeine in tea can help dilate the capillaries and reduce fluid accumulation in the area. As a result, swelling is reduced around your eyes.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science stated that using soaked, chilled tea bags on your eyelids can reduce puffy eyes. The caffeine in tea bags can help in reducing the swelling and darkness in the under-eye region.(1)
- Put 2 used tea bags in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Lie down and put the tea bags over your eyelids.
- Leave them in place for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Repeat a few times a day.
3. Place Potato Slices on Your Eyelids
Potatoes are also effective in getting rid of puffy eyes. The starch in potato is known to be anti-inflammatory in nature and can help reduce the swelling and fade the dark circles under your eyes.(2)
- Place a slice of potato over your eyelids for several minutes. Repeat the process few times a day until the puffiness subsides. You may also refrigerate the slice before applying it for better results.
4. Apply a Cold Compress
Sleep deprivation can cause puffy eyes. Cold water is just what you need to get rid of the puffiness in this case. The cold temperature helps constrict the blood vessels, reduce the swelling, and diminish the puffy appearance considerably.(3)
- Rinse your face with several splashes of ice-cold water. Do this a few times throughout the day as needed.
- Alternatively, fill a small bag with ice, wrap it in a washcloth, and place it on your eyes. Repeat as necessary until the swelling is gone.
Place a Cold Spoon on the Affected Area
This simple home remedy is surprisingly very effective, as claimed by a large user base. The cold temperature helps tighten up the loosened skin around your eyes as well as relax the dilated blood vessels, thus offering relief to your puffy and tired eyes.
- Chill 5 or 6 metal spoons in your refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Hold the rounded portion of one of the cold spoons against your eye for a few minutes until the spoon becomes warm.
- As the spoon warms, replace it with another cold one from the refrigerator.
Apply a Slice of Chilled Cucumber
Chilled cucumbers are an age-old remedy when it comes to treating puffy eyes. Cucumbers’ enzymes and astringent properties help reduce inflammation and help tighten the surrounding skin. This remedy also helps get rid of wrinkles and dark circles around your eyes.
- Cut a cucumber into thick slices.
- Chill the slices in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Place the cold slices on your eyelids for about 10 minutes or until they become warm.
- Repeat the process several times a day.
Why Do Your Eyes Get Puffy After Excessive Crying?
Crying as a result of an emotional outburst entails an outflow of tears that contain a fairly higher concentration of water and a comparatively lower salt concentration than the regular tear secretions and the skin tissue surrounding the eye.
The difference in the salt concentration leads to the flow of less salty, watery tears towards the saltier skin underneath the eyes, through the process of osmosis. This inflow of the watery tears causes the under-eye area to settle into a pouch and appear all puffed up.
The incessant rubbing action to wipe or conceal your tears also adds up to the puffy appearance induced after a crying episode.
Tips to Prevent Puffy Eyes
You can always prevent the occurrence of a problem by following certain measures that eliminate the causative factors.
- Avoid using any gadgets before bedtime, watching TV late at night, or eating right before bedtime. This can affect your sleep hours.
- Turn in earlier for the night to sleep better.
- Elevate your head while sleeping. This can help reduce fluid accumulation under the eyes and prevent swelling.
- Stay aware of your allergies, keep a track of the triggers, and avoid them.
When to See a Doctor
Certain conditions may also manifest puffy eyes as a symptom and need medical evaluation for proper diagnosis. Some of the reasons behind such eye puffiness may include:
- Thyroid problems
- Graves’ disease, a condition that affects the thyroid and presents itself as protrusion of the eyes
- Hay fever caused by an allergic reaction
- Conjunctivitis or pink eye infection
- Kidney failure
- Dry eyes
Seek immediate medical attention if:
- There is no apparent cause of the puffiness under your eyes.
- The puffiness is accompanied by pain and/or fever.
- You experience discomfort and blurry vision.
End Note
Incorporate the aforementioned lifestyle changes and remedies in your daily routine to treat your puffy eyes caused by common reasons. Otherwise, in the absence of an apparent cause, get your condition evaluated by a healthcare professional.
Resources:
- Amniaikit T, Mannenuan D, Boonme P. Evaluation of Caffeine Gels on Physicochemical Characteristics and In Vivo Efficacy in Reducing Puffy Eyes. Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228476374. Published November 2010.
- Umadevi M, Kumar PKS, Bhowmik D, Duraivel S. Health Benefits and Cons of Solanum tuberosum. Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies. http://www.plantsjournal.com/vol1Issue1/Issue_jan_2013/html/3.html. Published 2013.
- King M. Management of Edema. The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5300735/. Published January 2017.
I woke up this morning crying because my niece passed away last year and today is her birthday. So u can imagine how puffy my eyes are. Thanks a lot for the tips.
I did the spoon for my puffy eyes. I had an allergic reaction to some eye liner. The spoons worked right away. I used one for each eye. Yay!!
Thanx a lot. Ur article helped me a lot. I cried a lot last night. And woke up with damn swelled eyes. I am an anchor person and i have to go on screen today at 3pm. But my eyes were like a balloon and i was so worried about being on air in this condition. I tried two or three of ur tips and felt much better. I can go on air now. 🙂
I hope this works because my eye is swollen ,and I can’t see because it is completely shut close
Cucumbers and tea bags works wonders on me..thanks
VERY EASY TIPS WOW THANKS
Interested in learning more.
Yes it really works …………. So happy
hi, how should you use teabags and cucumber together. both sounds good
Will. Try spoon remedy, tnx
(any dessert you can recommend? ;}-) )
Love everything about this, the tips are straightforward, natural home remedies, and in each tip there is a simple rundown explaining how and why it works. I’m bookmarking this site on my phone, brilliant article!
Good, practical and easy ways to try. Thank you so much. I will start one of these today for my puffy eye bags. Thank you.
thanku so much, it really sounds effective and im going to try it now
Do I have to use 2egg white every night for this remedy or I miss understood thank you
I cry a lot from stress from high school and my eyes are really puffy in the morning so I just put ice on my eyes, and drink a lot of water and my swelling goes down within a hour.
Mikki, I have two daughters who went through that stage too and I helped them and some oftheir friends by managing the time and focus on one thing at s time. You are too young to have stress. There are bigger things coming in our ways than what we already had. Believe me if you focus and pick one thing at a time, and when studying not paying attention to anything else, and tv, computer and cell phones must be turned off for one hour, you will see the results of that one hour of study and will be surprised by yourself. Good luck.
Hello. I was reading all this great info for my puffy eyes (thank you for this site and the comments!) and I came across your comment. That is so kind of you to share with others in the midst of your pain. You have a heart of gold and deserve to be happy. Your post sounded so sad and I wish you were not having such a difficult time in school. I prayed for you and I hope things get better for you. There is a comforter, Jesus, and believe it or not, a relationship with Him will not only comfort you but will also heal your heart. Seek Him out. God bless you!
I understand. We all come from diferrent walk of life. Personally, i dont cry a lot, but wen i do its bad. Be strong God loves u.
i really need to try this! thank you for putting this up:)
Tea bags work good thanks
Thank u very much nice information given by you i am going to try your tips on my on my puffy eyes post u result what i have feel
I think my eye bags although its more puffiness under the eye by the cheekbone, is due to stress and lack of sleep, loosing my mum 2yrs ago could be a contributing factor. It’s funny that, I know most of these remedies but I don’t try them. Thanks for reminding me. I am going to start today with cold tea bags and cold spoons. Will try the fruits at night when am about to go to bed. By the way any good remedies for lack of sleep, views welcome thank you so much.
Oddly, I had a spoon in the freezer already. So, after reading your article, I went to get it & got a bottle of water to hydrate as well. The spoon got warm almost immediately, so I held the unopened cold water bottle under my eyes switching from eye to eye about every 30 seconds. I’m amazed at how quickly and how well it worked. I could see the bags shrinking each time I lifted the bottle. Unlike the spoon, the bottle of water stayed nice and cold, but not too cold like ice might be. Just a suggestion, then you can drink the water after using it as compress. Thanks for the tips. Now I want to try one of the ones you mentioned for dark circles. Mine were inherited from my mother and I even had them as a child, uugh!
Also, I was wondering why you say to grate the potatoes and put it in a cloth? Would it be OK to just lay a slice of potato under my eye, or would that stain my skin? And if it is necessary to grate it and put it in a cloth, should I moisten the cloth or leave it dry? Thanks again.
it really worked for me and i am very happy with the results.thanks top 10.
I really like the salt water tip
I was looking for ways to solve the problem of my eye bag and I came across this, I am going to start trying it now. Thanks for this information.
I am going to try the tea bag one soon, hope it works, thanks for the article!
Thanks for this article i will try it
I am starting to get desperate! It looks like I have been punched in both eyes when I wake up every morning and my eyes feel so heavy!
I am going to try every one of these tips!
Holding thumbs!!!
I have severe allergies. The puffiness under my eyes is getting worse. I am so desperate. I will try anything. Thanks for the tips.
I hope you are okay and I hope that the puffiness went away i’m praying for you!
Thanks a lot hope the eye procedure work!
the tea bags and cocumbers are wonderful remedies—-thanks alot
Thank you, I’ve tried a lot of this and although it can work temporarily, I am a software developer and it’s my job to stare at a screen all day long. I train in the gym everyday, implicitly drink water because of it and I get good sleep and break up my time on devices and look into the distance as much as I can, however, I still struggle with this ongoing and doing this daily is a chore. I eat healthy and don’t have much salt in my diet. I wonder if there is any long term fix for this. There are certain things we have to do in this world as it exists today and although I would love to live a different lifestyle, my life is, for the moment working within these mandatory conditions. I would like to discover what else is available for a longer term solution. Perhaps that eating certain foods can also have an impact? Like red meat for example. If I try eating only white meat including chicken and fish, that this may make a difference. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks again for this useful article and to everyone reading good luck and be strong, mindful and humble in all your endeavours. 🙂
Am so desperate, my eyes are so puffed most especially during hot weather. am going to try them all hope they real work. thanks a lot
Thank you so much for wonderful remedies, they really work , my hubby doesn’t look drunk any more 🙂
grateful and blessings !!!!
Thank you so much for wonderful remedies
Interesting and useful information. Thank you !!!! I wonder if anyone already has “great ongoing results”. Please share. Thanks again!
Teabags really worked for me!! camomile tea!
good luck!
the spoon thing worked thx
Wow, thx this is a great help
Ice cubs could help to i think
Thanks for the help!! I have two spoons in the freezer right now and everyone says they work so I’m so excited! Thanks! ☺️☺️☺️
Potatoes work really well. I’m so impressed with the results. Thank you so much. God bless you
Thank you so much for all the wonderful ways to help with eye puffiness (dark circles and wrinkles ) I will be trying many of these great ideas. The spoons in the freezer are great and a quick fix.
worth following this site