A Full Guide On Depuffing Your Eyes
A Full Guide On Depuffing Your Eyes
Given the state of the world, it would be a fair assumption that we are collectively suffering from higher stress levels than normal. The spike in everyday stress is often accompanied by other unwelcome guests—lack of sleep or a disrupted sleep cycle and occasional bouts of crying. While the emotional response to the current events in the world is natural, it can often manifest in the form of red, puffy eyes upon waking up in the morning. If you’re looking to dial back under-eye redness on a tight deadline in your AM schedule, allow Dr Chiranjiv Chhabra, chief dermatologist and director of Alive Wellness Clinics, to draw up a handy rescue plan.
What are puffy eyes and why do they occur?
“Puffy eyes are the appearance of swelling in the tissues around the eyes—when the puffiness occurs below the eyes, it is referred to as eye bags,” explains Dr Chhabra. If you are looking for the reason, you have a wide range to pick from. “Due to fluid retention, the eyes can appear puffier in the morning hours as well as during menstrual cycles or after a salty meal. Genetics, allergies, stress and some systemic diseases also play a role in the formation of puffy eyes,” she adds. There is the skin’s natural ageing process to be considered as well. As we age, the skin loses its elasticity and the facial muscles and tendons observe a reduction in tensile strength. “Smoking and alcohol consumption along with less sleep can further lead to early loss of collagen and accelerate ageing in the under-eye area,” she says.
How to treat puffy eyes at home
If you can’t get in the dermatologist’s chair during the lockdown, don’t stress—Dr Chhabra believes that a wide array of at-home remedies can step up to the plate and help you combat puffiness around the eyes. However, we aren’t talking just cucumber slices—by leveraging the anti-inflammatory properties of common items around the house, you can significantly reduce puffy eyes. Take notes from the New Delhi-based dermatologist’s go-to remedies:
Wet a clean washcloth with cold water and place it around your eyes for a few minutes, applying gentle pressure—do this while sitting upright. Colder temperatures are known to make blood vessels shrink upon contact, thereby reducing the swelling around the eyes.
Apply a cold compress of rosemary tea to increase circulation and reduce swelling around eyes. Put half a cup of fresh rosemary in a quarter of water, soak for 20 minutes, then strain and chill. Soak a washcloth in the tea, wring out the extra fluid and place over the eyes for 15-20 minutes, once or twice a day.
Massage almond oil under and around the eyes for half an hour before bedtime for two weeks. This helps increase blood circulation around the eyes and reduce puffiness underneath the eyes over time.
Mix some turmeric powder and pineapple juice to create a thick paste, apply this mixture to your under-eye circles and leave for about 10 minutes. Remove the paste with a soft warm damp cloth, once a day. This paste is a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that can reduce puffy eyes.
Grate some potatoes, extract the juice from the potatoes and soak some cotton makeup remover pads in the juice. Place the pads around your eyes for 10 minutes and then rinse with warm water. Potato juice is a rich source of Vitamin C and helps in the synthesis of collagen.
On mornings when you are running late, a quick detour into your makeup kit can help hide the evidence as well. Dr Chhabra advises starting by washing your face with water and a gentle cleanser, followed by an eye serum rich in Vitamin C. After letting the serum absorb for two minutes, follow up with a layer of moisturiser with Vitamin E as it’s important to hydrate the skin before makeup to ensure smooth application. Follow up with a green colour corrector to counteract the redness around the eyes and apply a dash of highlighter above and below the arch of the eyebrows to give your eyes an instantly lifted look. Finish off with lash-lengthening mascara for a brighter, more awake look.
The expert-approved guide to preventing puffy eyes
If you’re looking to prevent puffiness around the eyes altogether, Dr Chhabra advises some handy measures to keep them at bay.
- It is essential to avoid high sodium foods like pizza, potato chips and canned foods. The high intake of such foods can increase fluid retention due to the hydrophilic property of salt.
- Clocking in sufficient sleep for six-eight hours every night is also key in reducing puffiness as sleep deprivation can cause blood vessels to expand and appear red.
- Anti-ageing and antioxidant creams rich in Vitamin K, Vitamin E and Vitamin C help in protecting the skin cells from damage and support collagen production while serving as an anti-inflammatory agent.
- Regular lymphatic drainage of the under-eye area helps in removing the excess lymph which accumulates in the under-eye area. Lymphatic drainage can be done by moving the fluid from the inside corner of the eye to the outside corner gently with the pulp of your ring finger, preferably with borage seed oil, around 10-15 times around each eye twice a day.
- Eye exercises and facial yoga can also help in reducing puffy eyes. Alternate between hot and cold compresses for each eye for 10 minutes to improve lymphatic drainage.
