Are you feeling like crap because all you see are your eye bags when you look down at yourself in the mirror? Do you feel like your eye bags are bringing your morale down and making you feel unmotivated?
YOU are not alone.
Eye bags are a common nuisance we all face in our lives. However, with proper care and change in some lifestyle habits, one can overcome the pesky eye bags.
About eye bags
- The space below the eyes can accumulate fluid. That’s why that area can appear puffy and swollen!
- Fluid retention is thus a cause for eye bags. For e.g. changes in weather like hot climates, hormone levels, consuming salty foods etc.
- Fat that is usually confined around the eyes can move into the area below your eyes. This is why there is a protruding pouch below it, otherwise known as EYE BAGS!
- Did you know that eye bags are also related to aging? When the tissue structures and muscles start weakening, #2 will happen even faster!
- Make sure to get enough sleep too, because not enough of it may contribute to eye bags!
- Some allergies or skin conditions like dermatitis can make eye bags worse, especially if redness and itching come with the puffiness.
- Had eye bags your whole life? It could be running in the family! Hereditary also plays a part in your appearance, and eye bags are no different.
- Apart from all the above and not so surprisingly, gravity also plays a part in causing eye bags! The longer you are exposed to the gravitational pull (i.e. as you age) that pulls down all of Earth’s matter including your skin, the more your facial features will sink.
Simple remedies to reduce eye bags
Facial exercises
By exercising your eye muscles, it will increase the blood circulation, allowing more oxygen and more nourishment to reach the cells of the skin.
Exercise 1
- Look to your right side, while keeping your face pointing forward. Hold for 5 seconds.
- Move your eyes to your left side for 5 seconds.
- Continue by looking up, then looking down for 5 seconds each direction.
- Continue further by looking diagonally in all directions for 5 seconds each.
- Now, turn your head to the left and look in corresponding directions.
- Repeat exercise 2 to 10 times for both sides.
Exercise 2
- Press both middle fingers together at the inner corner of the eyebrows, then with the index fingers, apply pressure to the outer corners of the eyebrows.
- Look to the ceiling, and raise the lower eyelids upwards to make a strong squint, and then relax.
- Place four fingers horizontally beneath your eye, roughly in a line with the middle of your nose at the end of the hollow of the eye.
- Partially close your eye working against the resistance created by your fingers and then hold momentarily.
- Open your eye and repeat 15 times
- Repeat for the other eye, or do both eyes simultaneously
- Repeat six more times and finish by squeezing eyes shut tightly for 10 seconds.
These eye workouts can reduce drooping eyelids and it can also refresh your eyes if you work on a computer or watch television for long periods of time. You can also do this exercise with your eyes closed.
Cold spoon
This remedy is simple and effective.
- Chill 5 to 6 spoons in your refrigerator for 10 to 20 minutes.
- When the spoons are chilled, take one from the refrigerator and lightly press the rounded portion (i.e. convex part of the spoon) against your puffy eyes until the spoon becomes warm.
- When the spoon turns warm, replace it with the other cold spoon from the refrigerator.
Cold spoons can tighten up the skin around the eyes and relax blood vessels, offering relief to puffy and swollen eyes.
Tea Bags
Be it green tea or black tea, or any kind of tea bag, they can aid in offering relief to the eyes.
- Soak 2 tea bags in hot water for 2 to 3 minutes before taking them out to cool.
- When the tea bags are cooled, lie down and put them over your eyelids and cover them with a soft cloth.
- Leave them in place for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Repeat a few times a day for best effect.
Tea bags contain anti-irritant properties that can reduce swelling around the eyes, and relieve redness and inflammation.
Cucumbers
Chilled cucumbers bring ease to puffy eyes.
- Cut a cucumber into thick slices.
- Chill the slices in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Close your eyes and place 2 chilled slices on each of your eyelids until it becomes warm.
- Repeat a few times a day for best effect.
Cucumbers contain enzymes and constringent properties that help tighten the skin. This remedy can also help get rid of wrinkles (i.e. crow’s feet) and dark circles around the eyes.
Potatoes
Like cucumbers, potatoes are effective in reducing eye bags.
- Get a medium-sized potato. Peel, wash, and dry it.
- Grate the potato and put the shavings in a clean, soft cloth before tying the shavings up.
- Place the soft cloth over your eyelids for several minutes.
- Repeat the process a few times a day for best effect.
Lifestyle & other helpful habits
Water
This simple act of hydrating ourselves is commonly overlooked in our daily lives because we are mostly distracted by other activities. When we give our bodies the right amount of water it needs, it reduces the chances of fluid retention in the body that can cause puffiness in your under eye area.
8 to 10 glasses of water, or 2.2 to 2.3 litres, daily is sufficient to keep your body well hydrated.
Reducing sugar and salt intake
By reducing sugar & salt intake, you are allowing the body to rebalance its water balance. Salt affects electrolyte balance, which is crucial for cell-signalling within our bodies.
Get sufficient sleep
You should have consistent sleep of optimally 7-8 hours per night. By sleeping, you are allowing your body to replenish much-needed oxygen to your eye area, as well as remove toxins while you are resting. After all, the darker your eye circles, the more toxins there are due to minimal rest.
Get physical exercise done
Squeeze in 10-15 mins of exercise every day! It doesn’t have to be very vigorous. Light exercises will do (Brisk walking, skipping etc.) By doing so, blood is pumping through your system, allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to be circulated. At the same time, blood detoxification will happen and clean out automatically.