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Dermatologist Amy Kassouf, MD shares what you can do — at base and with help from your healthcare provider — to check your under-eye baggage .
What causes eye bags?
many factors may cause you to get puffy under the eyes :
- Lack of sleep can trigger both puffiness and dark under-eye circles.
- Dehydration can cause the skin around your eyes to look saggy and sunken.
- Fluid retention — such as from allergies or a salty meal — can produce puffiness.
- Irritation from cosmetics can cause the tissue around your eyes to swell (especially if you don’t wash your face before bed).
- Aging causes the fat pads in the face to shrink and sink, causing bags to form.
- Heredity makes some people just more prone to under-eye bags. Sigh.
What can I do to shrink eye bags at home?
Under-eye bags are rarely a causal agent for concern, but they can be annoying from a cosmetic point of scene. If your bags are bugging you, Dr. Kassouf suggests these at-home strategies to look your best .
Prop up your pillow
Sleeping with your headway slightly elevated can help prevent fluid from building up around your eyes while you sleep .
Try a cool compress
Cucumbers on your eyes may be a spa-day cliché, but they work, Dr. Kassouf says. A cool compress such as cucumbers or cold tea bags can help reduce swelling. “ green tea bags are particularly nice because green tea contains antioxidants that can help firm the skin around the eyes, ” she says .
Add more moisture
Use a dear casual moisturizer to keep skin healthy ( just choose a pacify formula for use around your eyes ). “ Well-moisturized skin has a better moisture barrier, which prevents irritants and allergens from getting into the clamber, ” Dr. Kassouf says .
Hydrate and avoid alcohol
dehydration can make the clamber around your peepers saggy and sad. Make certain to drink enough of water. And invalidate drink excessively a lot alcohol, which can be dehydrating .
Skip yo-yo dieting
When your weight goes up and down, the fat in your face can grow and shrink — and lurch. “ frequent yo-yo diet can cause the fat pads on your face to become redistributed, ” Dr. Kassouf says. To help keep them in space, skip the fad diets and try to maintain a stable slant.
Eye cream for under-eye bags
Alas, there ’ s no magic trick potion to shrink bags around the eyes, says Dr. Kassouf. But eye creams might provide some benefit .
Some “ blink of an eye fix ” gels and creams are available but with those, the gel itself shrinks as it dries. Those, though, are alone impermanent fixes and, Dr. Kassouf says, “ They ’ re helpful but only deoxyadenosine monophosphate retentive as it doesn ’ t peel or wear off at the wrong time. ”
To pamper the skin around the eyes, consider these skin-soothing ingredients :
- Retinol.
- Caffeine.
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid or L-ascorbic acid)
- Antioxidants such as CoQ10.
But a word of caution : “ Ingredients such as vitamin a1 or antioxidants can be helpful — but if the concentration is besides hard, it can break down the moisture barrier and irritate the clamber, ” Dr. Kassouf says. To avoid coming on besides firm, attend for easy formulas and rest in : When trying something modern, wait a day or two to see how your skin responds. lento work up to using it day by day .
Medical treatments for eye bags
If at-home tools aren ’ thyroxine doing the whoremaster, these in-office procedures can help treat under-eye bags, Dr. Kassouf says.
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- Laser resurfacing can tighten skin and improve its texture.
- Botulinum toxin (Botox®) injections can relax some muscles around the eyes, Dr. Kassouf says — “so they don’t pull quite so hard and make those drapey lines and bulges.” Botox can also lift the brow, which can help people who have a bulgy or droopy upper eyelid.
- Fillers can plump up hollows beneath the eyes. “Fillers can help lift the cheek and make a smooth, continuous curve from the lower eyelid to the upper cheek, instead of a hollow spot,” she says.
Is eye bag surgery a thing?
For a longer-lasting localization, plastic operating room is besides an option. In a blepharoplasty operation, credit card surgeons redistribute fat around the eyes and remove supernumerary skin to banish bags for good .
The right solution for eye bags depends on your budget, your anatomy and how much the bags are bugging you. A dermatologist can help you zero in on the best approach. “ We can assess what your goals are and how much you want to invest in the process, ” Dr. Kassouf says .
Whatever you choose, it ’ randomness nice to know there are ways to shed your excess baggage .
