In this article, we’ll discuss what causes puffy eyes, how to help prevent puffy eyes, and how to reduce the appearance of puffy eyes. With a little attention, your eyes will go from pillows to perfect.
IN A NUTSHELL
Main Takeaways: There are many factors that can cause puffy eyes, including lack of sleep, heredity, and salty foods. Once you narrow down the reasons why you’re seeing puffiness under your eyes, you’ll be better prepared to tackle them.
Good to Know: A lifestyle change or two supplemented by a great eye cream can drastically reduce the appearance of puffy eyes.
Recommended Products: Eyes Eyes Baby Anti-Aging Eye Cream.
What Causes Puffy Eyes
Lack of sleep - We’ve all woken up after an all-nighter or a restless night of sleep to find our poor eyes have paid the price for our sleeplessness. For some of us, a lousy night of sleep is pretty much a guarantee that we’ll be dealing with puffiness the next day.
Allergies - If you have allergies, you most likely have experienced puffy eyes.
Why is this? Well, to make a long story short, your eyes are basically trying to fight the allergens and stop them from irritating you. As a result, your eyes react by getting puffy and sometimes watery.
Alcohol - Because it robs your skin of water, alcohol causes your body to try to compensate by retaining it. Thus, you end up with puffy eyes.
Not taking off your makeup - We all know we need to take off our make-up each night as part of our skin care routine, but even the most conscientious of us forgets from time to time. When we forget this step, your eye makeup can make its way into our eyes and cause puffiness and irritation.
Medication - Puffy eyes can be a side effect of certain medications. If this happens to you, make sure to check with your doctor (rather than just stopping the meds) to see if an adjustment can be made, or if they think it’s just a matter of getting used to a new script.
Age - Like just about everything skin related, age plays a a huge part in how our eyes look, especially if you’ve engaged in unhealthy lifestyle habits. The fat and muscle in your eyes become weaker as you age, which can cause your eyes to look puffy.
Diet - Eating foods that are particularly high in salt like fast food, smoked or cured meats, canned foods, etc, will definitely make you more susceptible to puffy eyes. For some, dairy and sugar can also trigger this reaction.
Genes - If your parents or grandparents have puffy eyes, it might be an indication that at some point, you will, too.
Smoking - Nicotine can cause eyes to become puffy (not to mention that it also causes major bags); if that isn’t reason enough to get you to stop, consider this: smoking can also cause vision problems over time.
Crying - Yes, the next time you see a sad movie, experience a break-up, or just feel stressed out, don’t be surprised if you experience a little puffiness. Crying is a big culprit when it comes to eye puffiness.
How To Help Prevent Puffy Eyes
Although we can’t do much about heredity or, sometimes our emotions, we can lower our chances of getting puffy eyes with a few little lifestyle changes. Here are a few ideas about ways to help prevent puffy eyes:
Get more sleep - If you’re not a great sleeper, don’t try to go from four to eight hours a night. Make it a goal to simply get more sleep; whether you need to try melatonin, mediation, or reading before bed, once you get the rest you need, you’ll likely notice a difference in your skin.
Cut down your alcohol consumption - We’re not saying you need to be sober, but you may need to take a real look at how much you are consuming, as well as making sure you are drinking enough water while you’re imbibing.
Increase your water intake - An extra glass or two a day can help reduce the appearance of puffy eyes.
Take off your eye make-up every night, without fail - A good trick is to take off your makeup as soon as you get home instead of waiting until bedtime.
Change your diet - If you’ve never made diet modifications before, we think you’ll be happy to find that even changing one or two problem foods could drastically help get rid of your eye puffiness. Dairy, gluten and sugar are few of those problem foods that are common in most diets.
Quit smoking - Getting rid of puffy eyes is just one of the many reasons you should stop smoking- but if that’s what’s really bothering you, then why not use it as an incentive? You’ll feel better and look better when you quit.
How To Reduce the Appearance Of Puffy Eyes
Now that we’ve discussed what causes puffy eyes and how to prevent them, here are some tips on how to reduce their appearance:
1. Use an eye cream - Even if you’re never used eye cream before, an eye cream like our Eyes Eyes Baby vegan anti-aging eye cream, is is a great way to help reduce puffiness. Using it also helps prevent waking up with puffy eyes.
2. Get a hold of some spoons - For a pretty quick fix, cool a pair or spoons in a glass of ice water and gently press the convex side to your eye. Relax for a minute or two and allow the cool metal to help reduce puffiness.
3. Buy some cucumbers - Try placing a slice of cool cucumber over your eyes when closed. Take this time out to relax for several minutes while the cucumbers do their trick. Cucumbers are water-rich and help to soothe puffiness.
We hope this gives you an eye-opening view about what causes puffy eyes and how to visibly reduce them.
