Have you looked in the mirror one morning and been shocked to see puffy, tired eyes looking back at you? We have all been there. There are numerous causes, but the disappointment of looking in the mirror and seeing those puffy eyes is the same.
Puffy eyes are an unfortunate normal part of aging. As we age the tissue that holds our eyelids in place begins to weaken and thus drops the excess skin down. This annoying skin complaint actually has a number of causes that are very treatable.
Causes of Puffy Eyes
Fluid Retention: We ALL have this problem!! If you eat a lot of delicious salty food your body needs to retain more water in order to keep your body's salinity (salt to water ratio) in balance. Hence why if you clean up your diet you lose water weight because your body doesn't need as much water anymore.
Lack of Sleep: Sleep is important for so many functions! Collagen production is at its highest during our deep sleep cycle. If we do not get enough sleep our eyes pool fluid under or eyes, and it also dilates the capillaries which give us dark circles. So ladies!! Make sure you're getting your 40 winks!!
Allergies: Have to say I feel so sympathetic to those of you who suffer from allergies. When our bodies discover an allergen, our immune cells produce histamine proteins that protect the eyes from the allergens. When these build up in our tissues it gives us puffy eyes. It sure is inconvenient but its the body protecting us as best it can.
Smoking: As we know, eyes are very sensitive. With the membranes of our eyes so thin it means pollutants can easily pass through the membrane and irritate the nerves inside. When you're smoking, or someone is smoking around you, these pollutants enter your eyes which trigger the same histamines to gather and launch into attack mode. Prolonged exposure to cigarette or cigar smoke can cause your eyes to become puffy for long periods of time.
Heredity: For some unlucky people, puffy eyes are heredity. In this case of course it's harder to alleviate them as they have no causes other than pure genetics. However by making sure you are not contributing to the problem you can make it as subtle as possible and treat it with eye creams.
How to Treat Puffy Eyes?
With so many causes it means that there are many ways to treat puffy eyes. Which is great news for us.
Water: Make sure to drink plenty of water to flush out all that salt. If you do not drink enough water with your salty food your body will store the salt and then store water. If you eat your salty foods with pop it further exasperates the problem. So it is best to drink lots of water when you eat salty foods to ensure your body does not store the salt.
Potassium: We need potassium for many functions in the body, it is a very important mineral. In the kidneys, potassium and sodium are used together to help the kidneys function properly. When your potassium is low the body also hoards sodium. So by increasing your potassium intake you ensure your body does not store sodium.
Foods high in potassium:
Apricots
Bananas
Potatoes
Yoghurt
For allergens, there are many things to take to alleviate your symptoms. Some of the medicines to take are:
antihistamines (Claritin, Benadryl)
decongestants (Sudafed, Afrin)
eye drops (Visine, Alaway)
There are also steroids that can be prescribed by your doctor and allergy shots for long term relief.
Eye Creams: There are hundreds of eye creams on the market that assist with puffy eyes. When purchasing an eye cream make sure you are getting your money's worth by purchasing a non-drug store brand that fills their creams with fillers. Dermatologists suggest finding an eye cream that contains ingredients such as green tea, caffeine, niacinamide, peptides, and other antioxidants which can help reduce inflammation and constrict blood vessels to reduce puffiness.
We personally love the Stress Positive Eye Lift by dermalogica.
Read our Stress Positive Eye Lift Blog to learn more about this innovative product.