How to Get Rid of Bags Under Eyes?

Did you know that the skin around the eye area is five times thinner than on the rest of the human face? The main reason for it is that it does not have many collagen and elastin fibers. As a result, the skin around the eye area is very vulnerable and predisposed to sagging.

A great number of people of any age tend to develop under-eye bags. However, is there a way to get rid of them? Well, keep reading this article to check out the methods you might use to treat under-eye bags, as well as the main causes of them.

P.S. According to health care practitioners, bags under the eyes do not belong to easily treatable cosmetic issues. Therefore, not only non-medical treatments (such as having enough sleep or using compresses) but also medical ones (such as administering cosmetic injectables) might be required.

What Causes Under-Eye Bags?

Under-eye bags (or, as they are also called, puffy eyes) belong to purely cosmetic conditions that have no impact upon the health in most cases. However, they can substantially spoil people’s appearance by means of making them look tired, sad, and older than they actually are.

But what causes the formation of an under-eye puffiness? Well, there exists a whole bunch of reason for it, starting from genetics and ending with the excessive consumption of salt. So, let’s take a closer look at the main causes of bags under the eyes.

Genetics or Natural Aging Process

Sometimes, the appearance of under-eye bags does not depend on the habits or actions of a person. The main reason for it is that they might occur as a result of either genetics or natural aging. Here is how it works:

The major reason why under-eye bags might appear is genetics. Similar to the form of your nose, plumpness of your lips, or size of your ears, the peculiarities of your under-eye area are strongly influenced by your genes. Therefore, you might either have or do not have a predisposition towards bags under the eyes;
Another widely-spread reason for under-eye bags is the natural aging process. As people get older, their skin loses collagen and elastin and, as a result, becomes sagging. Moreover, muscles lose their firmness together with age. These processes eventually lead to the appearance of bags in the area around the eyes.

Therefore, both genetic predisposition and natural aging belong to the common causes of under-eye bags that can be neither eliminated nor stopped by people.

P.S. Just like bags under the eyes, dark circles might appear as a result of genetics or aging.

Health Complications

Other widely-spread causes of bags under the eyes are health complications of different nature. Namely, the under-eye puffiness might serve as a signal of the following health conditions:

Allergy symptoms;
Graves’ disease;
Sinus congestion;
Fluid retention;
And so on.

Here is how under-eye bags might appear as a result of the above-mentioned health complications:

Quite frequently, seasonal allergies of different kinds (like an allergy to pollen, dust, or pets) tend to affect the eyes. Whenever it happens, you have a high chance to suffer from swollen eyes that, in their turn, might lead to the appearance of puffy lids (either upper or lower lid if to be more precise);
Graves’ disease is a health complication that is oftentimes characterized by an overactive thyroid. In most cases, it also affects muscles in the eye area and, therefore, leads to the appearance of puffiness. Apart from this aesthetic issue, Graves’ disease might cause vision problems (thus, it requires medical supervision);
One more reason that might be causing bags under the eyes is sinus congestion (or, as it is also called, “stuffy nose”). The health condition when nasal tissues become swollen with excess fluid might create puffiness in the area of upper and lower eyelids. As a result, under-eye bags might occur;
Fluid retention, which is a complication when fluid is not removed from the tissue in a proper way, might also lead to the appearance of puffy eyes.

Therefore, any of the above-mentioned health complications might lead to the appearance of under-eye bags.

Other Reasons

Apart from genetics, aging, and a whole bunch of health complications, the bags under the eyes might appear as a result of many factors, such as:

The lack of sleep;
Tiredness;
Smoking;
Alcohol consumption;
The consumption of too salty food;
And other reasons.

Each above-mentioned reason for the appearance of under-eye bags has its own explanation. For instance, the consumption of excess salt usually makes your body retain water. As a result, the skin in the eye area becomes sagging, which eventually leads to puffiness.

How to Get Rid of Under-Eye Bags?

Just like there exists a great number of factors that might cause puffy eyes, you might also come across a whole bunch of methods of how to get rid of bags under the eyes. They might be divided into non-medical, medical, and other methods. Let us take a closer look at the main ones.

P.S. Please note that in order to select the most suitable option of treating under-eye bags in your individual case, it is essential to figure out their reason. For instance, if the sagging skin under the eyes is caused by the lack of sleep, it might disappear if you start getting into bed early enough. However, this treatment method might have little effect if your puffy eyes appeared as a result of genetics.

Non-Medical Treatments

Starting from non-medical methods that might help to get rid of bags under the eyes, it is worthy to mention:

The application of caffeinated tea bags to the treatment area. The main reason why tea bags might help you to take care of puffy eyes is that the caffeine in the tea contains antioxidants that might accelerate the blood flow and have an anti-inflammatory effect on your skin (namely, they might substantially reduce swelling). As a result, the application of bags of tea to the area around the eyes might substantially reduce the under-eye bags;
The usage of cold compresses. Similar to a teabag, a cool compress might have a positive effect when it comes to the reduction of the bags under the eyes. This result is achieved by the power of a cold temperature to temporarily constrict blood vessels. Therefore, feel free to use chilled cucumber slices, a wet washcloth, a cooled teaspoon, or any other cold compress to take care of puffy eyelids;
The involvement of retinol cream in the skin routine. The power of retinol to accelerate collagen production might not only improve the overall skin tone and condition but also reduce under-eye bags. Thus, try to add a cream that contains this substance to your everyday skin routine and see how the puffy eyelids gradually disappear.

So, make use of the above-mentioned home remedies to reduce puffiness of the eyes.

Medical Treatment Options

In some cases, however, non-medical methods to treat the under-eye bags might turn out to be inefficient (especially if puffy eyelids appeared as a result of genetics or aging). Therefore, one of the following medical treatment options might be applied:

Microneedling. The usage of a special collagen induction therapy that is realized with the help of microneedle injections is an efficient method to take care of such skin imperfections as wrinkles, pigmentations, and sagging areas. As a result, microneedling might substantially reduce puffy eyelids;
Administration of cosmetic injectables. The injection of dermal fillers that are specifically designed to treat the periorbital area might also come in handy when it comes to the reduction of skin puffiness in the area around the eyes. The main reason for it is that these preparations have the power to volumize and tighten sagging skin. As well, they are oftentimes used to accelerate natural collagen and elastin production, which eventually leads to the reduction of bags in the periorbital area;
Cosmetic surgery. It is probably the most radical but at the same time the most long-lasting method to take care of puffy skin in the area around the eyes. A special cosmetic surgery might be applied if none of the above-mentioned methods turned out to be effective to reduce under-eye bags.

Therefore, feel free to consult with a health care practitioner concerning the usage of these medical treatment options in order to take care of puffy eyelids.

Other Methods

Apart from the above mentioned non-medical and medical treatment options to take care of puffy skin in the periorbital area, you might also try out the following methods:

Get an eight-hour sleep on a regular basis;
Quit smoking;
Do not consume too much alcohol;
Decrease the amount of salt in your food;
Enrich your diet with vitamin C-rich (like broccoli or oranges) and iron-rich products (like seafood or beans);
Remember to always take your makeup off before going to bed;
And so on.

All these methods will not only tighten the skin around the eyes but also have an overall positive effect on your body.

A Bottom Line

All in all, while under-eye bags belong to widely-spread aesthetic problems, a piece of good news is that there exists a variety of methods of how to treat them. Depending on the reason why the so-called “puffy eyelids” occurred in your individual case, you will definitely find the most suitable option of how to get rid of them. So, consult with your health care practitioner, choose one of the methods of how to treat bags under the eyes, and stay beautiful at all times!