Reduce Bags Under Your Eyes

It's never fun to wakeup after a restless night's sleep and have bags under your eyes. It's even worse when you realize that sleep deprivation may not be the whole problem. The problems with eye bags usually start small. You may notice a barely visible "pillow" of puffiness just below the lower lid. If you leave it untreated, it can billow out further. Then, over time, it gives way to a full-blown bag.

But how and why does the puffiness start? One cause, experts say, is the natural aging process. There is a certain amount of fat naturally in the under-eye area. It's held in place by ligaments. As you age, the ligaments get weaker, allowing the fat to push forward, forming that little puffy pillow under your eye.

As time goes on, the puff gets bigger. Then skin loses elasticity, allowing the formation of those loose wads of skin we call "bags." How soon that happens, however, depends a lot on how many bags your parents have and when their problems began. A lot of it has to do with heredity. Also it can be a structural, anatomic, genetic issue that simply causes some people to develop this problem sooner than others.

A variety of factors can actually contribute to the formation of eye bags. The pressure of the fat around the eyes can cause the ligaments, skin, and muscles to become more lax. Sometimes, there is extra fat behind the support wall of the eyelid, which gives them a baggy appearance. In other cases, the relaxed skin itself actually causes the bag because there is simply too much skin in the area. For some, the muscle in the lid has thickened or the upper eyelids form a bag because of drooping eyebrows.

It's no surprise that as you get older and busier and your life gets more hectic and filled with things to do, and you just get tired. It almost seems like a trademark of adulthood, to constantly be tired and just a bit sleep deprived. After longer amounts of sleep deprivation, there starts to be physical manifestations of your tiredness, and one of those manifestations is bags under the eyes. Bags under your eyes are never a great look and can actually negatively affect things like job interviews, social events, and dates.

You have bags under your eyes, because of numerous possible (and combined) sources:
* Vitamin deficiency
* Poor diet
* Overexposure to sunlight
* Overuse (long-term pc monitor-reading)
* Sleep deficiency
* Allergies
* Genetics/heredity
* Cigarette-smoking
* Disease or illness (or organ damage)
* Natural aging
* Stress

Correcting bags under eyes with laser surgery
To correct eye bags, you can undergo upper blepharoplasty. Blepharoplasty is a procedure that involves removing crescent skin as well as underlying fat from the upper eyelids with a laser. This can correct both drooping and sagging. Another option is laser assisted transconjunctival lower lid blepharoplasty, which is a procedure to remove excess fat from the lower eyelid.

Eye serums to decrease bags
There are a variety of eye serums that will work on your under eye bags in the same way they work on puffy eyes or dark circles. They won’t get rid of your bags, of course, but they will reduce the appearance of your bags by reducing the discoloration and tightening the skin around the eyes. Plus the cooling effects of many serums made with Aloe Vera and cucumber extracts will help reduce the size of your under eye bags.

Home remedies for bags under eyes
1. Cold water - A splash of cold water will get your circulation moving so that fluids trapped in the eye release into the rest of your body. The cold water also reduces swelling.
2. Tapping - Lightly tap your upper and lower lids to nudge fluids away from the eyes. This also gets the fluids circulating to other areas in your body.
3. Spoon - Chill a spoon in the refrigerator and place it over your closed eyes for a few minutes. This reduces the swelling in your eye.
4. Tea bags - Moisten two tea bags and rest them over your closed eyes for 15 minutes. The tea helps tighten the skin and reduce bags under eyes.
5. Concealer - A neat makeup trick works wonders to cover puffy eyes. Simply apply a darker shade of make up on your upper lid just below the brow to the crease. Nest apply a lighter shade of concealer on the lower portion of the lid. Puffiness is less noticeable when you highlight the lower portion of the lid.
6. Cold milk - Another way you can reduce the size and puffiness of your under eye bags is to apply a compress of ice water or very cold milk directly over your closed eyelids and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. This will cool and rest your eyes. You can apply a similar treatment with a mixture of equal parts rosewater and witch hazel soaked in cotton. Rest the cotton on your eyes for 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Facial massage - Facial massage, and specially massage treatment around your eyes can assist in draining of fluids around your eyes.

Tips to prevent bags under eyes
* No drinks - Stay away from drinks at bedtime or restrict yourself to only a few sips. Drinking fluids before bedtime increases your body's fluid retention and the likelihood it will settle in your eyes during sleep.
* Raise your bed - Elevating the head of your bed will prevent bags under eyes. Since your head will be raised it will keep fluids from setting around your eyes. Try placing six inch wooden blocks under your bed's headboard.
* Beware of wrinkle creams - Some wrinkle creams work too well; they plump up the skin to reduce wrinkles but also help give you puffy eyes. Try using a dark circle cream like Dermalex which targets dark circles and undereye bags.
* Skip the feather comforter - If you have a feather comforter and find that you often wake up with bags under your eyes it can be a sign that you are allergic to feathers. Try switching to quilts and pillows filled with cotton or synthetic material.
* Stay away from salty foods - Foods with high salt contribute to puffy eyes. Try to stay away from dinners that contain too much salt or sodium.

So, if you suffer from bad bags under your eyes, rest assured that there is a way to fix it. If you take the appropriate measures to alter any lifestyle patterns (i.e., sleep, eating, exercise), then those bags under your eyes will fade and you'll be good to go!

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