Causes and Treatment
Cucumber, wet tea bags or hemorrhoid cream. There are all kinds of remedies to supposedly counteract puffiness. Cosmetics claim to improve dark circles, wrinkles and fluid retention around the eyes. Puffiness and dark circles are not the same. What about exactly?
Bags under the eyes are a source of irritation for many. But before you get started with your bags it is important to determine if you suffer from dark circles or ‘bags’ under the eyes.
circles
Most people mean dark circles when they talk about their bags under the eyes. The bluish blood vessels and the gray periosteum then shine through the skin under the eyes. If you have pale thin skin, you are more likely to have these circles. Aging often exacerbates the problem, as does sun damage. A lack of moisture in your body or a disturbed moisture balance as a result of illness or poor sleep also makes the skin thinner, so that you can see through it, as it were.
A second possible cause for under-eye circles is a pigment deposit in the skin. This may be genetically determined. This so-called hyperpigmentation is more common in people with darker skin and is very sensitive to sunlight.
bags
A ‘real’ wall is created by an excess of skin or fat. The fat under the eye serves as a cushion and ensures that the eye can rotate relative to the greenhouse. In some people, however, the eye socket is too small for the fat: this is genetically determined. If your parents have bags under the eyes, there is a good chance that you also have or will get them.
With age, the skin around the eyes weakens, which can lead to a build-up of skin under the eye. In addition, due to age, the muscles around the eyes also relax, giving the subcutaneous fat the chance to sink.
Finally, moisture can also cause bags under the eyes. Age plays a role in this, but also in people with allergies or a severe cold, these fluid accumulations occur. Even an evening meal with a lot of salt or a lot of crying can cause the skin under your eyes to retain moisture in the morning.
Do it yourself
Not all puffiness can be prevented, but the following tips will go a long way:
- Get a good night’s sleep and sleep preferably on the back.
- Drink plenty of water and be careful with alcohol and caffeine.
- Do not smoke.
- Eat a varied diet and be frugal with salt.
- Remove make-up before going to sleep.
- Use a good one sunscreen and night cream for the skin around your eyes.
- Do not rub your eyes too much.
counter
With cold compresses or spoons, wet tea bags and cucumber slices you can fight the bags. The cold makes the circles or bags shrink, but this effect is only temporary. Some people swear by hemorrhoid cream and in the short term this certainly seems to help. However, with daily use you irritate the skin too much, causing damage. The same can be said for serums and creams against puffiness.
The easiest and cheapest way to combat dark circles or accumulations is camouflage. Bluish puffiness can be tackled with a concealer with a red undertone. Thick bags can be camouflaged with a concealer that is just a shade lighter than the rest of your face.
Treatments
Making permanent bags disappear, however, is another story. You can make dark circles disappear by filling the skin under the eyes with injections. Fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm are used for this. The effect usually lasts for a year. Laser treatments can also lighten the skin under the eyes.
Accumulations of fat or skin should surgical be removed. Such fat removal gives a lasting result, excess skin does increase with age. These treatments are generally not reimbursed.
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