Do you ever just wake up and feel like you look like the Bubble-eyed Goldfish? 
All you have done is laid that pretty face on a pillow, called it a night, did your skincare routine, and rested those pretty eyes. Yet you wake up and look like bloody Bubble Gold when instead you want to be looking like Mrs. Rainbow Fish. You probably have purchased countless eye creams and products and are just at your wit’s ends because nothing is working. Well, that’s why of course you have me! Puffy eyes and jowls aren’t going to be fixed by a miracle eye cream. Yes, in some ways the eye cream will help, but to reduce puffiness unfortunately we need to do some dirty manual labor and clean that tank out. ‘’ pun intended’’
What causes puffy eyes in the first place and why are we so lucky to have them? There are many causes of puffy eyes and sometimes we don’t even realize that we are the problem! One of the biggest causes of puffy eyes is:
Stress & Bad sleep.
The reason for this is, that when we are stressed, we cause a little substance in our body known as Cortisol to spike and have a bit of a party in the tank. When this happens it puts toxicity in the water making us on the spicy side. This then spices up the Lymphatic system which is responsible for fluid in our body and getting rid of excess fluid and toxins. When we add a bit of too much spice to the mix the Lymphatic system freaks out and starts to slow down because it can’t handle it. Just like when you eat chili and then grab that glass of milk to cool your mouth down, you’re not going to take another bite for a while until you have calmed yourself down. That’s exactly how our lymph system works. In saying this, we have two lymph nodes near the eyes, so when there is too much spice, unfortunately, we are going to start to retain too much water in that area with nowhere for it to go. Then BOOM! We start looking like the Bubble-Eyed Goldfish.
Are puffy eyes genetic?
Good old genetics, are puffy eyes genetic? The answer is YES. There are a few reasons why puffy eyes are genetic; the most common two are either a history of thyroid problems or simply genetics?. If you suffer from a certain thyroid condition known as Hyperthyroidism this causes a nice thick, fatty tissue under the eye area. Maybe you don’t have a thyroid issue, Yet you still have puffy eyes?. Well, unfortunately, you can thank your ancestors for passing down that gift as some genetics from certain cultures have an extra thick fatty tissue pad underneath the eyes this is mainly commonly found in Middle Eastern, African American, Indian, and some European and Polynesian races.
PMS AKA that time of the month
To add to the mix of cravings, mood swings, emotional outbursts at the random dude at the checkout, or the many cramps and pains we experience around this time of the month, along comes the Bubble Eyed Puffy Fish again to add to the list. The most common cause of this is our hormones. Our hormones are all over the place and a lot of women have PMS 7-10 days before their actual period appears. When this happens, we get a lot of bloating and fluid retention build-up in our amazing female bodies, which can also cause puffy and swollen eyes.
Crying because Rose couldn’t move her ass over and give Jack some room so he wouldn’t freeze to death!
Yep crying, as every human male and female has experienced crying, of course, causes those pretty eyes to puff up. This is so bizarre considering we’re releasing and crying out all that water anyway?? Well, our Lacrimal glands are working overtime to produce tears. “When this gland is churning out tears, the [tear] fluid is less salty and more watery,” causing the surrounding tissue to soak up those tears and reabsorb.
Dehydration
Have a few many spicy margaritas and some good old hot chippies on your night out?. When we drink alcohol it dehydrates our skin as does when we eat too many salty foods. We then retain too much water in our body as salt needs water to help break it down. We combine these two and we are getting a salty margarita with some soggy chips.
So what are some remedies to help with puffy eyes??
- Two cold teaspoons. This is one of my go-to remedies that cost $0 and works a treat every time, place two teaspoons in the fridge or freezer overnight. The morning before you hop into the shower, or before you apply your skincare routine, gently place light pressure underneath the eyes with the teaspoons. 3x after that with firm pressure first; then to medium pressure; and finally lightly in a circulating motion, massage the spoons under the eyes draining out to the temples. Hot tip ‘’ pop a thin layer of eye cream or moisturizer on the area first and then massage it in with the teaspoon.
- Cooling gel pads. Applying cold water or ice on a compress to your eyes helps deflate some of the puffiness. You could use a regular cold cloth or experiment with cooling gel pads. You can even add some aloe vera to the pad to give it that extra coolness.
- Caffeine eye creams. There’s no miracle beauty solution to stop puffiness in its tracks, but you can apply a couple of products to help minimize wrinkling and hollowing of the undereye area. Eye creams that contain caffeine can help with stimulating the lymph system as well as green and black teas. These are also great for combatting dark circles.
- Beauty Rollers or Gu sha. Rollers are great for collagen stimulation, and reducing wrinkles and creepiness as they stimulate blood flow in a specific area and help pinpoint and drain built-up fluid. It’s like giving your skin a really good facial massage. I always recommend starting around the eye area but it is a good idea to then finish off with using your beauty tools on the rest of the face to help stimulate the whole lymph system and blood flow on the face. I always apply oil or my moisturizer and sometimes when I’m super lazy and pumped for the time I do this in the shower when washing my face.
- Cucumbers. Don’t knock the classic spa staple. It’s a great option if you don’t want to splurge on cooling under eye gel pads but want a similar remedy. “Cucumbers have a high water content and stay cold—there’s nothing in the molecule that decreases puffiness, but they act like a natural ice pack,”. They’re a perfect DIY eye mask that you’ll probably have in your fridge already and shouldn’t be too cold for your eyes.
- Minimizing sodium. If you’re feeling especially puffy due to something like allergies, or hormonal water retention, I advise sticking with a low salt diet for about a week to help you feel less swollen.
- Drinking less. The same goes for alcohol. Sipping on fewer cocktails will reduce dehydration and fluid retention.
- Taking antihistamines. A daily antihistamine should do the trick when it comes to helping with allergy-related puffiness; if allergy season is particularly brutal for you, it’s best to take allergy meds as a preventative measure.
