Here's What Causes Puffy Eyes, Plus The Creams That Will Work Wonders
Dab and pinch your way to brighter eyes.
By Joyce Cheo,
They say our eyes are the windows to our souls. But we say our eyes give away our deepest, darkest secrets, like late nights out or inadequate eye care. Whether you’ve been neglecting proper skincare for the delicate skin around your eyes or simply staying up too often to binge-watch Netflix and scroll through your Instagram feed, the signs of ageing show up first around the eyes. This is because the skin around our eyes are up to six times thinner than the skin on our face. Plus, there are a lot less sebum glands in this area so it is unable to moisturise itself as well as the rest of our face. As a result, any visible signs like wrinkles, poor circulation and puffiness become most obvious around the eyes.
While we know that dehydration and repeated expressions can cause wrinkles to appear and deepen, what exactly causes puffiness? Allergies aside, there are several other lifestyle factors that can lead to puffy eyes. For example, you might notice puffiness the morning after you’ve had a salt-laden meal. This is because when your body’s salt level rises, it reacts by retaining more water, which can be seen as puffiness. Similarly, if you’ve had a bad night’s rest, your body essentially goes through the thing as if it were under stress. This means that a hormone called cortisol is elevated in your body, which disrupts the way your body balances salt levels, and in turn, affects the way your body retains water.
In addition, if you’ve had one too many cocktails during happy hour, chances are, your body’s water level is thrown out of balance, which leads it to hold on to as much moisture as it can, and eventually results in puffiness. And since the skin around our eyes are thinner as mentioned, puffiness is most visible around this area.
To alleviate this problem, you should increase your intake of water immediately. When you introduce more water to your body, it restores your body’s original salt-water ratio so it doesn’t hold on to water at all the wrong places like your face and especially around your eyes. Of course, you can also improve signs of puffiness from topical products like some eye creams which have been specifically formulated to combat puffy eyes.
Most importantly, look out for eye creams that help with reducing any congestion around the eyes. Some of the most common ingredients that do so include caffeine, aloe and green tea. You should also try gel-textured eye products as they provide skin with a cooling sensation and that usually helps to de-puff the area. Many eye creams also come with a metal applicator or roller ball so you can easily perform a DIY eye massage to reduce puffiness. You should also look out for eye creams that contain skin-strengthening ingredients like peptides and hyaluronic acid as they help improve skin density and resilience for firmer eye contours to help diminish the appearance of puffiness. Here, 6 of the best eye creams to help you get rid of puffy eyes.
What could be better than a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to dark eye circles, puffiness and fine lines? This hyaluronic acid-rich eye gel drenches skin with moisture-boosting ingredients, instantly plumping parched skin and filling in fine lines. It also contains a powerful blend of algae extract, caffeine and optical diffusers to boost micro-circulation and reduce puffiness instantly and over time.
With hyaluronic acid at the heart of its formula, this plumping eye treatment strengthens the fragile eye area for firmer skin to minimise the appearance of puffiness. Thanks to a mix of short and long chain hyaluronic acid, it penetrates deeply into the dermal layers of the skin to replenish moisture level and reinforce skin structure for more resilient skin. It also has SPF protection to shield skin against harmful UV rays for a comprehensive anti-ageing defence.
Beyond the brand’s signature Miracle Broth, which accelerates skin’s innate healing processes, this luxe eye balm also contains Marine De-Puff Ferment and Lifting Ferment. When combined, all three work in synergy to brighten, de-puff and firm the eye contours, revealing clearer, brighter and more refreshed eyes. It also comes with a cooling silver-tipped applicator which enables you to perform simple massage techniques to further reduce water retention and puffiness.
This eye serum features three formulas that include crease busting, skin hydrating and eye contouring power ingredients including hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, niacinamide and vitamin F. The results: visibly taut and smoother eye area that’s ready for camera closeups.
Waking up to puffy eyes is the last thing we want, especially on a special day such as your wedding. For a quick fix, reach for this essence sheet which contains Arnica flower extract and fermented Bacillus to firm and tighten the skin around the eyes.
Getting a full eight-hour rest every night may be a challenge especially when you have a hectic schedule. Enter this new sleeping mask that’s specially designed for the eyes. Its Peony and Collagen Complex, peptides and caffeine work to firm and brighten the skin around the eyes. Bonus: The instant cooling effect is a treat for our sauna-like weather.
Our skin enters its regenerative mode when we’re sleeping and this eye cream is formulated with Yellow Gentian, oat seed and soya fibre extracts to reduce puffiness, correct dark eye circles and minimise droopy eyelids and wrinkles. For best results, apply the cream using the Supremÿa Eye Massager Tool.
It is said that our eyes blink more than 10,000 times daily so it’s no wonder the skin around them will need extra TLC. The Organic Super Molecular Vessel Technology in this eye concentrate ensures controlled release of its active ingredients to minimise skin irritation and boosts the formula’s efficacy by over 10 times.
A version of this article is adapted from Her World