How to get rid of under-eye bags and circles in 6 steps
Photos Reserved rights
Words Matthieu Morge-Zucconi
Share the article on
It’s time to empty your bags.
Under-eye bags and dark circles are annoying. They are a reflection of your lifestyle: as soon as you’re in need of sleep, the toll of your short nights begins to show under your eyes.
What causes under-eye bags?
Under-eye circles and bags can be due to poor sleeping habits or be an unwelcome genetic gift from your parents. Environmental factors also play a part, so there’s plenty of action you can take (both before and after sleeping) to get rid of bags under your eyes.
Will eye bags go away on their own?
In short, no. These puffy eyes on your face in the morning make you look unwell and you do your best to hide them with foundation. There’s no need to sit around feeling sorry for yourself though, there are easy solutions to get rid of these bags and circles, and to wake up your eyes. Simply follow the six steps we’ve detailed below.
Step one: go to bed earlier
This might seem obvious, as puffiness around the eyes in the morning is often due to a lack of sleep, but it really makes sense for this to be the first step. You need 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, and if you sleep less, you’ll end up being tired and having the signs written all over your face.
By sleeping more, and switching to a more natural sleeping cycle, you’ll reduce the risk of having puffy eyes in the morning. How exactly can you achieve this? Here are 2 ways.
The first and easiest method consists in going to bed 30 minutes earlier every day until you reach your targeted bedtime hour. It doesn’t get any easier.
The second method is a tad more extreme: force yourself to go to bed at 9:30pm. After a few nights struggling to fall asleep, your body will adjust to a more natural sleep pattern. You’ll soon start yawning shortly after the sun goes down, and you’ll be up by the crack of dawn. You might not even need to rely on your alarm clock anymore.
By settling into a healthy sleep rhythm, you’ll reduce under-eye puffiness, and improve your lifestyle. You’ll also be able to stop relying on coffee to stay awake. Speaking of which...
Step two: replace coffee with green tea
Who hasn’t already tried to compensate for sleeplessness by chain-drinking coffee all day? While we can’t deny that coffee helps keep you awake, this comes at a cost, namely disrupting your sleep with its high caffeine concentration.
Drinking green tea is a far healthier option. Although it also contains caffeine, its dosage is far lower, and it isn’t released as suddenly. By switching to green tea, you’ll be able to say goodbye to jitters, palpitations, and sleeplessness. In other words, essential stuff when you’re trying to get used to a new sleeping rhythm.
Green tea also has hydrating properties that are crucial in getting rid of bags. As a bonus tea-related benefit, you can use tea bags for your eye bags — they’re chock-full with tannin, and can reduce bags and circles. Please make sure to let them cool down before putting them on your eyes, lest you want to look like Vin Diesel’s character in Pitch Black.
Step three: drink more water
Under-eye circles and bags are often due to water retention. In other words, excess water accumulates in the skin tissues and creates under-eye swelling. Proper hydration is essential to reduce puffiness, it will foster water circulation throughout the body and prevent water build-ups. Green tea will obviously help (coffee, on the other hand, tends to have the opposite effect), but it won’t be enough, you’ll also have to drink more water. Drinking two liters every day should be enough to adequately hydrate your skin. Remember, hydrated skin = bag-free eyes, as well as an improved complexion.
Step four: put cucumber slices on your eyes
Yes, we know, how very cliché as a remedy for puffy eyes. Believe it or not, the benefits of using a cucumber this way are proven. Freshly cut slices from a cucumber you’ve kept in the fridge will ensure maximum effectiveness when left on your eyes for 15 to 30 minutes. Not only will the cucumber’s antioxidants reduce the puffiness under your eyes, but the cold will leave your eyes feeling refreshed. You can also use this technique with two small spoons left in the freezer. For the best possible effect, gently massage your dark circles with the spoons to activate blood flow, after removing the cucumbers.
Getting in the habit of covering your eyes with cucumber just before you go to bed will have the added benefit of creating a new step in your routine that will indicate to your body that bedtime is approaching. This will help your brain relax, putting you in the best possible conditions to fall asleep - and not wake up with puffy eyes.
Step five: avoid refined sugar
Avoiding refined sugar will have a positive effect on your skin in general, and consequently, on your under-eye bags, circles and swelling around the eyes in the morning. Leave sweets and sugary drinks to those who don’t know how bad it is for the skin. Sugar bonds with collagen, reducing the skin’s elasticity, and accelerating its aging. By removing refined sugar from your diet you’ll avoid these negative effects and help prevent circles and bags, while minimizing water retention.
Step six: start using eye cream
A good under-eye cream contains hyaluronic acid. This ingredient helps keep water in the skin’s deepest layers, for deeper moisturizing. Applying an under-eye cream is ideal to awaken your eyes and foster blood flow.
Bonus tip: use eye patches
They’re not just for pirates! Correctly applied and containing good ingredients, a pair of Eye Patches can do you the world of good. They will visibly remove signs of fatigue, dark circles and under eye-bags, and help you look and feel more awake, pretty much instantly. And guess what? We have some at Horace.
In any case, the steps above will help control these issues before completely getting rid of them. Puffy eyes no more!
