“What?!! These eye bags are so big, the airline is going to charge me extra!” But no one wants the appearance and company of puffy, baggy eyes. Here’s the lowdown on under eye bag causes and treatment options to lighten your eye baggage.
Under Eye Bag Symptoms
Most common under eye bag symptoms include the appearance of mild swelling, saggy or loose skin, puffiness, and dark circles. Under eye bags are mostly a cosmetic concern. They can be bothersome, but usually there’s no underlying damage or stress on vision and health.
Common Under Eye Bag Causes
As we age, the tissues around the eyes and eyelids weaken. They lose the ability to hold a firm shape, making them sag and droop. On top of that, these loose areas of skin can hold fluids, making them even puffier. Under eye bags causes fall into a few categories: health, habits, and heredity.
Health
Many health habits are in your own hands, including what you choose to eat, drink and even how you sleep. All of these can impact the formation of under eye bags. For instance, eating a diet high in salt increases our body’s water retention, leading to more water accumulating in the skin around the eyes. This looks like swelling and big bags under our eyes.
Lack of sleep is another cause for unsightly bags around our eyes. During sleep your body undergoes many reparative and regenerative processes. After a night of poor sleep you wake up with bags and dark circles under your eyes. These form because when there’s a lack of deep restorative sleep, the blood vessels dilate increasing blood flow. Tissues under the eye are thin. With an increase of blood to that area, the shade of the blood beneath the skin shows through, making dark circles.
Habits
There are also habits that can negatively impact under eye bags and under eye bag causes. The number one bad habit linked to under eye bags is smoking.
Tobacco is full of nicotine. Nicotine disrupts sleep patterns, leading to a bad night of sleep. Plus, the toxic substances in smoke breakdown collagen in the skin on your face and around the eyes that keep it firm.
Heredity
Genes! Sometimes you can blame it all on our family. Under eye bags do get passed along through family genes. Next time you go through the family photo album, check and see if under eye bags are a characteristic trait that has been handed down.
Allergies cause eye bags too. And allergies often pass down through parents to children. If you have allergies there’s about a 50 - 50 chance that your kids will have allergies too. If you and your spouse both have allergies the chance for passing on allergies increases.
Understanding Under Eye Bag Causes and How to Reduce Eye Bags
Just because you have under eye bags doesn’t mean you have to settle and just live with them. Here are a few tips on how to reduce under eye bags.
Your Eye Cream Should Have The Right Peptides
One of the best daily treatments for under eye bags is to use peptides. But what exactly are peptides? All peptides are short strings of amino acids specifically designed to send or block signals to the skin cells in order to alleviate certain skin concerns. The peptides listed below are designed specifically for use in the eye area.
Eyeliss
Eyeliss is known to prevent puffiness and reduce bags under the eyes. Amazingly, in one study performed by the manufacturer, Eyeliss showed a 70% reduction in the bags and puffiness under the eye. It’s also combined with two other natural peptides that combat dark circles and increase the skin’s elasticity, which helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Eyeliss is a promising product for treating under eye bags.
Haloxyl
Haloxyl is known as a signal peptide. Signal peptides work in the support structure of your skin with the collagen. Haloxyl works directly on the skin’s structure signaling the specific process of collagen renewal. It can also reduce the appearance of dark circles under the eyes, and more importantly for under eye bags, it reinforces the firmness and tone of the eye area.
Beautifeye
Beautifeye is a peptide that has shown a lifting effect on the sagging, drooping upper eyelid. Plus, it can assist in reducing wrinkles and swelling around the eyes and make the dark circles appear paler. Overall, Beautifeye strengthens and improves the skin structure and contour around the eye.
Regu-age
Regu-age is an enzyme blocking peptide. These types of peptides are relatively new. The enzymes behave like a catalyst, meaning they start chemical reactions within the body. Regu-age helps to stop chemical reactions that lead to early signs of aging, specifically the breakdown of collagen. Firmer collagen means less sagging skin under the eye. Regu-age strengthens and protects the collagen and elastin skin structure, leading to a visible reduction in eye puffiness and dark circles.
Lower The Salt Intake
Every time your body encounters a salty meal, it retains more water. This is exactly what you want to avoid when treating under eye bags. Some of the saltiest foods are the most highly processed, such as potato chips, french fries, and canned foods. If you’re unsure of the salt content in what you're purchasing at the grocery store, take a moment and look at the label.
According to the FDA, on average, we eat about 3,400 mg of sodium per day. But, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends a sodium intake of less than 2,300 mg per day. That’s only about 1 teaspoon of salt a day!
Drink Alcohol In Moderation
Another helpful diet shift is reducing alcohol consumption. Excessive alcohol intake increases bloating all over our body, including the area around the eyes. Since, alcohol is diuretic, it increases water loss. Our body responds to this dehydration by holding on to more water weight, leading to bloating and puffiness the next day. Plus, long term chronic drinking has been linked to inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea and psoriasis.
Medical Treatments to Reduce Eye Bags
If simple treatments like skincare and diet changes don’t reduce your under eye bags, there are more options through medical treatments.
Allergy Medication
One of the often overlooked under eye bag causes is allergies. If you have allergies try allergy medication. The medication may do enough to slow down the body’s inflammation response to the allergen, reducing puffy skin around the eyes.
Non-surgical Treatments
Filler. A filler, such as hyaluronic acid, is injected into the area where the cheekbone and under-eye area meet, creating a smoother transition. This has to be performed in a doctors office under local anesthesia. A filler treatment lasts anywhere from six to twelve months.
Laser Resurfacing. This treatment uses a laser to remove the surface layers of wrinkled, lined skin in the under eye area. This causes an increase in collagen production, which results in firmer, fuller skin. Depending on your skin type, sun exposure, and how you care for your skin, this treatment can last years.
Surgical Treatments
Blepharoplasty (lower eyelid lift). A lower eyelid lift is a surgical procedure. The procedure adjusts the fat available in the lower eye area, along with shortening and tightening the muscles and skin. The combination of repositioning fat and tightening surrounding tissues results in a smooth under eye appearance. The results are often life long.
Combine to Combat
No matter what route you choose to treat your under eye bags and under eye bag causes, oftentimes success requires a combination of treatments. Combining diet changes with an under eye cream containing peptides are all accessible options to try, and to add to your arsenal for combating the causes of under eye bags.
