Reduce Puffy Eyes The Natural Way

Do Your Eyes Look Puffy?

Puffy eyes can occur to anyone at any stage of their life and there are many reasons for this common complaint.

Puffiness around the eyes is not to be confused with eye bags that are unfortunately permanent.

Puffy eyes are usually temporary and are mostly caused by some external factor so they can be prevented more easily than eye bags can.

The Causes Of Puffy Eyes Include:

Lack of sleep
Water retention
Too much salt in the diet
Lack of exercise
Alcohol consumption
Stuffy, unventilated bedrooms
Pregnancy
Allergies
Eye conditions (blepharitis, stye, conjunctivitis)
Sinus problems
Crying
Certain medications
Eye creams or eye make-up removers that are too rich or thick

Tips To Prevent Puffy Eyes

Cut back on alcohol
Eat as much natural food as possible especially fresh fruit and vegetables
Avoid junk food
Drink 6 – 8 glasses of water per day
Don’t consume too many foods that are high in salt
Get enough sleep
Sleep in a well-ventilated room
Use homemade beauty products that contain natural, unfussy ingredients

Sleep And Puffy Eyes

You may notice that when you wake up in the morning your eyes seem puffy at first but at some point later in the day the puffing subsides. This happens because of the fact that when we sleep we lie down in a horizontal position.

Basically, the flow of body fluids is interrupted when our bodies are not upright. Gravity usually works in helping the normal flow of fluid within the body.

When it cannot do this the result is fluid retention and this can lead to a puffy face and puffy eyes when we wake up.

Some people suggest using two pillows to avoid morning face and eye puffiness, as this props the head up and helps accumulated fluids in the head to flow in a downwards direction.

Home Remedies For Puffy Eyes

There are some simple ‘puffy eyes remedies’ that you can try out yourself at home.

1. Cold Water

On waking if you find that your eyes have become puffy over night simply splash them with cold water. This will have an instant tightening and firming effect on the eyes and will also help to wake you up!

2. Caffeinated Tea Bags

Freeze used caffeinated teabags and when ready lie down, place them over each eye and relax for 10 – 15 minutes to help reduce puffy eyes.

Caffeine is a natural diuretic and can help to extract fluid from your skin, the cold from the frozen teabags will help your blood vessels to constrict thus reducing any puffiness and swelling.

3. Eye Mask for Puffy Eyes

A simple and effective treatment for puffy eyes is a homemade eye mask.

Try grating a small potato and a chunk of apple together
Mash or ‘bruise’ the blended ingredients with the underside of a large spoon until it becomes softer and produces a small amount of the potato and apples’ natural juices
Lie down and apply to the eyes before relaxing for 10 – 15 minutes

The blend should have a soothing and firming effect and help to reduce under eye puffiness. You can store any left over pulp in the fridge for later.

4. Puffy Eyes Moisturizer

Mix together ¼ of a cucumber, a ¼ cup of plain, natural yoghurt and 1 egg white
Pulp or blend all the ingredients until smooth
Apply the mixture to the whole eye area and then cover the eyes with a warmed wash cloth
Relax for 10 – 20 minutes

Eye Massage

Gently massaging the eye area can help increase circulation and blood flow to this part of your face, thus reducing eye puffiness.

Use a very light cream, salve or oil to massage the delicate skin here and try this method for encouraging the drainage of fluid from around the eyes.

Here’s how:

1. Gently place the ring finger from each of your hands on to the inner corners of each eye

2. Press down with firm but gentle pressure for a count of 5

3. Release the pressure and glide the fingers gently underneath your eyes, along their sockets and out towards the temples

4. At your temples massage the skin gently in a circular motion for a count of 10

5. Gently glide your fingers back to the inner corners of the eyes

6. Repeat up to 10 times

7. Next place your fingertips of the middle fingers behind your ears and massage in circular movements for 1 or 2 minutes – massaging this area helps to drain lymph congestion that can cause under eye puffiness

Facial Exercises For Puffy Eyes

Although facial exercises are generally associated with preventing the signs of aging and maintaining a youthful look, there are exercises you can do if puffy eyes are a problem for you.

The main reason facial exercises can help to reduce under eye puffiness is because many exercises get your blood circulating and flowing and this helps to drain away the build up of fluids causing puffiness from the under eye area.

Perform facial exercises by sitting or standing comfortably with your neck and shoulders relaxed. Many people like to perform facial exercises in front of a mirror so they can see the muscles at work and make sure that they are performing the exercises correctly.

Exercise 1 – Under Eye Lifter

1. Place your middle fingers on the inner corners of each eye

2. Place your index fingers on the outer corners of each eye

3. Apply light but firm pressure with your fingers

4. Look upwards and at the same time use your lower eyelids to squint – if you are doing this right you will feel a fluttering sensation under your fingers

5. Hold for a count of 5

6. Release the squint, relax and repeat 5 – 10 times

Exercise 2 – Under Eye Strengthener

1. Lean forwards supporting yourself on something stable such as a sturdy table or dresser

2. Raise your eyebrows

3. Raise the lower lids slowly until they are half closed – as if you are trying to avoid getting smoke in your eyes

4. Close your eyes fully and squeeze the eyelids tightly shut whilst simultaneously relaxing your eyebrows

5. Hold for a count of 5

6. Release and relax you eyes for a few seconds

7. Repeat 5 times

Exercise 3 – Alternate Eye Stretch

1. Close your eyes