Bags under the eyes; what to do?

What to do against bags under the eyes? Red tapestries: not only are they annoying, they just don’t look good! Many people have bags under their eyes and don’t really know where they come from. There is also a lot of uncertainty about what one can do about it. The same goes for dark circles under eyes or swollen eyes.

However, before more can be told about this, it is important to know exactly what those eye bags, dark circles and water bags are. The following overview gives you clarity about reducing puffiness!

Why face puffiness?

We all know bags under the eyes, but there are in fact two possible physiological causes:

• The puffiness is caused by an accumulation of fat under the eyes. This is often hereditary, causing the skin under the eyes to sag. In itself there is little to do about this
• The most common causes of puffiness are external factors such as smoking, stress or poorly functioning kidneys. The kidneys process toxic substances and waste products in the body. If they no longer work properly, these substances accumulate, for example in the skin under the eyes.

Facing external causes of puffiness

The above overview clearly refers to the physical causes of bags under the eyes. However, the problem is often related to other lifestyle related issues. The following overview gives more clarity about this:

Puffiness due to stress

Stress is one of the biggest and most common causes of bags under the eyes. In itself it does not cause bags directly, but it does because people who are stressed generally sleep less. This reduces the blood flow to the eyes (and actually the whole body), making the skin underneath it weaker and darker in appearance.

Puffiness due to lack of sleep

As already mentioned, a lack of sleep has an enormous effect on the health of the skin, including that under the eyes. In fact, you can immediately tell if someone hasn’t slept enough. Symptoms are dry skin, watery, tired eyes and of course – puffiness. Fatigue is a real plague nowadays and is in many cases the cause of bags under the eyes!

Puffiness due to burnout

A chronic consequence of overtiredness, and also of working too much, is that one suffers from a burnout. A burnout actually includes numerous symptoms, which indicate that both body and mind have run out of energy and reserves. In addition to weight loss (or, on the contrary, recuperation), low energy, poor concentration and dry skin, bags under the eyes are also a common phenomenon.

Pounds by smoking

Finally, smoking is also one of the most common causes of bags under the eyes. If you smoke a lot, the blood supply to all tissues is drastically reduced and dries out more quickly. As a result, the skin is generally less nourished. This is particularly noticeable where the skin is thinner – such as under the eyes.

The consequences of bags under the eyes

Bags, however, do not only have a cause: they also have consequences! Although they are of course only a sign of overtiredness or a burnout, the following overview shows the possible consequences:

• Dehydrated skin. If you have bags under your eyes, this causes even more skin problems. For example, the bags cause an even poorer blood circulation in the skin, which will cause it to dry out more quickly.
• You look older. The eyes have a huge impact on how you look. If you suffer a lot from puffiness, you just look a lot older. And of course that’s not the intention!
• You get black circles under your eyes. Puffiness is one thing, but if those tiredness or bad habits persist, the problem can quickly worsen. Often you will get black circles, which are not so easy to get rid of at all.

What causes the dark circles under the eyes

Dark circles under your eyes give you a tired look. For the gentlemen among us this is extra annoying; you can only ‘hide’ them under a layer of make-up or camouflage cream. People who regularly suffer from these dark circles, also called black circles, have a very fine, thin skin under their eyes. When there is too little moisture or oxygen in the body, the blood flow slows down and it is also darker. Because the thin skin is almost transparent, you can see the blood vessels better in this case. You then get that bluish color shade under your eyes that we call dark circles.

Dark circles have various causes, some of which correspond to bags under the eyes:

• Too little oxygen in your blood is caused by fatigue or too much alcohol or cigarettes.
• Stress and anxiety are on the rise
• A deficiency of vitamins and minerals (vitamin C, iron or zinc)
• Are you suffering from hay fever? Rubbing your eyes causes irritation and dark circles.
• Looking too long, for example behind the PC, causes tired eyes and dark shadows under your eyes.

Help, I’ve got swollen eyes!

Nothing stands out like swollen eyes. You know them: inflamed eyelids after a tear-jerking film or swollen eyes after A lovely, long night’s sleep. But even after a lovely, long night’s sleep you can wake up with thick eyes. How about that exactly?

Our eyes become swollen due to an accumulation of tissue fluid. This accumulates in the eyelids, causing them to expand. This mainly happens in our tear bags.  Sufficient fluid, a good night’s sleep and regular breaks if you work a lot and for a long time at the computer prevent swollen eyes.
By the way, your eyes can also become irritated by air conditioning. This can result in ‘dry eyes’, causing you to rub your eyes and only irritate the tissue more.  And then what? Swollen eyes!

Tips to reduce puffiness and dark circles under the eyes and swollen eyes

Now that it is clear what bags are and where they come from, it is also important to know what you can do about them. The following tips can help you get rid of these bags or even prevent them!

1: Take care of your skin

First and foremost, it is important that you maintain your skin regularly. Especially in those places where it is very thin, such as under the eyes or on the hands. For this you can use a cleansing milk, but also natural products such as an exfoliator or even natural oils.

2: Healthy eating

The role of nutrition in the prevention and healing of puffiness is often underestimated. Water is especially important to prevent this, as it keeps your skin hydrated. You also need to eat foods high in potassium to prevent moisture from accumulating under the eyes. Foods such as potatoes, fruit, nuts and dried fruit contain a lot of potassium.

3: Care with camomile tea

A very old way to take care of bags under the eyes is to take two bags of lukewarm camomile tea bags rest on the eyes and let it soak in.

4: Massages against dark bags

Another good way to get rid of bags under your eyes is by massaging the skin underneath. You can easily do this yourself! Start in the corner of your eyes and apply light pressure with your fingers. Gently rub the skin around your eyes, and in the long run you will suffer much less from puffiness.

5: Concealer use

There are a lot of artificial means to care for puffiness, including concealer. This may not address the cause of the problem, it only makes the bags less noticeable.

6: Get enough sleep and avoid stress

Probably the best way to avoid bags under the eyes is to change your lifestyle. Stress has become a normal thing for many people, but its effects on your body and mind are enormous. Sleep at least 7 hours a night, exercise and try to keep stress to a minimum. That way you will not only feel much better and equipped, you will also look this way too. And your eyes will be the proof of it!

Away with the puffiness!

Except for the aesthetic, puffiness in its direct form is not a danger to your health. On the other hand, it is a signal from your body that you are going too far. It indicates that you are tired, overtired or chronically stressed. When you start working with this, you will probably come across causes you want to work with.

Maybe you’ll think of the help of a psychologist in the first place. Having conversations with a psychologist in a room has less effect on your recovery than coaching in nature. However, the combination of exercise, outdoors and coaching is a tried and tested approach with excellent results. That is why we like to work on your recovery in this way. Moreover, your coach has a lot of experience with people who are struggling with the same problems as you.

Training and coaching

Milltain provides training and coaching for private individuals and organisations. Our team consists of 35 coaches and trainers who have now helped thousands of people struggling with stress and burnouts.

Milltain for private individuals:

Are you stuck in life because of stress or a burnout? We developed an effective online program that is fully focused on the complete recovery from a burnout. More than 2000 people have successfully completed this training!

Movement and nature play prominent roles in this training. Recovery is a process that contains peaks and troughs, and that’s something we know all about. Our highly experienced coaches provide you with active support.

Learn more: Stress and burnout coaching