These Bags Ain't Prada

Under eye bags are the worst! Whether it’s bags, dark circles or crepey skin, they just make us look tired and old. There are several causes of eye bags. Lucky me, mine are inherited! Sure, it couldn’t have been a mansion or a yacht. Swelling and fat pads under the skin are caused by weakening of the muscles which cause everything to droop. Generally the only fix is surgery called blepharoplasty. Other causes of dark circles and puffiness are allergies, chronic sinusitis, poor sleep, dehydration and alcohol use. If these are corrected and you still have bags, here are some tricks to try.

Natural remedies:

-Green tea bags are caffeinated and anti inflammatory. Steep 2 bags for 30 and let them cool. Place them over your eyes for 10 min

-Ice baths and compresses in the morning are a good wake up. The ice restricts the blood vessels and decreases the dark circles and swelling.

-If you have allergies and get “allergic shiners” antihistamines are helpful. Rubbing your eyes is a no no. https://amzn.to/466VLLZ

-Homeopathic remedies include Boiron Histaminicum Hydrocloricum https://amzn.to/4lwRhm6

-Vitamins and supplements shown to be helpful are quercetin and vitamin C https://amzn.to/3I9Y3Qh

-Collagen rich foods such as oranges, peppers, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli and strawberries

Treatments such as microneedling stimulate collagen production and firm up the area

BUT for a quick fix for the night out or all day here are my trials and pick for eye creams:

-In 4th place was LPH labs temporary eye tightener - Not bad for the price of 17.99. You have to be careful with application . Too much and you look like you work in a bakery. The white flaky cast is unsettling. I would recommend this one more for dark circles as the coverage was good but the puff remained. https://amzn.to/46lwOMF

-In 3rd place was Plexaderm. I made the mistake of buying from the website and getting the 3 for $99. By the time I got to the second tube it was dried up as was the 3rd. The cream had a nice tint to it and had pretty good coverage. I recommend 1 tube at a time. https://amzn.to/3Im1vqZ

-In 2nd place was Truffoire black truffle eye cream. This was a cream introduced to me at a Derm conference in Las Vegas. They should have been in the high roller room at an eye popping $1250.00 a tube. Upside? It works great, even over makeup. Again you have to be careful with over applying. The white cast is pretty scary.

-In 1st place is Dr. Melaxin Eyephalt cream. At $32 its affordable and easy to use. It works well for both bags and darkness and has less of the white residue. It wears pretty well throughout the day. https://amzn.to/46njCXz

-Honorable mention is Peter Thomas Roth. The tightener works well but its so hard not to get the white chalky look. There are directions to apply as a mask and wash off .

-With all of these they tend to wear off during the day and may require reapplication.

There are quite a few others out there. I find that middle of the road is best. It hurts my soul to pay a lot for a product to have it do nothing. Look for money back guarantees because everyone’s skin is different!

Have a great day!