Q. "Find me a product for these damn bags under my eyes! Sleep doesn't work! lol"- Jenny in Florida.
A. Ah, in a perfect world...we'd all get enough sleep and always look fresh and rested. Of course that almost never happens, so I did some research for you:
First, the basics- make sure you stay well hydrated, get as much rest as you can (but not TOO much!), and reduce salt intake... after all, bags are really just fluid retention around the eye area that causes swelling.
Next, it's important to identify what kind of bags you're dealing with. All eye creams are not created equal, and if you choose one loaded with tons of ingredients that your skin doesn't need, they can even have adverse effects. Are you swollen and puffy from allergies? Are they due to loss in skin elasticity from aging? Or do you mean dark circles, and don't actually have "bags" underneath the eye?
(Knowing Jenny personally as I do, I can pretty much count out aging-related concerns...or maybe I'm in denial. I grew up with Jen and we're only on the tail end of our 20's, lol. Regardless, that leaves us with two other causes.)
If you mean those stubborn dark circles, concealer is your friend. In most cases the dark circles are blood vessels that can be seen through the skin, and nothing short of laser procedures to break up the pigmentation are going to get rid of them.
You can MASK them with the aforementioned concealer, and also with products made to reduce puffiness caused by lack of sleep, illness, or allergies-- all of which cause the eye area to swell which in turn draw attention to the dark areas. For these, you don't need anti-aging eye creams loaded with wrinkle reducers... a simple, lightweight cream or gel with caffeine (caffeine constricts blood vessels, making them appear less prominent) should do the trick. I really like the new rollerballs, like the Garnier one.
The bonus is the roller ball, which is supposed to gently massage the area, breaking up the pocket of collected fluid that we call a "bag".
For concealer, I swear by Lancomes Effacernes.
Highly pigmented, thin and buildable so it never cakes, and best of all- WATERPROOF. A bit pricey for some at almost $30 a tube, but you use so little to get great coverage that a tube seriously lasts a year or more.
(On a side note, anemia can also cause darkness under the eye, so if you're feeling tired all of the time-- it may not be lack of sleep. It might be worth it to have a check up and ask the doctor to check your iron levels.)
If you have dryness around the eye, minimal darkness, and feel that you just LOOK tired, then you may not have bags at all and just need to re-hydrate the area (this is my problem). I use and absolutely SWEAR BY Arbonne FC5 Hydrating eye cream.
I randomly stumbled upon this product at an Arbonne party I was coerced into attending as a favor for a friend who was hosting. I was NOT interested in Arbonne, but accepted a sample anyway...and the rest is history. Bonuses are that it smells great, and has a fresh, fluid feeling when applied. It's hard to describe, but the eye area just feels refreshed. I will never use another eye cream, at least until aging becomes an issue and I have no other choice.
When aging becomes an issue, I'm a fan of Freeze 24/7's EyeCicles Anti-Aging Serum.
I've used it on my barely aging skin with fabulous results... I can only imagine how well it may work for those who actually need it. Best of all, it feels fabulous when applied, which is important to me. I hate greasy, heavy serums and creams.If these solutions are currently out of your reach (or your pricepoint), you can alwaystry the good old home remedy to try and alleviate the problem: herbal teabags, cool compresses. Also notable, CVS and Walgreens sell store brand versions of a lot of their top selling creams, at a much lower price point.
One last tip: Store your eye cream in the fridge-- not only does it prolong the life of the cream, but feels amazing going on...and the cold reduces swelling.
Hope that helped!
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