Do you wake up sometimes with swollen puffy eyes, feeling like you’ve just been KO'd by Mike Tyson? Yup, same here. To be honest it’s one of the worst things ever as it makes me look tired, drained and quite un-lively. Sometimes I even get dark circles under my eyes and start looking like a Panda. This sometimes lowers my self-confidence as I like to portray myself as that bright happy guy that makes cool YouTube videos. So what exactly is it that causes puffy eyes and dark circles and how the hell can you get rid of them?
Keep reading, because in this post I’m going to cover 3 reasons you may be getting puffy eyes and how you can do your best to keep them at bay.
For anyone new here, my name is Thomas and I make hair and style related videos every week over on YouTube. I delve a lot into a lot of men’s beauty and have managed to create and awesome community of over 73,000 people (and counting). If you like what you read here today make sure you head on over to my channel and say hello!
Right, Moving forward! Where were we? Ahh yes, what causes puffy eyes and dark circles. Well firstly, I need to tell you I’m no doctor but I’ve done a bit of research on this topic and would like to share my findings and personal experience with you.
It’s said that the underlying cause of puffy eyes is fluid accumulation in the area and it could be due to multiple reasons (we’ll get to a few of them in just a moment). The tissue beneath your eyes is among the thinnest in your whole body, making swelling in the area very easy for others to see and very hard for you to hide. Sometimes even makeup doesn’t help (source: my sister).
Some reasons for fluid retention under the eyes are not serious and could simply be from a lack of sleep whilst others can be a sign of infection and various other issues. Just below I’ve included a few reasons as to why I personally get puffy eyes and how I go about fixing them. If you relate I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Let’s begin!
Reason #1 I Get Puffy Eyes When I Stare At a Screen Too Much
Ok, I’m guilty of this, but who isn’t? There is absolutely no denying that we now live in a heavily screen dominated world. You’ve got Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest and the list goes on. We are freaking addicted to screens. I mean, for crying out loud you are even staring at a screen to read this post. Screens are everywhere, period.
For me, I’m not only addicted to social media like the rest of the world, but I’m also an influencer, constantly working with digital video content and I’m also a digital marketer for my day job. Literally everything I do involves screens and I love it. However, it’s the number one thing that seems to give me sunken puffy eyes with a hint of restlessness from sitting still for too long.
How I deal with Puffy Eyes on After work:
My favourite thing to do to get me back to normal at the end of a work day is to head to my little outdoor gym setup at home, bust out a workout whilst listening to Madonna, have a nice cold shower and then chuck some eye masks on under my eyes.
I’ve recently been using these awesome eye masks from a brand called Zeatar,
Their eye masks are:
- medical grade
- cruelty free
- vegan friendly
- Eco friendly
These guys take eyes masks to the next level and their number goal is to make the best solutions for screen addicts like me, which is good and much needed I think.
You can get Zeatar eye masks in packs of 5 and they are packed with a ton of awesome ingredients such as:
- Aloe vera - for hydrating
- Green tea- for firming
- Bitter ginger - for moisturizing and brightening
- Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate - for lightening
To apply the masks you just tear open the sachet, peel the 2 external layers off the mask and gently apply them underneath your eye. There’s a really thorough guide with tips for best use inside so it’s kind of hard to screw up.
And just FYI these things are made of the same stuff they use to make artificial arteries and man-made skin, how crazy is that?
Step 1 - Open
Step 2 - Peel
Step 3 - Apply
In terms of usage time with these eye masks, you can either pop them on for 10 - 15 minutes and do your hair routine or brush your teeth like I do or you can leave them on for extended period and even sleep with them on.
The work out I do before using my eye patches just consists of 100 push-ups with a 5 minute plank and a couple of leg raises. I find when I’m feeling restless, a little bit of exercise always makes me feel better :). I also have a whole routine I do after my workout which you can see just below. (I made a video on my channel about it)
Reason #2 I Get Puffy Eyes When I’m Incredibly Hungover
Another reason I get puffy eyes is when I’ve had a big night out drinking. I don’t know if anyone else gets the same thing but holy hell a hangover really gives me the puffs. I’ve done a little research on why this makes me so puffy and from what I’ve gathered:
- Alcohol is notorious for making people bloat which obviously contributes to eye puff.
- Alcohol can lower the secretion of an anti-diuretic hormone in your body which is also linked to puffiness. (I read about it here )
How I deal with Puffy Eyes on A Hangover:
I usually find the road back to happiness is usually a big long sleep with stacks of water. I’ve also heard that dehydration is responsible for dark circles under your eyes, so I guess that sheds more light on my Panda moments...
Reason #3 I Get Puffy Eyes When I Don’t Get Enough Sleep
You’d never know it, but when I don’t get enough sleep I can turn into a fire breathing dragon…with puffy eyes. Not having enough sleep is another thing that seems to give me really bad eye puff as well as puts me in a bad mood.
This type of eye puff is probably one of the worst. Because I’m tired, it kind of feels like my eyes weigh 100kgs each and I just wanna fall over and die.
How I deal with Puffy Eyes After Little Sleep:
Well this one is a no brainer, MORE SLEEP! As I’ve gotten older I’ve become a little more responsible and ensure I get 7 hours of sleep most nights. It’s a bit hard to do sometimes with a busy schedule but in the long run it works out for the better and my eyes certainly feel the benefits and don’t go as puffy.
And that is my 3 reasons for Puffy Eyes and How to Get Rid them. I’m no doctor, but I’ve definitely had my fair share of puffy eyes and I know exactly what causes them for me and over time I’ve just tested what works to reduce them. Let me know in the comments below what gives you puffy eyes and how you get rid of them. I’d be very interested to know!
Until my next blog post,
I’ll see you then.
Thomas