What’s the best treatment for Eye Bags?

How do you get rid of eye bags and dark circles?  If I had one easy solution for this I’d be famous.  However I’m hoping this guide will give you a better understanding of what’s causing your problem and ways to improve it.

I feel I’m in a good place to advise you as I carry out most of these treatments on a daily basis. That said, I’ve also included home remedies and other solutions you may want to consider. Whether it’s eye bags or dark circles, the key is getting the right treatment for you. Often it can be a combination of little problems which are making your eyes look dark and tired.

EYE BAGS

Firstly let’s work out if your eye bags are there all the time or are they apparent more in the morning, and come and go? If it’s a matter of puffy eye bags, which can change on a daily basis, then it’s more likely to be fluid which needs draining under your eyes.

So what is the best solution?

• A simple facial massage to push lymphatic fluid to a drainage point can reduce puffiness.
• OR you can get very quick results with a non-surgical treatment, using a galvanic current, to flush the fluid away.

If your eye bags are there all the time, then it’s probably a sign of ageing.  The skin tissue becomes weaker, with less collagen to support it, plus the fat pads in the cheeks slowly move down, which can leave a hollow under the eyes / eye bags.

What treatments can improve this?

• Treatments to strengthen the tissue around the eyes, such as Microneedling and Radiofrequency can improve the skin’s collagen and tighten it. When the skin is thicker it will look more even and smooth.
• Use a good eye cream which contains retinol and Vitamin C.  This can certainly improve the texture of the skin.  Some creams have even been scientifically proven to work.
• Lifestyle and diet can also play a part. Try eating less salt, reduce your alcohol intake and apply cooling eyepads to reduce swelling.
• Or if you want dramatic results then you could explore surgery, and consider a lower eyelid lift.  You will need approximately 2 weeks off work for this.
• An alternative to surgery is a non-surgical blepheroplasty performed using a Plasma Pen.  This is referred to as Soft Surgery, as the results can be very good, and there is less downtime than surgery, although there is still a lot of swelling for a few days, and crusting for 1-2 weeks.

DARK CIRCLES

Dark circles and eye bags sometimes go hand in hand.  If you suffer from eye bags, and have a hollow immediately under your eye bag, then this can appear dark purely because of a shadow.  Other people just naturally have a facial structure with a deep hollow, called the tear trough.

However you may also have dark circles from pigmentation or hyperpigmentation.  This can be caused by sun exposure or even genetics.  Darker skin types tend to have more problems with dark circles under the eyes.  As the skin is very thin here, dilated veins can show through the tissue and make it look dark.

Other factors which cause dark circles include allergies, rubbing eyes a lot, dehydration, smoking.  Iron deficiency, means less oxygen is getting to the cells, and this can also make the skin look duller and darker.

So how can you reduce these dark circles?

• Laser treatment will reduce pigmentation – if it’s caused by sun damage.
• Laser or IPL can also shrink back blood vessels.
• You can reduce the hollow under your eyes by ‘filling’ it using tear trough filler.
• Skin peels can improve the colour and texture of the skin.
• Improve your diet. Although this won’t eradicate dark circles it can improve the skin overall including the eye area.  So plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and less alcohol.
• Stop smoking.  Smoking robs the skin of oxygen and nutrients. It also depletes collagen and makes the skin thinner which therefore makes the problem look worse.  Research has shown that smoking makes dark circles worse.
• Oxygenate your skin, with a facial.  A regular facial which includes massage will increase the blood flow to the surface, Oxygen Facials which deliver oxygen to the skin, or non-surgical (Caci / Icon Ultra Lift) type facials will also increase blood flow.
• When applying sun cream or SPF the eye area often gets missed… so make sure you apply it around the eyes every day to prevent pigmentation getting worse.
• Apply eye cream containing anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C, caffeine and green tea.  If you apply cream every day and night the skin around the eyes will really benefit and can improve from this alone.  You should start using eye cream even before face cream, although from experience most people focus on the rest of the face before the eyes!
• Good make-up can conceal the darkness.  While this is not a solution it’s something you can do until you feel ready to take more action and embark on a treatment plan.

In summary, the most difficult thing about the eye area is to work out what is causing the problem.  Sometimes it can be very obvious and sometimes not so easy to work out.  If you’d like to read the scientific research on dark circles, R Sarker and team have written a comprehensive review in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. Click here to read it.

You can quite easily improve pigmentation with the correct laser.  A hollow can be successfully filled with good tear trough filler. If it’s puffiness from poor lymphatic drainage, you can drain it away with various techniques.

I hope this article has been informative and given you some background knowledge before you embark on a treatment in this delicate area.

If you have a burning question, feel free to email me at: rach@radiantliving.co.uk.  If you’re in my area and you’d like a free consultation then please feel free to get in touch. Or if you’d like to read more information on Plasma treatments for around the eyes, click here.