Do your eyes look puffy or have you noticed some eye bags under your eyes? If you want to know how
to get rid of them, keep watching. This is part two of a two part video series, and in this video,
I review the at-home treatment options as well as surgical options to treat under eye bags.
In case you missed part one video of this video series,
where I review the causes of puffy eyes and under eye bags,
and my five tips to prevent them, you can check it out by clicking the link above.
For those who are new to the channel I’m Dr Audrey Tai, board-certified and fellowship trained
Cataract and refractive surgeon, ophthalmologist and cornea specialist, welcome to my channel - eye
Channel by eye surgeon. I am here to bring you the latest information on eye health and medicine.
At home treatment Number 1 – cold compresses. As I mentioned in part 1 of this video series,
fluid retention is one of the most common causes of puffy eyes, so the first at-home
treatment you can do is to use cold compresses to reduce the swelling around the eyes. One benefit
of cold compresses is that cold temperatures can help tighten the skin around the eyes.
We have all heard about putting cold cucumber slices over closed eyelids to help reduce eyelid
puffiness, but there is a much more effective way that you can harness the power of cold compresses
at home than cucumber slices. One of the most effective cold compress methods that I recommend
is using thin white potato slices steeped in chilled green tea. The cold cucumber slices do
contain antioxidants, but the reason that white potato slices soaked with chilled green tea is
more effective is that in addition to the high antioxidant content in the green tea, the caffeine
contained in the green tea will help constrict the small blood vessels in the eyelid skin to reduce
fluid accumulation in the eyelids. Additionally white potato slices contain starch, which has an
effect of lightning skin pigmentation in the eyelid to reduce the appearance of darkening.
Therefore if your eyes often get puffy when you wake up in the morning, I recommend you make a
cup of green tea in the evening and leave it in the fridge to chill overnight, in the morning,
you can make some thin white potato slices and soak them in the chilled green tea and leave them
on the closed eyelids for about 5 to 10 minutes or so, to help reduce the appearance of puffy eyes.
If you're short on time, You can either use a spoon that has been chilled in the fridge,
or a chilled green tea bag, and leave that on your eyelids instead, for about 5 min.
It won’t be quite as effective as the ‘tea potato’ method I mentioned earlier,
but it will still help reduce eyelid swelling. If you do prefer a cold compress eye mask,
that fits around the eyes better and is more convenient to use,
you can check out the links to the recommended cold compresses in the description below.
Number 2 – Eye creams There are a lot of cosmetic
products out there that claim to be effective for reducing eye puffiness. Do they work?
Unfortunately, even though many eye creams claim to reduce eyelid puffiness, most of them are not
very effective. I would recommend paying close attention to the ingredients in eye creams,
and for puffy eyes I recommend picking an eye cream that contains caffeine as an ingredient.
As I mentioned, caffeine can constrict the blood vessels in the eyelid and temporarily
reduce the fluid retention in the skin which should provide some temporary improvement in
the appearance of the eyelid swelling. I’ve listed a few examples of eye creams
containing caffeine in the description below. If you are just looking for a temporary quick fix,
here is what I would recommend. Let’s say you have a special event coming up and need an SOS
solution quickly to help solve the eyebags issue just for a few hours. There is an eye serum that
is effective in reducing the appearance of eyelid puffiness and eyebags temporarily.
The plexaderm eye serum contains sodium silicate, and magnesium aluminum silicate,
which are mineral silicate that Forms a thin layer over the eyelid and tightens the skin on
the eyelids to reduce the eyelid puffiness and wrinkles around the eyes temporarily.
It is not a cure, and the effect is not long-lasting. After you remove the eye cream,
the tightening effect from the silicate layer is gone . However it is a temporary quick solution
if you are looking for a quick fix for a special event. I've listed the link to the product in the
description below so that you can check them out. Number 3 - Blepharoplasty
Cold compresses, eye creams, and serums can only provide limited and temporary improvement
to eyelid swelling, and they only work for puffy eyes and under eye bags that are reversible due to
fluid retention. None of those solutions will work well for eyebags formed due to the aging process.
For eyebags that are formed due to natural aging and the accompanying prolapse of the
eyelid fat pads, a surgical procedure called blepharoplasty can be performed to remove the
displaced fat pads under the eyelid as well as tighten the loose skin around the eyes.
This is typically an outpatient procedure, and is usually not covered by insurance in the US. The
surgery usually takes about 1 to 2 hours or less, and the surgeon may make incisions either through
inside of the eyelid or through outside of the eyelid, depending on the severity of the eyebags.
After the surgery, You may experience bruising and swelling of the eyelids for 2 to 4 weeks, so
keep that in mind if you have a big event coming up so you can plan accordingly for your surgery.
You will be using antibiotics and anti-inflammatory prescription eye ointment
on the incisions, as well as prescription eyedrops. You will also be doing frequent
cold compresses during the postoperative period to help with the recovery process.
Number 4 – Fillers and laser treatments Besides the surgical option, there are also
injectable dermal fillers that can be injected into the eye lid, as well as laser treatments that
can tighten the eyelid skin and help reduce the appearance of eye bags. However the effect from
those treatments is usually not very significant and is also temporary. Therefore if you're looking
for a more permanent and effective treatment to correct eyebags due to natural aging changes,
Blepharoplasty surgery is usually more effective and longer lasting than the
nonsurgical options available at this time. Please let me know in the comments below what
treatment have you tried to help with eyelid puffiness and eyebags.
I hope you find this video helpful. If so, don't forget to watch part one of this video
series to learn more about the causes and how to prevent puffy eyes and eye
bags from forming in the first place. As always, don't forget to click the subscribe button and
turn on the notification bell so you won’t miss any of my new videos about eye health.
Any time you don’t have 10 minutes, you can watch short fun videos about eye care
tips on Instagram @draudreytai. You can also follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn
@draudreytai to learn more about my practice. I look forward to connecting with you there.
Thank you again for watching and I will see you in my next video.