For your eyes only

The holidays are over. Don’t let any trace of long nightout partying show especially under your eyes. Eye bags make you look tired, sad and old. So, how do you prevent getting these unwanted bags?

Eye bags are common signs of aging. Those bags and dark rings are linked to the lymphatic and vascular system located in the eye contour area. They are hereditary and have nothing to do with how much sleep you get. Microcirculation plays a crucial role in this very fragile area. If it slows down, a loss of tonicity is noted in the vessels resulting in swelling and coloring of the eye contour. Blinking the eyelids reactivates this blood microcirculation during the day. But fatigue, pollution, stress, lack of sleep, smoking, an unsuitable diet and aging of the skin will slow down this process. 

Dr. Aivee Teo explains: “Under-eye muscle enlargement (orbicularis muscle hypertrophy) is usually seen in a young person which could be due to overuse of the eye muscles. Such eye bags are usually well defined and more obvious when the person squints. They can respond well to Botox treatment, which also has an added effect of widening the eye aperture, resulting in larger eyes. Botox treatments can be done every four to six months.” Eye bags, Teo adds, can also be caused by excess fat tissue in the area under the eyes. There is a large genetic component to these fat pads, which are also diet and exercise resistant. Surgery is still the best option to remove the excess fat. However, some doctors skilled in mesotherapy now inject fat-dissolving cocktail directly into the fat pads, thus possibly reducing the need for an operation. Up to three sessions may be needed for optimal results. Another cause is fluid retention. As a person gets older, the quality of facial circulation and lymphatic drainage reduces.

“The stagnation of toxins and fluid produces puffy eye bags. The size changes from day to day and also varies at different times of the day. As the situation tends to worsen with time, the extra fluid collection stretches the skin in the delicate eye area that causes loosening of the skin. Treatments may vary from topical medications like Hydron Eye Cream, Under Eye Bryten, PCA Eye Excellence Serum and Neo Strata Bionic Eye Cream to non-invasive procedures like Thermage for eyes and Accent/Tenor radio frequency treatment to tighten the skin and improve fine lines. Of course, conventional eye bag surgery (blepharoplasty) is always an option,” Teo says.

I always believe in prevention. It’s less invasive but it does take a lot of discipline and commitment to actually sleep a full eight hours every night and a few minutes every time you cleanse your face in the morning and at night to apply an eye cream. So, to prevent the eye bags from developing, sleep with the head elevated. Don’t drink too many fluids right before sleeping and avoid placing wrinkle remover cream near the eyes. When used near the eyes, it can actually cause too much hydration and puffiness. Avoid oil-based makeup because the oil can cause the skin under the eyes to swell and become inflamed. Avoid anything that can cause an allergic reaction like sleeping on a feather pillow. This can cause puffiness under the eyes. Always wash your makeup off before going to bed as the residue can fill the pores that will cause swelling. Dr. Teo suggests “to wear protective sunglasses, take frequent breaks if you are working for long hours in front of the computer, avoid overuse of eye muscles, avoid squinting and straining your eyes. Adequate rest of eight  hours a day. Invest in a good eye cream.”

There are two products that I want to buy. One is SK-II’s signs eye cream. It has pitera extract that helps diminish dark circles and it brightens up the eye area. Another eye cream I want to try is Crème de la Mer’s eye concentrate. It promises a firmer and brighter eye area. These are the key words for me — brighter eyes. If you notice that your eye area becomes “brighter” without any makeup on, then you have found the right product for you. It will take about a week for the product to take full effect so be patient. Try not to give in the urge of “concealing” your eye bags with makeup because you will not notice the results if you do.

If you don’t have a week to wait for products to take effect, then here are instant eye brighteners that can help do the trick:

1. Make sure to use eye cream right after cleansing.

2. Use eyedrop to remove the redness. Red eyes means your eyes are tired so liven them up by making the sclera part of the eyes whiter. Always use this step with caution so make sure to ask your eye doctor which eyedrop you can use.

3. For everyday look, avoid overconcealing with cream foundation. For dry skin, a liquid foundation or tinted moisturizer will do the trick. For oily skin, use a dual finish powder foundation with sunblock. Make sure the shade you use will blend with your skin tone.

4. Avoid using dark makeup colors as this will make you look more tired.

5. Use warm tones for your blush and lip color to brighten up your face.

6. Never overdo your makeup to hide your eye bags.

7. Wash the entire face with very cold water. The cold water can get the blood moving through the veins in the face, and potentially flush out the excess water under the skin. Using your pinkie, tap lightly on the bags to help encourage the fluid trapped in the area to disperse. This must be done with caution because the skin under the eyes is very delicate. Use tea bags soaked in cold water and rest them on the eyes for several minutes.

Get the look:

1. Cleanse. Tone and moisturize if needed.

2. Using your pinkie, lightly dab eye cream under the eye area.

3. Groom eyebrows.

4. Even out skin tone with concealer and/or foundation.

5. Set with loose powder. After setting loose powder and blending it well with powder brush, dip the powder brush to your loose powder and dab under eye area. This will help “catch” falling pigments from eye makeup.

6. Use light peach shimmer on entire eye crease.

7. Use light brown eye pencil and line the entire upper lash line.

8. Curl lashes and apply dark brown waterproof mascara.

9. Using the powder brush, lightly “sweep” the loose powder under the eye area to remove the dark pigments that fell from the eye makeup and mascara.

10. Lightly apply peach colored blush.

11. Finish with peach colored lipstick.