Puffiness and dark circles can affect you, too. And let's face it, that barely slept look is never in fashion. But despite the automatic association with fatigue, puffiness can have several causes. Making small changes in your lifestyle can significantly affect the presence of puffiness. In this article, we're going to tell you what puffiness is, what causes it and what you can do to make it a thing of the past!
What are puffiness?
Although it may seem obvious, puffiness is often confused with dark circles, another common problem that affects both men and women. The skin under your eyes is thinner than the skin on other parts of your face, making it one of the areas more likely to show signs of aging, damage and stress.
However, puffiness and dark circles are very different. A change in pigment in the skin under the eyes causes dark circles to appear, while puffiness is actually mild swelling under the eyes.
What are the causes of bags under your eyes and what can you do about them?
Insufficient sleep
While it is true that insufficient sleep is not usually the main cause of under-eye puffiness in men, it certainly doesn't help! Make sure you at least manage to get the recommended 7 hours of sleep a night, and you're more likely to wake up feeling alert and refreshed - as are your eyes - since your body repairs itself at night!
To guarantee yourself a good night's sleep, figure out what works for you. For example, invest in a decent mattress, buy blackout curtains or relax before you go to sleep. You can do this with a good book, for example. Prepare yourself to go to sleep, and you will find that this will come many times easier for you.
What can you do about it?
Unfortunately, a lack of sleep cannot be solved overnight. So your puffiness and/or dark circles will not be solved after one night of good sleep. Therefore, try to sleep about seven to eight hours every night. Does this systematically not work for you and does it bother you? Then it is advisable to discuss it with your doctor.
Drink enough
Do you know how much fluid you take in daily? If the answer is no and puffiness is often visible under your eyes, then perhaps you should start keeping track of the number of glasses of water you drink daily. Dehydration can contribute to the appearance of bags under the eyes because your body is trying to retain moisture. In fact, your body is made up of about 60% moisture. Drinking enough fluids allows your body to drain fluids properly.
What can you do about it?
Try to drink about 1.5 to 2 liters of water every day. Always take a bottle of water with you on the road or at work. You'll automatically drink more!
Beware of smoking, caffeine and alcohol
Alcohol and caffeine have a diuretic effect. Therefore, we recommend that you consume alcohol and caffeine-containing beverages in moderation. Also, not smoking or quitting smoking affects the health of your skin by increasing blood flow to the skin. This reduces dark circles and puffiness under your eyes.
What can you do about it?
It is important to drink beverages containing alcohol and caffeine in moderation. If you smoke, it is a good idea to quit. When you stop, you will experience many other positive changes besides the reduction of puffiness and dark circles!
Bad eating habits
Do you have an unhealthy diet? Then there is a very good chance that you can see this reflected in your skin due to a lack of essential nutrients. The right amount of vitamins and minerals are very important for your body and therefore also for your skin!
For example, vitamin A supports your skin's ability to recover and vitamin C contributes to the formation of collagen.
It is also important to keep a close eye on your salt intake. Salt causes your body to retain more fluid than necessary, which can result in bags under your eyes. Make sure you don't consume more than 2.3mg of salt per day.
What can you do about it?
Preferably eat a healthy and varied diet to ensure that you get enough nutrients and that bags under your eyes are not caused by a poor diet. Less also with consuming too much salt.
Stress
Stress usually causes you to not sleep as you would otherwise. Stress also makes you more likely to eat and drink badly. Worrying combined with poor sleep, eating and drinking can cause puffiness and dark circles under your eyes.
What can you do about it?
As difficult as it is, you will have to try to avoid stress as much as possible. It can sometimes help to write down the factors causing you to experience stress so that they leave your head (for a while). In this way you can fall asleep better at night and sleep better. Relaxation exercises can also help you put aside the things you worry about.
Old age & genetic
As they say; old age comes with defects. This unfortunately applies to your skin as well. As you age, your skin ages with you. The elasticity of your skin decreases and the firmness and thickness of your skin becomes thinner.
What can you do about it?
There is unfortunately little you can do to influence the aging process. If puffiness or dark circles are the result of old age, cosmetic surgery may be able to help you. Are you considering cosmetic surgery? Then it is wise to discuss this with your doctor.
The difference between puffiness and dark circles
Dark circles and puffiness, the two are often confused. Bags of fluid/fat or skin accumulate under your eyes. The fat under your eye serves as a cushion and allows the eye to rotate in relation to the eye socket.
Dark circles, on the other hand, occur when blood vessels shine through the thin skin under your eyes. These will reveal themselves as a blue or purplish haze.
Product advice from The Alpha Men
Finally, we would like to give you some product tips. The products below can help you reduce your puffiness or dark circles under your eyes.
Baxter of California Under Eye Complex
The Under Eye Complex from Baxter of California is a high-quality eye care product especially for men. This eye care improves the skin around your eyes, it mainly ensures that wrinkles and dark circles disappear.
The under Eye Complex contains caffeine, antioxidants and seaweed extracts. With these ingredients, the skin is nourished and provided with sufficient nutrients to care for and improve the skin. This eye care is suitable for day and night.
Recipe For Men Under Eye Gel
This eye gel from Recipe For Men helps minimize dark circles and puffiness under your eyes. Composed of carefully selected herbs, minerals and peptides that provide hydration and a refreshed look. Enjoy the optimum effect by refrigerating this Under Eye Gel.
Reuzel Intensive Care Eye Cream
Reuzel' s Intensive Care Eye Cream will have you looking fresh and well-groomed again. The cream is enriched with caffeine and gives the skin around the eyes good hydration which helps reduce puffiness and dark circles around the eyes making you look younger and more vital.
The cream is non-greasy and is easily absorbed by your skin. The cream is suitable for all skin types and is free of parabens and sulfates.