I have inherited bags under my eyes.

by Terry Christensen
(United States)

I usually have bags under my eyes. They're not terrible, but I wish they were gone completely. I'd even be happy to see them decrease. My eyes also get tired quite easily. I spend quite a bit of time at the computer, and I love to read. I feel I need to pamper my eyes more. Any suggestions? I'm 61 years old.

Dear Terry,
looking at your photo I think you look great and I would have not guessed that you are 61.
Obviously your eyes like to retain fluid which appears as bags under your eyes and they also sensitive.
I have the same problem with tired eyes. My eyes water and get red with the slightest wind or product getting into them.

Fortunately there are a few things you can do to make it better.

1. First of all, do not use an eye cream at night. Most eye creams are designed to retain water so the skin looks plumper. Use a gentle cleanser and some toner so the skin does not get dry and leave it at that for the night.

2. Massage gently with your index and middle finger from the inside to the outside under your eye daily. This will help to remove the bags. The fluid gets removed through the lymph system.

3. Be careful not to use eye creams that irritate your eyes. You may react a bit allergic to some ingredients which could make the eyes watery, runny and red. A natural eye cream with no chemicals may be a good choice. The eye cream should also be light. A fluid or eye gel is better than an oil based cream which easily runs into your eyes. I always had problems with that. A few minutes after applying the eye cream and make up my eyes would get really runny. Personally I use Miessence Firming Eye and Neck Serum. It absorbs nice and quick while firming the skin.

4. Use cold cucumber slices on your eyes when they feel puffy and/or tired. This old trick works still its best.

I would stay away from eye masks or other fancy eye products. This only could make things worse by irritating the eyes or causing allergic reactions.

To lift tired looking eyes you could use an easy trick of the trade.
By shaping your eye brows you could visually lift your eye lids which make the eyes look bigger and fresher.

I hope this helps.
All the best.

Daniela