Drink plenty of water.
Under-eye bags are often caused by the retention of water due to high salt concentration in the area. You might wake up with bags after eating a salty dinner or crying. Whether it's from tears or food, salt can draw water to your face and cause it to collect under your eyes.
- Flush excess salt from your system by drinking water. Avoid salty foods for the rest of the day.
- Make sure to stay away from drinks that cause you to become dehydrated, like coffee and alcohol.
2. Soothe your eyes with something cold.
You've probably heard that placing cucumbers over your eyes will help reduce bags, but it's actually the cool temperature that soothes the area. Cucumbers happen to be the perfect shape, size and texture to treat under-eye bags, so go ahead and slice one up - just make sure it's been chilling in the refrigerator beforehand.
- If you don't have a cucumber, wet a few teabags and chill them in the freezer or refrigerator before placing them over your eyes. Use a soothing tea, like chamomile or peppermint, so you get the benefits of aromatherapy at the same time.
- Cold spoons will also work. Leave 2 spoons in the freezer overnight, and place them on your eyes for 10-15 minutes.
3. Put on some concealer.
In the short term, concealing under-eye bags and circles with a little makeup is the quickest and most effective solution. The right makeup can greatly reduce the appearance of bags and keep you looking fresh all day. Follow these steps to apply concealing makeup:
- Choose a concealer that matches your skin tone. If your under-eye bags are dark, you could also go one shade lighter. Apply the concealer with your finger or a cotton ball. Make sure you dab it on lightly instead of rubbing it into your skin. The makeup will conceal your bags more effectively if it stays on the surface of your skin.
- Follow the concealer with a brush of powder to help it set and stay in place all day. Use a matte powder (not one with shimmer) and a blush brush to apply a tiny bit of powder under your eyes.