Sparkling, bright eyes grab people’s attention. In this blog, 67% of readers say their best feature is their eyes. Our eyes allow us to experience wonderful things such as: autumn’s beautiful colours or a child’s first smile. Red and puffy eyes on the other hand, can make a person look tired and ill. You may have heard about a few of these home remedies for tired, puffy eyes, but never knew if they worked. Read on to find out why they work!
Cool as a Cucumber!
For tired eyes head to the fridge! Take a chilled cucumber from your refrigerator and slice it. Lie down and place 1 slice over each eye for 5-10 minutes. The coolness from the cucumber shrinks the blood vessels around your eyes and adds some cooling relief. No cucumbers on hand? Try potatoes. Wash a potato and chop it up finely to a pulp. Wrap inside of a paper towel and place over eyes. Potatoes act as an anti-inflammatory agent which can reduce puffiness.
Tea Time!
Tea is not just for drinking anymore! Turn on the kettle and grab either caffeinated or herbal teas. Both contain a natural astringent called tannin. Tannins tighten the skin around the eyes by moulding to the skin’s protein molecules. Green and black teas also help to soothe puffy eyes by constricting blood vessels and reducing swelling. After choosing 2 tea bags of your choice, allow them to steep for about 3 minutes. Remove bags and allow them to cool on a non-porous surface. Once they are cool enough to touch and still damp, lie back and place over eyes for 10-15 minutes. Notice the difference when you get up!
Seeing…orange?
Our ability to adapt to darkness and see during times of dim light depends on Vitamin A. Beta-carotene is the pre-cursor to Vitamin A which is required to make pigments that absorb light within the eye. To keep eyes in beautiful condition, consume dark yellow or orange fruits and vegetables (containing the beta-carotene pigment) such as: sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, carrots & apricots. Dark green leafy vegetables are also a rich source of beta-carotene. Vitamin A is found in animal products such as: butter, margarine, cheese, eggs & milk.
See the Difference!
Try avoiding salty foods! Salt attracts water, which can make your face appear puffy.
I love your blog topic! I hate getting up in the morning and having puffy eyes for the bus ride to school. A warm tea in the morning may also be relaxing, so it’s great to know that incorporating these foods into my diet are also helping my sight.
Lauren
Thanks for the comment Lauren! I like how you’ve noticed the win-win situation! You can have youthful, sparkling eyes and enjoy your tea too!
I always thought that putting cucumbers and tea bags on your eyes was a hoax but I think I’ll try it tonight and get those tannins working! My eyes could definitely use it. Thanks Rylee!
Hi Shirley, I figured there were a lot of people out there that may have thought it was a hoax. Or they were doing these home remedies for all the wrong reasons! I do hope you tried it and found some improvement!
And this part goes for everyone – Let me know if anyone has a great success story they’d like to share with any of the beauty tips OR if they turned out to be a complete bust! I’m curious to know how others find them!
Not nutrition-related, but I have found that the eye cream I recently purchased from Roc to be really good. It’s not a very well-known brand name, but I just find it at the drug stores. It’s a little bit pricey, but I have found it to be really great for my dark circles
Thanks for the tip Elizabeth! I’ve never purchased an eye cream before, and probably wouldn’t even know where to start! But your tip may definitely help me narrow down my choice in the future!