Genetics, ageing, sun damage, dehydration, and more can all cause bags under your eyes, puffy eyelids, and dark circles under your eyes. Those can give the impression that you’re exhausted or haven’t slept well even though you feel well-rested. Several natural remedies that you can try at home could help you reduce puffiness and make your eyes look less tired. You can also consult a plastic surgeon about your surgical and non-surgical options for fixing tired-looking eyes.
Dr Michael Kernohan is a specialist plastic surgeon in Sydney, Australia offering a range of surgical and non-surgical facial treatments.
Puffy eyelids, under-eye bags, and dark circles under the eyes are the tell-tale signs of tired eyes.
You can immediately tell if someone’s been crying, exhausted, or up all night by looking at their eyes. However, lack of sleep and fatigue aren’t the only reasons why your eyes may look weary.
There are several reasons for sleepy and tired eyes that have nothing to do with sleep.
Some people have a genetic predisposition to fat build-up in their eyelids. The excess fat can cause bags under the eyes, which make the eyes look puffy and exhausted.
Others are born with saggy upper eyelids that make the eyes look hooded and lazy.
Moreover, medical studies have shown that dark circles under the eyes may run in the family.
Another reason why your eyes look tired is a tear trough deformity. Tear trough deformity is a deep indentation between the eye and the nose that creates the illusion that the eyes are sunken and hollow. Some people are born with deep tear troughs, while others develop them as they grow older.
The skin around your eyes is one of the thinnest in your body. As you age, your skin stretches and loses elasticity. The muscles supporting your eyelids also begin to thin and weaken.
That causes the appearance of saggy, loose skin around the eyelids, which makes the eyes look baggy and old.
Dark circles can also appear under your eyes as you grow older. With age, your skin stretches and thins out, and the blood vessels under it become more visible. That creates a darker under-eye appearance.
In some cases, dark circles under the eyes are caused by loss of volume. That happens as the fat pads in the lower eyelid shift downward with age. The volume loss creates a shadow that makes the under eyes appear darker than they actually are.
Too much sun exposure triggers your body to excessively produce melanin, the pigment that gives your skin its colour.
That can result in hyperpigmentation (dark skin patches) under the eyes.
It’s widely known that staying hydrated is the key to healthier skin.
The skin around your eyes can start to look dull if you don’t drink enough water.
Salty foods, some medications, and certain diseases can lead to water retention, which causes swelling and puffiness in different body parts, including the eyes.
Allergies cause your body to release chemicals called histamines. These chemicals can cause your eyes to swell up and look puffy.
Cigarettes and other tobacco products damage your skin and speed up the ageing process.
Various medical conditions can cause droopy eyelids or bags under the eyes. These include renal disease, thyroid eye disease, diabetes, Myasthenia Gravis, and eye infections.
Although tired-looking eyes aren’t typically a cause for concern, they can be unattractive and give the impression that you constantly feel tired.
There are several things you can do at home to make your eyes less puffy naturally. Home remedies for tired-looking eyes can include:
These simple measurements can help you reduce tired eyes almost instantly. Nonetheless, their effects are limited and temporary.
If you can’t get rid of tired-looking eyes naturally, several medical treatments can offer you a more effective and permanent solution.
You can improve the appearance of your eyes without surgery using the following treatment options:
Several eye creams can help reduce dark circles, puffiness, and bags under the eyes.
Topical under-eye serums, such as Melalumin, are effective in lightening dark circles under the eyes.
Studies also show that eye creams that contain Low Molecular Weight Heparan Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans (LMW‐HS) can effectively rejuvenate the skin and reduce eye puffiness and dark circles.
Skin resurfacing with a chemical peel is an effective and popular option.
Laser skin resurfacing therapy can improve sun-damaged skin and reduce wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes.
You can receive platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections in your lower eyelid regions. These injections can repair and strengthen the skin around your eyes.
Injectable fillers with hyaluronic acid (HA), can help revive tired-looking eyes.
They effectively correct tear troughs and fill up facial areas that have lost volume, which is one of the main reasons behind tired eyes and dark under-eye circles.
That is an ultrasound-based therapy. An Ultherapy treatment involves using focused ultrasound to lift and tighten skin on the neck, chin, and brow. The ultrasound energy stimulates the production of new collagen deep within the skin and can effectively treat skin laxity around the eyes.
These injections relax the muscles surrounding your eyes. That allows your brow to rise and removes some of the weight over your eyelids.
As a result, you’ll be able to open your eyes more widely.
Although non-surgical treatments are effective in fixing a tired-looking face, they only give short-term results.
Different cosmetic procedures can offer a more permanent way to get rid of tired-looking eyes.
Your body’s fat acts as a natural filler. Under-eye fat transfer is a cosmetic procedure that uses your body’s own fat to fill in sunken and hollow areas under your eyes.
Your surgeon can use liposuction to remove fat from your belly, thighs, or hips. The fat is purified and injected into the skin below your lower eyelids.
After this procedure, your eyes will appear less tired. It’s worth noting that, with time, your body will reabsorb some of the transferred fat, which causes a decrease in volume again.
Blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery, is a cosmetic procedure that removes excess skin and fat from the upper eyelids, lower eyelids, or both. It’s one of the most effective and permanent ways to correct tired eyes.
During an upper eyelid lift:
During a lower eyelid surgery:
A brow lift, also known as a forehead lift or upper facelift, is a cosmetic procedure that raises the skin and soft tissue of the forehead and brow.
You can get a forehead lift if you have low, sagging brows weighing down on your upper eyelids and giving your eyes a sleepy or puffy appearance.
Depending on the extent of lift you need, your surgeon will make one of three incisions:
A brow lift surgery lifts the eyebrows and rejuvenates the forehead.
Dr Michael Kernohan will thoroughly examine your face and offer you the optimal surgical or non-surgical treatment for your tired-looking eyes.