Tired, Puffy Eyes: What Skin Care Products Should You Use?

Let's face it, everyone has had tired and puffy eyes at one time or another, no one likes it but it is part of life. PMS, salty foods, too much alcohol, not enough sleep, aging, allergies etc. can all cause that infamous tired and puffy eye syndrome. So what do you do about it?

If it is just the case of allergies or lack of sleep, it is a pretty easy fix. Get a script for allergy medication and see how your under eye bags respond, and if it is just lack of sleep, slap on some kind of cold compress like cold tea bags, ice, and/or cold cucumbers for a few minutes. The results should be fairly good. If you are suffering from too much alcohol or you've had enough salt to cause your fingers to swell much less your eye area, drink water to flush out your system. In any of the above situations, you can use any type of eye cream that has anti-inflammatory properties. One of my favorites is Image's Ormedic balancing eye lift gel. If you suffer from dark circles as opposed to puffiness, try Obagi's Clear--a bleaching cream and corrector.

Now for some of you, that puffiness and tired look won't go away no matter what you do. You don't look as good as you feel. What are your options? Of course, try the creams I've mentioned above for a couple weeks and see if you get results, but see a change you might have a more severe case of puffy eye syndrome. Don't despair, as depressing as it is to look in the mirror and see those unsightly bags bulging under your eyes, modern medicine has a remedy.

Restylane, an injectable filler can be done in a few minutes at any cosmetic surgeon's or dermatologist's office. The price can vary depending on your regional area and type of doctor, but a rough estimate is about $500.00 for 1 cc which should fill both under the eye area bags unless you have really bad ones, in which case you might need more than 1cc. Most doctors will give you a free consult to determine your actual price. The results are instant--you walk in with the puffy bags and you walk out bag free. The downside is generally it only lasts 6 months to one year. Make sure you find a board certified surgeon and check reviews.

Estheticians have a plethora of skin care life savers in their tool box, but sometimes we can't fix everything, or the problem is so severe that no amount of skin care products can truly fix the issue. Sometimes we need to enlist the help of a doctor, and this is why I recommend over and over again that estheticians know at least one good dermatologist in their area (and cosmetic surgeon if possible) so they can recommend to their clients when necessary. Clients will thank you for your honesty--they don't want you to promise them the world and deliver short of that--instead they would rather you tell them honestly that you can't fix their problem, but you know a doctor who might be able to. Remember, you are there to help maintain and preserve their skin within the scope of your license, and sometimes it is necessary to recommend them to a doctor when it fits in with the client's goals.