At my last webcam chat, Joel asked if I had any puffy under-eye remedies that I could share and how could I not for a friend? Thankfully I’ve got some, being that some mornings I’m up at an insane hour to shoot I need to get rid of puffy eyes too. Hopefully it’s not an all the time thing, because then it could be your bed, not getting enough sleep, not getting enough water.. the list goes on. But quick fixes are always good so here are a few of mine that I really love:

- Place cold cucumber slices on your eyes. A lot of people think it is the cold temperature that’s helping rather than the product itself, who knows but it works for me! They smell great too, so why not? Slice them into 1/8″ discs and shake them off well before applying to your closed eyes for 5-10 minutes.

- Cold refrigerated used tea bags. Like the cucumber slices, the coolness reduces circulation, but the tea actually has a slightly astringent (tissue-shrinking) effect as well.

- If this is something you need to do once a week or so, try keeping spoons in your refridgerator. Place the back curved part of the spoons on your eyes as you lie down with your head elevated will work too.

- Rinse your face in cool water and pat dry, or at the end of your shower turn the heat down and get cold water on your face.

If this is an every day thing, instead of getting a ton of cucumbers (although it’d be awesomely hilarious to your supermarket cashier to see you walking out with cucumbers every day) then you should start going deeper and figuring out why you’ve got puffy eyes. Our bodies are great at communicating with us, but it’s a language we have to learn and not take for granted. If something is out of the ordinary, it’s for a reason. Here’s a few things to try if you’ve got puffy eyes every day:

- Try grabbing a new pillow if yours is flat, or maybe it’s time for a new mattress if you’re not sleeping well through the night.

- Reduce your salt intake. A high intake of sodium may cause you to retain more fluid than normal, which could be sitting under your eyes! Too much salt isn’t great for your health anyway so it’s not a bad thing to watch your salt anyways.

- Exercise every day to improve your circulation, even if it’s a half hour walk after supper or going for a swim, just get your body moving. It’ll help move fluid through your body and get everything working better.

- Give a reactine/claritin a try, maybe it’s simply allergies. Or it could be caused by a medication as a side effect.

Hope that helps out a little Joel (and everyone else)! If you’ve got a beauty tip request, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to write a post asap.