Sleep Deprived? Five tips on how to reduce puffy eyes!


As a mom sleep is such a contentious issue. From that new-born stage, to the various (effing) sleep regressions and then of course the teething - sleep, or rather the lack of it, is a continuous point of conversation.

So whilst I don't have the answers on how to get your precious cherub to sleep (seriously, I rock, bounce, sway, sometimes co-sleep, and do anything possible to get my child to sleep), I did ask Monique at Spoilt Inc. for some tips on how to counter those puffy eyes. I mean just because you are sleep deprived, doesn't mean that you have to look like it.

So here are five tips on how to reduce puffy eyes:

1) Water. Yeah - we've all heard this one, and I may sound like a broken record, but seriously - water! The more water you drink the less water you retain with the effect of toxins being flushed and swelling reduced. So keep that water bottle with you throughout the day.

2) Try sleeping (when sleep actually happens) with 2 pillows, elevating your head, allowing the fluid to drain easily.

3) Cold compress is ideal and easy for short term relief. You can also use green/black teabags: allow the cool bags to sit on your eyes for 5-10 minutes. The caffeine helps constrict blood vessels and reduce inflammation.
This is great for the days that you really look sleep deprived.
Cucumber is also a wonderful natural astringent and potato slices are high in starch which also works as an anti-inflammatory.

4) Sunscreen. Having cracked, sunburnt skin is not pretty. The damaging effects of the sun will cause dark circles under your eyes and increase the aging process (yuck) - so just opt for an eye cream or serum with an SPF factor.

5) Don't rub your eyes! Seriously, eyes are balls supported by soft pads of fat and muscle (thank goodness it looks way better than it sounds). As the muscles get weaker they bulge, so if you do rub your eyes you'll be wearing out the very delicate skin in that area.

Murphy's law: you have a day/night outing scheduled and wake up with the worst puffy eyes! The best thing to do is use a great concealer along with a colour corrector underneath. Urban Decay has some amazing colour correctors and the benefit Boi-ing industrial strength concealer is always a winner - it's compact. easy to apply and durable (because honestly, who has time to reapply a gazillion times in a day).



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