3 Facial Exercises For Reducing Tired, Fatigued and Puffy Eyes

The skin around your eyes – known as the periocular area – is 10x thinner than the skin on the rest of your face. That makes it easy to wake up with puffy and swollen eyes that make you look older and more tired. Read on for 3 super simple (but super effective) Face Yoga exercises to reduce, relieve and remove puffy eyes. The thin, delicate skin surrounding your eyes requires careful attention to avoid flare-ups, irritation, wrinkles, and a puffy appearance. But even with the best intentions (and a skincare routine you swear by), your eyes are one of the earliest features to show the signs of aging. It’s easy to assume puffy eyes are a short-term problem and that getting more sleep or drinking more water will help resolve the problem, but unfortunately, your puffy eyes are placing pressure on the skin around your eyes. When delicate surrounding tissue stretches to accommodate swollen and puffy eyes, you’re left with loose skin and eye bags that will stubbornly hang around no matter what creams, topics, or ointments you throw at them. Read on for our 3 favorite facial exercises to stop puffy eyes in their tracks.

What Causes Puffy Eyes?

Alright, we said we were going to share our favorite Facial exercises with you, but first, let’s quickly cover the cause of puffy eyes so you know what you’re up against. Once you know what’s causing you to wake up with puffy and swollen eyes, it’s easier to start reversing the effects and taking control of your appearance. To get scientific, the shape of your face, including your orbital rim, determines how much the tissue surrounding your eyes sticks out. The older you get, the more likely you’ll experience collagen loss and weakening muscles. The result? The pillow of fat that cushions your eyes sticks out more and more, as there’s less firm muscle underneath to hold it in place. This is how you end up seeing excess fat, which appears as puffiness, day after day. Outside of your physiology, there are lifestyle factors that cause puffy eyes, including:

• Not enough sleep
• Sleeping on your stomach or side
• Loss of collagen and elastin
• Dry skin around your eyes
• Allergies and sinus infections
• Too much salt in your diet
• Harmful UV rays

Knowing what can trigger swollen and puffy eyes will help you avoid triggers that exacerbate tired and sagging eyes, and regularly practicing the following 3 facial exercises will help firm up those eyes in no time.

Puffy Eye Remedy #1 – ‘Tapping Fingers’

When you hear ‘workout’ do you immediately groan at the thought of sweating in the gym or spending hours on the treadmill? So do we. This is why facial exercises are the perfect antidote. And nothing is easier than starting to tackle unwanted puffiness with the ‘Tapping Fingers’ Face Yoga exercise. Here’s all you need to do:

• Start by tapping your index finger gently against your skin, starting under your eyes and moving around the corners of your eyes and across your eyebrows
• Focus on breathing deeply as you circle your eyes with this gentle tapping movement
• Finish up taking your index fingers on either side of the bridge of your nose
• Gently smooth out the skin with a light touch, lifting your fingers up and away when you reach the corner of your eyes

Repetitions: Tap your face for 30 to 60 seconds | Smooth your face for 30 to 60 seconds

Although this looks like a low-energy movement (and it is), your fingers are encouraging circulation which promotes blood flow and brings nutrients to the skin. At the same time, your improved circulation is helping to remove toxins through lymphatic drainage which is leading to eye puffiness. It’s the perfect Face Yoga exercise to get you started and stimulate your face and eyes for more workouts.

Puffy Eye Remedy #2 – The ‘Facial Stretch’

Looking to target wrinkles, eye bags, and puffiness all in one? The Facial Stretch ticks all your boxes. This Face Yoga exercise to remove eye puffiness requires no assistance, so you can practice in the car, the shower, or even at work (just don’t let the boss catch you). Here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Find a comfortable spot, either sitting or standing and look straight ahead
• Open your mouth into an ‘O’ shape
• Look upward without creasing your forehead
• Hold this stretch for 5 seconds

Repetitions: Repeat this facial exercise 3 to 5 times When your forehead muscles activate you’ll be letting the muscles around your eyes atrophy, so this pose is all about giving the forehead the day off and forcing underutilized eye muscles to take over. With regular workouts, these muscles become firmer which lifts the skin around your eyes and irons out the puffiness.

Puffy Eye Remedy #3 – The ‘Surprise Me’

Have your kids, partner, or work colleagues ever done something that made you sit back, eyes wide open, and think “wow”? If so, this facial exercise will be simple for you. Here’s what you need to do:

• Widen your eyes as much as you can (if it helps, try standing in front of a mirror to ensure the white of your eyes is visible)
• Hold this position until your eyes start to water, then close your eyes and relax

Repetitions: Repeat this facial exercise 5 to 10 times

This Face Yoga pose activates the underused muscles around your eyes, helping to firm up the skin surrounding the corner of your eyes and smooth out wrinkles. At the same time, the tightening of your skin will help alleviate any puffiness or sagging skin and leave your eyes looking fuller and younger.

It’s Never Been Easier to Get Rid of Your Puffy Eyes (Bonus: Claim your gift)

Struggling with swollen eyes isn’t fun. You may be tempted to try and rub your eyes when they’re irritated, but the more you try to rub puffiness away, the worse it gets because vigorous rubbing can lead to minute tears in your capillaries, leading to WORSE puffiness and discoloration. Removing puffy eyes without surgery can feel like a pipe dream, especially if your surrounding tissue has already been affected, but there’s great news – that’s backed by scientific research – because regular facial exercises can help blast away puffy eyes, restore firmness to your delicate tissue, and leave you looking fresh every morning (even if you’ve been up all night with the kids or putting in extra hours at work). If you’re excited at the thought of a puffy eyes remedy that can be practiced at home, complete our simple quiz below to receive a custom Face Yoga program tailored to your skin and lifestyle.