How to Get Rid of Eye Bags, and Which Fixes Are Permanent

To get rid of eye bags, match the fix to the kind of bag you have. A puffy bag made of fluid goes down the same morning under a cold compress, and stays down longer if you sleep with your head raised, eat less salt at night and treat any allergy behind it. Thin, crepey skin under the eye firms over a course of clinic sessions. A hollow needs filler from a doctor, and filler lasts three months to a year. A fat pad that has pushed forward stays until a surgeon removes or repositions it in a lower blepharoplasty. That operation comes closest to permanent removal, and the bags still return on some eyes.

Find out which kind you have before you spend money. Our eye bags guide walks through three one-minute mirror checks, and the morning-and-evening photo decides which section below applies to you.

Every fix, and how long it lasts

Tonight: bags made of fluid

Fluid bags are the one kind you can shrink at home, and most of these fixes cost nothing. They swell overnight because you lie flat for seven or eight hours and fluid pools in the loose tissue under your eyes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology lists the habits that keep it from pooling.

Raise your head. Add a second pillow so your head sits above your chest. Fluid settles less around the eyes when gravity has somewhere to pull it.

Watch the salt at dinner. Your body holds water to dilute salt, and some of that water ends up under your eyes by morning. The World Health Organization sets the adult limit at under 5 g of salt a day, a little less than a teaspoon. The average adult worldwide ate 11 g a day in 2021. Tuyo, daing, instant noodles, patis and bagoong all carry heavy salt, so move them to lunch if your bags are worst in the morning. The AAO also advises against drinking fluids before bed.

Sleep seven to nine hours. Both the AAO and Cleveland Clinic give that range.

Check for allergy. Itchy eyes, sneezing in the morning, and puffiness that gets worse in one room point to an allergy. Feather pillows, a cat or dog on the bed, and the products you put on before sleep can each set it off. An antihistamine brings the swelling down if allergy is the cause, and Cleveland Clinic's ophthalmologist notes that antihistamine eye drops do nothing for puffiness from any other cause.

Cool it in the morning. A cold, damp washcloth or a wrapped cold pack on closed eyes for up to 15 minutes shrinks the swelling for the morning. Our guide to using a cold compress on eye bags covers how cold, how long and what ice cannot fix. If the puffiness follows a night of crying or shows up every morning, see why eyes get puffy.

These habits keep fluid off for as long as you keep them. Go back to one pillow and salty dinners, and the morning bags come back with them.

Over weeks: thin skin and fine lines

Skin under the eye is thinner than anywhere else on your face. When it loses firmness, it creases, sags a little over the bone and lets the colour of the vessels beneath show through. A cold compress does nothing for that, and neither does sleep.

A clinic eye treatment works on this layer. EyeLift Pro 360, the non-surgical eye bag treatment in Makati at ICONIQUE inside The Peninsula Manila, starts with a deep cleanse, steam and an eye mask, then device work around the eye and a hydration booster. A session takes 45 to 60 minutes including the consultation, on ICONIQUE's own devices.

Of the four kinds of eye bag, the clinic treats three without surgery: fluid puffiness, the shadow under a hollow, and pigment in thin skin. For a hollow, sessions work on the skin over it, and the lost volume itself takes filler. Fat pads pushed forward need a surgeon.

A hollow: filler, injected by a doctor

A hollow under the eye casts a shadow, and the shadow reads as a bag or a dark circle. A doctor can fill the groove, called the tear trough, with injectable filler. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, filler lasts three months to a year depending on the product, so you return for repeat injections to keep the result. Choose the doctor for their experience with the tear trough in particular.

How to remove eye bags permanently

Of all the fixes above, surgery is the one that removes a bag for years. A fat pad that has slipped forward past the membrane holding it in place makes a bulge that looks the same at 7 in the morning and 7 at night. Creams, compresses and clinic devices leave it where it is.

In a lower blepharoplasty, a surgeon makes an incision and removes or repositions the fat. The AAO describes it as an outpatient operation. A surgeon who specialises in eyelids, an oculoplastic surgeon, or a plastic surgeon performs it.

Permanent is a strong word even for surgery. In a study that followed 26 patients for an average of 11.3 years, each patient had the fat removed on one side and kept and tucked back behind a repaired membrane on the other. The bags came back on 30.8% of the sides where fat was removed and 7.7% of the sides where it was repositioned. The returning bags were smaller than the originals. Ask any surgeon you see which technique they use and how often the bags return in their own patients.

When eye bags need a doctor first

Swelling around the eyes can come from inside the body, and no clinic treatment fixes those causes. See a doctor before booking anything if:

• the swelling lasts longer than 24 to 48 hours, or hurts, itches or turns red (AAO and Cleveland Clinic);
• both eyes swell along with your feet or ankles, or your urine turns foamy. MedlinePlus lists that pattern under nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disorder;
• your eyes seem to bulge, feel gritty or tear, or you see double. MedlinePlus lists those signs under Graves disease, a thyroid disorder;
• the puffiness comes with itching and sneezing every day. An allergy doctor can find the trigger.

Eye bags at ICONIQUE Peninsula

Start with the habits for one week and photograph your eyes morning and evening. If the bags shrink by evening, fluid is the main cause. If the skin under your eyes still looks thin and creased, see which eye bags a clinic can fix. Geralyn Ramos performs EyeLift Pro 360 at ICONIQUE on the lobby level of The Peninsula Manila, on the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues, four minutes' walk from Ayala Triangle. You can book an EyeLift Pro 360 session online and see today's price there. If your bulge looks the same morning and night, we will tell you it needs a surgeon.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get rid of eye bags fast?

Rest a cold, damp washcloth or a cold pack wrapped in cloth on closed eyes for up to 15 minutes. It shrinks fluid puffiness the same morning. It does nothing for a fat pad, a hollow or brown pigment, and the swelling returns with its cause.

Can eye bags be removed permanently?

A fat pad can, with lower eyelid surgery. In a study that followed 26 patients for 11.3 years, bags came back on 30.8% of eyes where the surgeon removed fat and 7.7% where the surgeon repositioned it. Fluid bags return whenever their cause does.

How do you remove eye bags without surgery?

Fluid bags go down with a raised pillow, under 5 g of salt a day and treatment of any allergy. Thin, crepey skin firms over clinic sessions of 45 to 60 minutes. A hollow takes filler from a doctor, which lasts three months to a year.

Does salt cause eye bags?

Salt makes your body hold water, and some of it pools under your eyes overnight. The WHO limit for adults is under 5 g of salt a day. The world average in 2021 was 11 g.

When should I see a doctor about eye bags?

See a doctor if the swelling lasts more than 24 to 48 hours, hurts, itches or turns red, comes with swollen ankles or foamy urine, or comes with bulging eyes or double vision. Kidney, thyroid and allergy problems can all cause swelling around the eyes.