If you’ve woken up with puffy, swollen eyes even once, you’ve likely wondered how to get rid of bags under your eyes. Alongside morning breath, dark circles, bed head, and dog-that-needs-to-pee, it’s one of the rudest awakenings you can experience.

The skin around the eyes is much thinner than anywhere else on the face, so it tends to show off its insides. That’s why dark circles also often appear—because the constricted blood vessels under that thin skin become slightly visible. The muscles and tissues surrounding the eyes also weaken as you age. So, while you sleep, the natural fatty tissue around the eyes can sink down into the bottom eyelids.

Puffy eyes can be caused by many factors. Barring any allergies or underlying medical condition, your eye bags could be caused by dehydration, poor rest, high sodium intake, excess smoking, or…you’re just getting older.

Now, there are some obvious big-picture fixes there—sleep better! Drink plenty of water! But nobody can do anything about getting older. And the truth is, you’re sometimes gonna wake up sometimes with puffy eyes, and you want to know how to get rid of the swelling. So here's a four-part plan for how to get rid of bags under your eyes.

How to Reduce Puffy EyesApply a proactive eye product before bed.

Certain eye creams and serums get ahead of puffing (and dark circles and wrinkles) by invigorating the skin with things like peptides and other nourishing ingredients. These help firm and smooth the skin while you sleep, and allow you to wake up looking much more rested. It’s still imperative to actually be rested, though. These aren’t miracle healers that will mask a hangover, dehydration, or a lack of sleep. Instead, these eye products will counter the weakening skin, tissue, and muscles to keep everything taut.

Kiehl's overnight botanical eye cream$40

Sephora

Jack Black peptide eye cream$40

Amazon

Apply a cold compress after you wake up. 

Apply an ice pack, or frozen bag of peas—anything freezing except for bare ice. It’s the same reason you apply ice to a swollen ankle. This reduces blood flood in the area, which in turn reduces swelling.

One next-level method is to store a jade or obsidian roller in the fridge, and then gently roll it onto freshly washed skin in the morning. This reduces swelling and helps push fatty tissue outward, away from the eye.

This tool from Adler comes with two rollers: use the smaller stone for the eyes, and the bigger side for the rest of your face.

Alder New York obsidian face roller$40

Amazon

Use a caffeinated eye cream. 

Like a cold compress, caffeine constricts blood vessels and thus works as an anti-inflammatory. Applying a morning eye cream with caffeine is a fast fix for dark circles and puffiness alike. Bonus points if it has the same firming ingredients as a good overnight cream, like peptides.

Follain peptide and caffeine eye cream$36

Amazon

Brickell peptide and caffeine eye cream$40

Amazon

Try a retinol. 

These vitamin a products are extremely effective at anti-aging. They help firm the skin and reduce acne, fine lines, enlarged pores, uneven skin tone, and so on. By incorporating a targeted retinol eye product into your nighttime regimen, you can play a long game towards having firmer, stronger skin. You typically won’t see drastic results for weeks or months. But most retinol-packed eye products will also serve up the short term benefits of other eye creams, too.

Yeouth retinol eye cream$19

Amazon

Read MoreThe Best Eye Creams Will Help You Look Fresher, Maybe Even Younger

These top-shelf creams will give all your under-eye concerns the boot.

By Adam Hurly



Adam Hurly has been covering men's grooming since 2013 (and for GQ since 2016). He is also a travel writer. In Fall 2024, Adam is launching Blue Print by Adam Hurly, a men's grooming platform. Adam resides in Lisbon (previously Berlin, NYC, and San Francisco). He is a Sioux Falls, SD, native... Read moreWriterInstagramRelated Stories for GQGroomingSkincare