Schuetz

"What's the matter, didn't you get enough sleep last night?"

Everyone is likely to hear that question a few times during their lives. No one wants to hear it after getting a full night's rest though. If this happens to you, chances are it is due to bags or dark circles under your eyes.

When meeting someone for the first time people focus immediately on the face, and, what part of the face do they notice? The eyes. The most common problems that affect the area around the eyes are bags, circles, and crow's feet. Any of these skin problems can make you look older than you are or tired, neither of which make the best first impression.

Bags under the eyes are caused by fat deposits or fluid retention. Fluid retention is typically caused by a salty diet, smoking, fatigue and sleeping. Fatty deposits tend to be hereditary, but can be kept in check by following the same tips for fluid retention.

These tips will help minimize or eliminate bags under your eyes...

Avoid eye products and makeup that aggravate the problem
Avoid stress
Drink lots of water to flush excess salt from your system
Get plenty of sleep
Quit smoking
Reduce your salt intake to prevent fluid retention
Sleep with extra pillows and let gravity work its magic
Thoroughly remove all eye makeup

Even small traces of eye makeup can cause the skin to react negatively, leading to bags. You can tell when all of your eye makeup has been removed when your cleansing pad shows no trace of makeup after going over your face.

Dark circles under the eyes are primarily caused by excess fat under the eye. These can be caused by heredity, allergies, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, sunlight, and aging.

Reduce dark circles under your eyes with these tips...

Apply a non-shiny concealer to lighten the circles
Get plenty of sleep
Talk to your doctor about possible hormonal causes
Treat your allergies
Use sunscreen
Wear sunglasses

A few words about sunglasses. Choose sunglasses with full ultraviolet protection, both UVA and UVB, to shield against the damaging spectrum of the sun's rays. You cannot judge UV protection by the cost of the sunglasses. Look for a tag that certifies 100% UVA and UVB protection. Lenses that cover the entire eye will also help in preventing...

Crow's feet are tiny wrinkles around the eyes. They are caused by overexposure to the sun, the breakdown of collagen, or repetitive muscle movement (such as smiling or squinting). There are many products available that help reduce crow's feet. Before buying them try some of the following tips to battle crow's feet...

Avoid squinting
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
Keep hydrated
Wear sunglasses, (See above for tips on sunglasses)
Smile

Even though smiling repetitively can create fine lines around the eyes - don't stop doing it. There are too many other benefits to give it up. Besides, treating crow's feet with the other methods listed here will give you something to smile about.

In closing, here are a few more general thoughts and tips to help your eyes. Sleeping on your back with prevent pooling, and keep your face from being repeatedly contorted. Cool chamomile tea bags on the eyes are soothing and improve appearance. Over the counter eye gels work for some, but you may have to try a few to find the one that works best for you. After all, you deserve the best and taking the time to find it is worth it.

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Cindy Russell has studied and researched skin care and the aging process for over 17 years. Cindy is also the author of "The Secret Science Of Skin Care And Aging" a free ebook that she offers at her website http://www.anti-agingskincaresolutions.com for more great articles and beauty tips you can also visit her Squidoo lens here: http://www.squidoo.com/antiagingskincareproducts/