Am I Destined to Have Eye Bags if My Parents Do?

Puffy eyes make you look tired and old, so you want to do all you can to keep your skin taut. But a quick glance at your parents has you wondering whether they’ve passed their baggy eye genes to you. 

Our providers Rick J. Smith, MD, FACS, Kathy Kuehne, LE, Lisa Allen, RN, and Nicole Borek, RN help many folks in East Lansing, Michigan, address their under-eye bags. Here, we explain why under-eye bags form and how to eliminate them.

What causes under-eye bags?

Under-eye bags mean different things to different people. Some refer to the puffy pockets of excess fat and flesh below their eyes; others mean the dark circles and shadowing that looks like a bruise.

No matter your definition, are under-eye bags hereditary?

The answer is sometimes. While your genetic makeup can make you more likely to get your parents’ baggy eyes, it doesn’t mean you will. You could dodge that particular trait.

If your parents passed their under-eye bags along to you, and the puffiness appears in your youth, you can expect the issue to worsen as you age.

But heredity isn’t the only cause of under-eye bags. You can develop puffy pockets from:

• Poor sleep quality and quantity
• Allergies
• Smoking
• Water retention
• Thyroid problems
• The natural aging process

As your skin ages, it loses essential nutrients that keep it strong, resilient, and elastic. As collagen and elastin proteins wane, your skin becomes loose and weak. The tissue under your eyes is already delicate and thin, so these factors affect this area significantly. 

Fat from the surrounding tissues migrates to the point of least resistance — under your eyes — and the weakening skin bulges outward.

How to eliminate under-eye bags

Depending on what’s causing your under-eye bags, you have several options for shrinking or eliminating them.

Effective home remedies for undereye bags

If allergies, sleep issues, water retention, or other lifestyle factors are behind your eye bags, start by addressing those issues (i.e., take allergy medication, get more rest, consume less sodium, and stop smoking). Meanwhile, try these at-home tips:

• Cold therapy: a cold compress can reduce puffiness
• Caffeine: caffeine shrinks blood vessels, so a wet tea bag or caffeinated eye cream can help
• Hemorrhoid cream: this ointment reduces blood vessels and inflammation

If you use a cream or ointment, be careful to keep it out of your eyes. 

Nonsurgical solutions

Kathy Kuehne offers cutting-edge treatments that tighten skin and stimulate new collagen growth. 

Injectable fillers, like Juvéderm®, can fill in the depressed areas above your cheeks and effectively smooth the transition between your puffy eyes and your cheeks.

Laser resurfacing can trigger new collagen production and tighten your skin.

Under-eye bag surgery

If conservative treatments don’t resolve your under-eye bags, Dr. Smith performs a lower lid lift (blepharoplasty) to remove excess skin and fat and tighten your delicate under-eye tissue. Dr. Smith has extensive experience with this procedure, and the results typically last for life. 

Don’t live with under-eye bags — contact Rick J. Smith, MD, online or by phone to schedule a consultation.