Say Goodbye to Puffy Skin: How to Depuff Your Face Safely

woman using facial roller and stone
  • Puffy skin is a common facial condition caused by lack of sleep or the wrong diet. Beauty sleep is real, and dairy is not your best friend.
  • Ice and cold therapies work best against puffy skin. Practicing cold therapy can reduce the swollen face in under 4 minutes.
  • Exercises like jogging or facial yoga help you reduce the puffiness of your skin. Sweating reduces the sodium levels in your body and allows your face to settle down.
  • Does alcohol make your face puffy? Yes, it does. You need to reduce your alcohol intake to obtain a healthy glow.

Waking up to a puffy or swollen face is quite common. Usually, the area under our eyes, cheeks, or mouth gets bloated and may make us feel a bit self-conscious. That probably explains the reason why Google has to provide answers to questions like “how to depuff your face” or “how to reduce swelling on face home remedies”.

If you’re one of this group searching for the best remedies for swollen faces, you will find this article helpful. We’re going over the main triggers for face puffiness, exercises you can practice, and much more.

Common Causes of Face Puffiness

All of us have noticed our skin being puffier than usual at least once in our lives. Usually, the puffy face becomes the ‘new normal’ at college because students undergo fewer hours of sleep during that period.

However, having puffy skin may indicate various body disbalances or some kind of an issue. Before the situation turns worse, it is important to identify the main triggers for a puffy face and what you can do about it.

Why is My Face Puffy in the Morning?

beer bottles on a bucket

A puffy face is an indicator of various internal processes, and sometimes it can be your unhealthy lifestyle routine or diet. Below we enlisted the top factors that can cause puffiness of your skin.

  • Bad Sleeping Routine: Beauty sleep is not a myth; it’s biologically proven that it affects our appearance. Essentially, sleeping helps the parasympathetic nervous system take out the extra fluids from the soft tissue in our face and put it back into our system – the reason we have toned skin in the morning. Obstructing your sleeping routine means fluids will not be extracted, and the result is a swollen face.
  • Alcohol: Alcohol is a declared enemy of the skin. Its diuretic effect dehydrates us and causes us to urinate more. The skin loses its hydration reservoir, becoming dull and wrinkled or puffy. Moreover, the swelling will affect the entire body, not necessarily the face only.
  • Sodium: Salt is also not the greatest friend to skin. Similar to alcohol, it has a dehydrating reaction. Only in this case, the sodium takes the water reservoirs, transports it into the blood vessels, and enlarges them. As a result, you will receive a puffy face or other areas of your body.

Home Remedies for Depuffing Face

The rule of thumb says that a swollen or puffy face occurs when you must look to impress. No, it’s a joke, but many of us experienced at least one morning when we had to look gorgeous for an important meeting or a date. However, the face decides otherwise, and we end up googling “how to reduce swelling in the face” and “how to depuff face quickly and effectively”. To spare you the trouble, here’s how to reduce swelling on the face with home remedies.

  • Icy water: Ice cold water (preferably with blocks of ice in the vessel) narrows the blood vessels to reduce swelling and hydrate your skin. This will immediately settle down the puffy face, but if you want faster results, don’t hesitate to use anti-inflammatory soaps or oils.
  • Massage with ice: Ice has healing power against a swollen face for the same reason as ice water. However, massaging your face with ice has more power because of the freezing state of the water.
  • Stay hydrated: To avoid having a puffy face in the long run, you must stay hydrated. We often forget to drink water, but to reach that healthy glow, you cannot afford to avoid water.

These tips are your greatest fortes for immediate facial depuff. However, a puffy face is also a signal that you’re leading an unhealthy life. We picked some healthy routines you need to start practicing to avoid a puffy face in the future.

Diet and Lifestyle Changes for Reducing Face Puffiness

variety of fruits and vegetables

The same foods that cause gut bloating also cause facial bloats. Therefore, the list below entails the types of food you need to consume to reduce facial puffiness.

  • Fruits and vegetables: It goes without saying, but let’s point out the importance of fruits and veggies again. Fruits and vegetables are one of the richest sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber with low fat and sodium levels. Despite the nourishing properties, they can help you with the hydration process.
  • Fermented foods: Fermented foods have good bacteria that help with gut bloating, but they can be beneficial for facial bloating as well. Kefir, kombucha, and fermented tea are just some of the tasty options you can incorporate into your diet.
  • Greek yogurt: Dairy foods are not recommended in the depuff face diet, but if you enjoy them, you can use Greek yogurt. It is actually beneficial for you.

Also, if you wonder does alcohol make your face puffy, the answer is always yes. Small amounts of alcohol every once in a while will not be a problem. However, if you struggle with a puffy face, it’s best to avoid it until you can establish a better look.

The bottom line is that the answers to questions like how to reduce swelling on the face are not the easiest. The person struggling with a puffy face obviously has other issues and their diet may need readjustment. But despite the diet and healthier meals, exercising is just as important as everything else.

Exercises to Depuff Face

Being physically active can help with facial puffiness and reduce the swollen look for obvious reasons. While working out, we lose a lot of fluids through sweating. Sodium, the electrolyte responsible for the hydrational balance in our body, leaves our body mainly through sweat. That means that the extra sodium sucking the water out of your system will go out, and your skin will keep that healthy glow.

A long exercising routine where you will sweat excessively is one of the best options to consider implementing in a healthy lifestyle. It doesn’t cost you any money, but it can make such a powerful difference to your skin.

However, despite regular body exercises, you can also incorporate some facial exercises to reduce the puffy look of your skin.

How to Massage Face to Depuff

One of the best ways to improve a swollen face is to start practicing facial yoga. You don’t need a facial roller or any other tools for these simple techniques. Your fingertips will do the job perfectly.

Start with tapping your face from your forehead down to your neck for about 60 seconds. Be patient and remember to breathe normally. Controlling your breathing is highly important for facial yoga.

Another easy face exercise you can use is the lion technique. What you need to do is create a fist bump as you inhale and tighten your face by squeezing your facial muscles and holding your breath for 2-3 seconds. Exhale while sticking your tongue out, rolling your eyes and releasing the fist bumps.

This will help you create muscle contractions and get your face moving. As a result, your face will settle down and retrieve the normal look. Oh, and don’t think about the silly faces you’d be making. No one is looking, and it’s important to remain focused on the exercise rather than how you look to achieve better results.

Professional Treatments for Face Puffiness

If you’re not certain how to approach the puffy face condition, opt for a professional to guide you on how to do it. Facial spas nowadays have a mixture of traditional and modern treatments that can improve the overall face condition.

Cold therapy is one of the best options for a puffy face the spa expert might suggest. They will clean your face and expose it to a cold treatment to create contractions in your blood vessels. They might be using an ice roller and massaging your face to boost blood circulation.

In the end, if it’s a more traditional spa, they may put cucumbers over your eyes to reduce the puffiness under your eyes and get that healthy glow. Also, you can expect under-eye patches which also work like a charm against eye puffiness.

How Long Does it Take to Depuff the Face?

The time needed to fully depuff your face is directly related to how you do the exercises. If you’re doing them correctly, you will need about 3 minutes to fully depuff your face. If the exercises are not done correctly, all you may end up with is redness.

So, how to depuff your face in under 5 minutes? First, remember to be gentle. If you’re tapping the face, control your hands and tap everywhere gently as if you’re trying to wake your face. Do not pinch your face or be aggressive. Also, remember to control your breathing.

Also, apply ice for greater effect and wash your face with ice-cold water. Giving your face “the cold treatment” will enable seeing the results quickly.

What is the Best Sleeping Position to Avoid Puffy Face?

woman lying on bed

How we sleep affects our face and may cause signs of earlier aging. In case you are unaware, collagen, which is the protein responsible for your healthy and youthful look, is produced while you’re sleeping. That’s another reason why you need a good sleeping routine. On the other hand, collagen production reduces by 1% after you turn 25.

In other words, if you’re young (under 25), the way you sleep doesn’t affect the face that much. However, the sooner you adjust to the sleeping beauty routine, the easier it will be for you to adjust to the new regime.

The same goes for a puffy face. If you’re still young, the way you sleep might not affect your face. As you grow older, you will notice that it might become a bit bloated if you press your face during your sleep. Therefore, sleeping on your back is certainly the best option to avoid waking up to a puffy face.

Does Sleeping on Your Side Make Your Face Less Puffy?

The short answer is yes. Why? Because when sleeping on your side, the body is entirely relaxed, and the pressure falls on one side of the face.

As mentioned, while you’re young, the sleeping position may not affect you directly, but as you get older, it will. Therefore, sleeping on your back where your face can breathe and relax appropriately is better.

Additionally, you need to be careful in choosing the pillowcase material. Choose one that is smooth to avoid causing possible lines and redness on your face. No one likes to wake up to a wrinkled face full of pillow lines. Try selecting softer pillowcase materials like silk. They will prevent redness or a puffy face. Plus, your hair will be forever grateful for the silky pillows.

Conclusion

Puffy skin is a common facial condition that happens mostly as a result of lack of sleep or an unhealthy diet. To sum up, if you regularly have a puffy face, you will need to reduce the level of fats and sodium in your body. The easiest way to reduce the puffy face is to practice cold therapy or wash your face with ice-cold water.

Also, to reduce the swollen face, break a sweat! Most of the sodium gets out of our system through sweating. If you notice your face has been swollen for quite some time, make jogging a priority in your free-time activities.

Last but not least, stay hydrated. Don’t forget to consume your daily water level. Your skin will glow, and so will you.

About the Author

Medical Disclaimer

The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. The content on the website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Newsletter


    Scroll to Top