What causes bags under the eyes?

[Kate]

Even though I'm not young anymore my face and my neck look relatively good. My skin in general looks good too. But my problem is that slight bags are beginning to form under my eyes. Under overhead lighting these slight bags look really bad. What causes these bags to form? What can I do to eliminate them? Is there hope?

[Tom Hagerty]

What causes these bags to form?

1. You said you are not young anymore. The skin of the face starts to loosen with age. This is especially true of the skin around the eyes. Age is probably the number one cause of bags under the eyes.

2. Fluid retention is another factor. Since the skin of the eyelids is extremely thin, fluid tends to pool up under this skin. Some of the causes of this pooling up or fluid retention are high salt intake, some medications, allergies, and cosmetics. Liver and kidney problems can also contribute to fluid retention around the eyes.

3. Perhaps too much facial expression, especially static expressions, can create the bulging skin and dark circles under the eyes. My opinion is that mobile expressions do not cause these problems though. This is a highly debatable subject.

4. Heredity can play a role. Dark circles under the eyes may be a genetic factor. They are not always unattractive though.

Some Italian women are born looking old.

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What can I do to eliminate them?

Eat nutritious foods, stay thin, stay out of the sun, and follow a good program (like my program) of facial exercises. This might work. But even if it does work, stay away from overhead lighting. Overhead lighting casts unflattering shadows making even a glamour-girl look scary.