(orchestral music)
(chalk writing)
- When I was growing up,
I had a science teacher
named Mr. Thayer.
He had these really deep-set
eyes with dark circles
around them and loose,
baggy skin underneath.
At the time, I thought
his eyes were really cool,
that they made him look
wise and knowledgeable.
Now, I'm probably the same
age Mr. Thayer was then,
and I've got bags under my eyes.
But they don't seem as cool now.
They just make me look tired all the time.
There are a lot of possible causes
for what's scientifically known
as periorbital hyperchromia,
but the most obvious one is aging.
We all have fat above, below,
and behind our eyes for cushioning.
This is in case something
slams into your eye,
like, say, a fist.
(grunts)
The fat will take most of the blow
and save your skull some damage.
But as we get older, the
septum orbital ligaments
in our skin decompose,
and all that gooey fat
pushes down and out.
And this thin, weak skin exposes
the tiny blood vessels underneath,
making our fat eye bags look darker.
Aside from aging, there are other things
that contribute to those
lovely, dark, fat bags
under our eyes.
Genetics don't help, first of all.
If your mother or father have eye bags,
you probably will too.
Also, any kind of fluid
buildup around the eyes
is gonna make the bags worse,
because fat cells are
mainly made of water.
When you get bags under your
eyes from fluid retention
like this, they're most
noticeable in the morning.
(whooshing)
So I know you're all out there wondering,
"But Christian, what's your secret?
"How do you treat eye bags?"
Of course, you can always
cover them with makeup,
or you can turn to your
friendly neighborhood doctor
for needles and scalpels.
Dermatologists often
inject wrinkle fillers
under people's eye muscles
to reduce their baggage.
Mix that with some Botox, and
you will look years younger.
It's only a couple thousand
dollars every eight months.
Or, you can spend big and go
under the knife for surgery.
The official name is blepharoplasty.
The doctor makes a few
incisions in your eyelid,
melts the fat inside of there,
and either removes it or repositions it.
Then they tuck in the remaining loose skin
and use lasers to firm it up.
(whooshing)
If the bags under your eyes
are from fluid retention
rather than aging, you can cool something
like cucumber slices or tea bags
and place them on your eyes.
The cold will restrict your blood vessels
and reduce the swelling.
You can also try sleeping
with an extra pillow
to elevate your head so
the fluid just drains
out of your face while you're sleeping.
So here's the deal.
We may not like bags under our eyes,
but they're usually harmless.
If you've got some kind
of great remedy out there
for bags under your eyes,
why don't you let us know in the comments?
And please, subscribe to the channel
so you don't miss any further episodes.
Lastly, I would love it
if you visited us at BrainStuffShow.com.
There's all kinds of cool
videos and blog posts there
from my smarty-pants colleagues.
