Here's why you're waking up to a puffy face in the morning

Waking up to a puffy and swollen face can tack on so much more time into your skincare routine—you may have to coddle your skin with soothing products and massage to aid lymphatic drainage. We spoke to a Mumbai-based dermatologist about why your skin can look more inflamed than usual right now, and what you can do to quickly de-puff before your morning video call. 

You're spending too much time bingeing late-night TV

Skimping on sleep—or an altered sleep pattern—can cause facial puffiness, especially around the eyes. “It could be due to the position that you sleep in, the type of pillow used, your water or fluid intake during the day. Also, there is a fluid redistribution to face when we are in a horizontal-lying-down position,” says Dr Apratim Goel. And it’s not just puffiness that you should be worried about—your skin undergoes a regeneration process when you sleep, so lack of shut-eye shows up as sallow skin and dark circles. If this feels too relatable, keep chilled tea bags handy to apply over the eyes for a quick de-puff. A quick finger massage helps too, improving blood circulation in the area, while a cool-tip eye massager can help soothe it. 

You're not working out enough

“Exercise and workout opens the pores of your skin and increases blood supply to the skin. As a consequence, water and salt both are excreted from the body as sweat. This keeps the water-salt balance low in the body and reduces puffiness. So it’s important to have an active lifestyle to maintain this balance and avoid a puffy face,” says Dr Goel.

You're reaching for chips and salty snacks

Sodium, regulates blood flow and pressure and helps in the smooth functioning of nerves and muscle fibres. Chloride helps with digestion. However too much salt can be bad for you, especially in processed foods, chips and ready-to-eat packets. "When you consume too much sodium in your diet, your body retains extra water,” says Dr Goel. She adds that it’s crucial for our body to maintain a sodium and potassium ratio. This also means that your body will flush out more potassium and calcium. “Hence, potassium-rich foods like bananas, avocados, tomatoes are recommended. Also, foods which have a diuretic action, which help flush out must be consumed, such as asparagus, pineapple, ginger, peaches and cucumber,” she says. 

You could be allergic to something

Face puffiness can also be a sign of underlying medical conditions. An allergy to food or a medication, or sensitivity to a skincare product can all cause puffiness and discomfort. This could also manifest as red, watery eyes and blotchy skin. 

You're drinking more wine than usual

Alcohol increases inflammation in the body, which will then worsen any inflammatory situation you are already suffering from, such as acne. “Since alcohol is dehydrating, the body will try to retain fluids to cope with it. This will make the face appear puffy and swollen up the very next morning,” says Dr Goel. Drinking a little early in the evening, away from your sleep time and keeping a tab on the number of drinks you have can help.  Applying a mask with cucumber or oatmeal can help the next day, and a cool compress can reduce inflammation too. 

You're taking super hot showers

Very hot water while showering can increase fluid as well as blood supply to the face, so you can get out looking hot, sweaty, red and puffy. “A cool shower is ideal,” says Dr Goel. If you need soaring temperatures for a comfortable shower, make sure to end with splashing cold water on your face, or indulge in an ice-bath dunk.  

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