The middle-aged puffy face

[davidcameronsshed]

I'm 44 and for the past 2 years or so I have witnessed my face becoming more "puffy", and my once large-ish eyes looking smaller. (I also had a baby at 41 so it could be that, but I'm pretty sure I've seen other "middle-aged" women complaining about this on here so I think it's just age and hormones / peri)?

The other day on a Zoom I noticed my face looked more puffy and round than ever. Coincidentally (or not) the day before I had consumed more alcohol than normal due to a special occasion - nearly a whole bottle of wine. Normally I either don't drink or only have 1-2 glasses.

So... questions:

• does middle age puffy face get worse with alcohol?
• conversely, can it be improved by drinking even less?
• has anyone on here ever successfully reduced their middle-age puffy face and had their eyes back to looking bigger???

Itl’ll be the wine, I’m sorry to say. I’m 48 and ditched all alcohol about a year ago, and my skin is much better. No puffiness, even tone and colour. I think as you get to my type of age anything shows on your face 😬

Has it changed your actual face though? Face shape / eyes?

Untreated overactive thyroid made my face puffy. Maybe Google the symptoms and see if it's worth getting checked out?

Yes, sorry, ditch the wine - puffy face and red blotches.

Some people pay for a bit of puffiness - think various fillers.

You could live on brown rice and vegetables, no alcohol, and be size 8. You’d get your cheekbones back. But is that the way you’d want to live?

ps. I find it hard to believe a glass of wine a night is going to turn you into a ⛄️ snowman’s face!!

just eat more cookies. both your face and body will become symmetrically nice and round - and with enough cookies in your system you will focus more on the important things in life such as how to get more cookies. Q.E.D

Alcohol does make your face puffy.

Look up gua sha routines on youtube/tiktok and do this several times a week. It really works with face depuffing.

Normally I either don't drink or only have 1-2 glasses

^ so that hardly seems the reason for said “puffiness”

Maybe it’s just middle agedness?

LarkingJam, I did that for a while. And my face looked lovely! Nice to see my cheekbones were still there after all.

Now, I’m back on the cake. And my face is melting, jowly mess.

I'm 54 and I've never had a puffy face. Do you eat a lot of salt or processed foods?

What about getting one of those 5year NHS health checks? There could be any number of things that cause puffiness or inflammation and you should definitely get a check up because some of these things can be easily reversible if you catch it early and nip it in the bud... more serious if you don't

Second gua sha, also facial tapping and massage

too many carbs and alcohol make my face puffy

Drink enough water

@Gowlett isnt there a happy medium? 😆

brown rice and vegetables - yes you’ll have cheekbones, and a sense of superiority: but not much else going for you!

time for my tea with milk and sugar (and people always think I’m 10 years young lol).
🍰 ☕️ 🍷 ☀️ 🏝️

Carbs and wine

I’m 52 and definitely have the small eye thing going on although not the puffy face! I put my decreasing eye size down to my menopausal lack of sleep and general aging - the joys of getting old😀.

I have a facial about every 6 weeks, and the massage seems to make my face leaner, less puffy. I have a jade roller, which i should use more, which helps, lots of stuff about facial massage on you tube. I give myself a mini face massage in the shower with my face wash, seems to help a bit also.

Interesting. No I never eat processed foods at all, no refined sugar and only eat pure sourdough if I eat bread at all which is rare. Follow Tim Spector's advice basically. The occasional glass of red apart from my binge this weekend.

It must be age related / peri etc.

@SpongeBobJudgeyPants you think the jade rollers really work? Ive considered these but wasn't sure if it was a gimmick / massive waste of time!

But I don't eat that stuff much. Am usually very healthy indeed and only eat fresh whole foods.

Is water retention a thing?

How hydrated are you?

Gua sha and similar are great, super hydrating skincare routine.

Finally is early 40s middle aged? 😳

About 2 hours ago I was just lamenting that my once large eyes are slowly giving way to a very fatty lump between the brows and lids, don't know what its called. I felt a real sadness and loss and have been in denial since. Ironically I'm going out to have a few glasses of wine tonight and told myself that I'll feel better when I have them. Like you OP I don't drink much however unlike you i eat way too much sugar and am trying to cut down. I have a real addiction issue but that's another thread!

@davidcameronsshed I think the jade rollers feel nice and cooling....it's probably more about doing the massage tbh, to do lymphatic drainage. Can do that with your hands. I suppose it depends if you prefer the 'ceremony' of the roller, or something.... they can be got cheap on Amazon etc. Don't know if they are any better/worse than the gua sha (sp). Mine has a little roller for eye area, and a bigger one for general face. When I do the massage, I can feel it draining, at the risk of tmi.

I'm sure when/if I get to 90 I will realise I've been sold a pup on a lot of beauty stuff. Just too scared to risk it on some things! marketing dream sucker

Stop drinking and ask your doctor about hormone replacement therapy. It has changed my life.

That’s just blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and blood sugars. It’s to advise people on lifestyle changes they can make to reduce their risk of CVD. It won’t give any Indication as to why op has a puffy face but I will say, in my case, it was the wine.
My face changed dramatically around a month after I became teetotal.