Puffy face - anyone made a noticeable difference without surgery

[lechatnoir]

My whole face looks puffy and slightly swollen (it's not!) so interested to hear from anyone who has made some changes and seen a noticeable difference as it's honestly getting me down how old & haggered I look.

Diet is OK but not amazing. I only have bread once or twice a week & even that is rarely more than a slice but do eat a lot of pasta & rice so could it be carb related? Maybe sugar - I don't add to tea or coffee but do have honey on my porridge, or the odd sweet treat plus sugars in other foods. I've upped my water intake as that wasn't great and whilst I feel less sluggish, I'm not seeing the difference in my face.

I've start a low dose Tret via Skin & Me 3 weeks ago but no difference yet and combine that with night serum & daily moisturiser with SPF 30. I do a moderate amount of exercise (1 + hour dog walk most days, weekly yoga & circuit training class) and just about to restart swimming once a week which I love. I could do with losing a stone so a bit overweight but not massively so and my face looks so much fatter & older than my body!

I'm 51 and really hoping this isn't just my aging face 😫 I'm considering some light botox for my deep 11's (mainly for aesthetic reasons but also hoping it will help with frown headaches) but no interest in fillers or anything else more radical.

Check your thyroid levels.

do you eat a lot of salt or processed food?

Reducing alcohol. I suspect cutting it entirely would make a massive difference

Watching with interest to see if anyone has tried lymphatic massage on a regular basis and if it works.

I don't think drink enough for it to be alcohol - I might have a couple of gin and tonics once a week. if ever I do have a big night out I always look a bit blotchy for a day or so but doesn't seem to make puffiness worse .

@LividBoop not considered that will look into it

@LoraPiano possibly more than I should. I'm actually keeping a good diary this week so I can properly appraise what I'm eating as I suspect it's not as good as I think! I do drink a can of Diet Coke most days which might contribute?

Gua sha every morning. Get two and it takes half the time. You can also do it with your hands. Yes it works.

I second gua sha - it transformed my puffy face

Lymphatic massage/dry brushing for whole body. Lymphatic massage/gua sha for face.

I genuinely notice a different when I do and don’t do these things especially under my eyes and around my jaw.

Oooh sounds promising - off to research wtf Gua sha is all about (I'm guessing one of those rollers or stone things)

Not sure about coke to be honest, but when I eat salty food, crackers, popcorn, or food with MSG etc for example the next day I have a puffy face that takes a few days to go down

Haha! You don’t even need a contraption of any kind tbh, can do just as decent a routine with hands. Plenty of tutorials on YouTube :)

I'd cut the alcohol out anyway just to eliminate the possibility, you'd be surprised the effect it could be having if you're sensitive to it.

What has worked for me is taking Active Liver supplements. My jawline became more defined. Over the last couple of months I have also been doing 5:2 diet and it has had a dramatic impact - no puffiness and sharper jawline as I have dropped a stone.

How is your blood pressure?

@CinnamonJellyBeans usually on the low side 115 over 58 last time I tested about 3 months ago.

@Daughn I've recently gone back to IF but prefer to just have a daily fast window as I can never manage the 2 v.low days. Definitely think losing a few pounds will help with my slacker jawline and will have a look at the supplements.

Started my Gua Sha morning routine today and looking to clean up my diet a bit. I've also book an appointment with my GP to have my thyroid checked as I have most of the symptoms of underactive thyroid although most/many I have attributed to perimenopause! I'm also keeping a food diary and can already see there's far more processed food than I thought so definitely improvements to be made there.

Thanks for all the tips and fingers crossed there's some change before too long.