Happy New Year means time for some baggage removal.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1---Happy New Year!

If you partied too much bringing in 2010 last night and your face bares the evidence, let me give you my top tips to get rid of the old baggage…under your eyes. Take some of the left over alcohol (drinking or rubbing) and add water into a plastic zip lock baggie. Put the sealed baggie in the freezer until mostly frozen. The alcohol keeps the water from totally freezing and makes the water slushy, which is gentle around the eyes. If you don’t have any alcohol, you can use other household items like frozen metal spoons for de-puffing your eyes. A bag of frozen peas works well to reduce swelling for large body injuries, but Jello (half frozen) in a plastic baggie works best on small delicate areas like the eyes. I like to wrap the baggie with a paper towel soaked in green tea. It’s best to use green tea, because green tea also has anti-inflammatory properties. The antioxidants in green tea will make your eyes look better all around. If you use regular (black) tea in place of green tea the dark tea can stain the skin making it look like you have dark circles. Then you’ve traded one problem (under eye bags) for another (dark circles), as is the case with using preparation H. Some magazines recommend preparation H for its tissue shrinking properties, but the ointment can cause small white bumps called milia under the eyes. If all of this seems too complicated you could simply just use the green tea bag on the eyes. Caffeine is a diuretic and will help reduce excess fluid under the eyes. So today’s prescription is to moderate your salt intake, relax with some cold eye patches while you remember how much fun you had last night, and make your new year’s resolutions.