When your undereyes are puffy, those undereye bags can make you look like you spent the night tossing and turning, even if you got a full eight hours (ok, who are we kidding — six hours if you’re lucky). Not to mention the fact that puffy eyes just feel uncomfortable and are almost impossible to cover up with concealer.

Puffiness can be caused by a few things, including genetics, allergies, fluid retention from too much salt, and that aforementioned sleep deprivation. The good news is that while you won’t be able to “cure” undereye bags for good (that’s just not how our bodies work), you can do a few sneaky tricks to visibly de-puff and firm the undereye area.  Our favorite? A soothing lymphatic massage, which can be a great way to drain excess fluid, release tension around the eyes, and de-stress overall.

We tapped our friend Stephanie Zheng of the popular beauty blog Collection of Vials — who also happens to be an expert at all things lymphatic drainage and the founder of skin-tool brand Mount Lai — to show us how to instantly de-puff using a handy combination of her Jade Eye Massager and our new Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask. Both of these products were designed specifically for the eye area, and are a puff-erasing power couple. 

In order to get the best results, Stephanie has a few pointers before we get to the massage how-to.

First off, it’s absolutely imperative to minimize friction when you massage. The skin around your eyes is delicate, so make sure you’re using products that minimize any pulling of the skin. Stephanie recommends applying more eye cream than you would use normally, to help the tool glide seamlessly around the eyes.

Secondly, make sure you’re using the right tools. Mount Lai’s eye massager was made specifically for the eyes, featuring soft, rounded edges that are gentle enough for this sensitive, easily damaged area.

Without further ado, let’s get to Stephanie’s eye massage technique!

Step 1: Inner corner to temple

Start at the inner corner of your eye, and glide the tool along your undereye area, up and out to your temple. Do this on both eyes, about five times in succession on each eye.

Step 2: Eyelid to temple

Start at the inner corner of your eyelid, and gently move the tool up along your brown bone out out to your temple. Repeat this five times in succession on each eye. 

Step 3: Eyes to neck

To drain fluid, repeat both the first and second motions (starting either under your eye or on your eyelid at the inner corner), but this time glide the tool down the side of your face and down your neck. Repeat this extended motion five times on each side. 

Step 4: Browbone
Using the edge of the tool, roll gently across the browbone to release tension. Do this for 15-20 seconds on each side of your face.

Step 5: Once more…

As a final step, Stephanie likes to glide the tool over and under each eye and down her neck one additional time. 

Have you tried lymphatic massage before? Give this method a try and let us know in the comments below! You can also read more about Stephanie got her start in our latest Boss Babes feature!