The caffeine is an alkaloid belonging to the methylxanthine family. In cosmetics, it belongs to the group of vasoactive ingredients and is one of the very few ingredients whose results can be measured in hours rather than weeks.
Applied to the skin, it produces vasoconstriction of the superficial capillaries: the diameter of the blood vessels decreases, reducing the flow of fluids into the tissues. Around the eyes, where the skin is thin and any fluid retention is visible, this translates into visibly reduced puffiness. At the same time, it inhibits phosphodiesterase, an enzyme involved in fat mobilization, which is why it is also found in body-care products.
Its target is bags caused by fluid retention, and there is a simple way to recognize them: they are more pronounced upon waking and improve over the course of the morning. If the puffiness follows this pattern, caffeine works precisely on that mechanism. Apply it in the morning with a light touch; the effect appears within an hour and lasts for the following hours.
The case is different for puffiness that is the same in the morning and evening, which depends on the fat pad or bone structure and falls within the field of aesthetic medicine. Distinguishing between the two before choosing a product is the quickest way to achieve the result you are looking for. Around the eyes, caffeine pairs well with draining peptides, which act at a different stage of the same process.
