de-puffing cold tools

If your face—hyperbolically, of course—currently looks like you’ve been stung by something to which you’re allergic (aka, puffy AF), you’re not alone. According to skincare pros, several variables could be causing you to swell up right now.

For starters, allergies may *actually* play a role. “We are in springtime, and this is a high allergy season which brings puffy, watery, and itchy eyes,” says Kerry Benjamin, aesthetician and founder of Stacked Skincare.

We also develop puffiness when fluid is retained in our skin, and NYC-based dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD says that our quarantine diets might be causing us problems in this department. “People may be snacking more than they should, and eating salty foods that lead to fluid retention,” he explains.

To this end, lack of exercise may be a culprit, too. “Your lymph system is what helps remove excess fluid in our bodies and helps to filter the blood,” Dr. Zeichner explains. “The lymph vessels themselves do not have their own pumping system and rely on muscle movement from every day activity to move lymph fluid.  If you aren’t exercising and are living a sedentary life, then you won’t be moving your lymph fluid as much as you used to.”

So, a few obvious solutions to increased puffiness including refining your diet, making sure you’re moving, and doing what you can to mitigate or avoid springtime allergies. Or, you could simply resort to a technique which is perfectly possible while snacking on salty foods from a sedentary position on your couch, because 2020. “Cooling skin with any kind of a pure temperature change can help bring down puffiness,” says Rachel Nazarian, MD, a New York City dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group. She explains that blood vessels constrict when the temps are cooler, which is why for years pros have suggested placing spoons in the fridge as a way to combat puffy under-eyes.

Cold spoon therapy has been given a big upgrade in recent years, resulting in wand-like devices that can decrease puffiness not just due to their chilly temps but also because they’re prefect for lymphatic-system-stimulating massage. Here, the best ones that’ll def-puff on demand.

Keep scrolling to shop the best de-puffing wands at every price point.

SEPHORA Facial Cooling Globes, $25

These budget-friendly wands should spend time in the refrigerator—not freezer, because they’re delicate!—before use. You can massage them on bare skin or have them pull double duty by using them to rub in serums or moisturizers.

Stacked Skincare Cryotherapy Ice Roller for Face & Body, $18

This one goes in the freezer, and Benjamin says that in addition to reducing puffiness, it can be used to calm itchy skin and sooth eczema.

Herbivore Botanicals Jade Facial Roller, $30

If you’ve got a go-to jade roller at home, pop it into your freezer for some de-puffing magic.

ReFa S Carat, $160

This all-metal device is designed to strategically fit the contours of your face, approximating the experience of a pro facial. Because metal holds temperature well, you’ll want to be wary of freezer burn. To avoid it, Dr. Nazarian advises holding this device on the skin for 10-seconds, removing it for 10 seconds, for up to a minute on each eye.

Nurse Jamie Eyeonix Eye Massaging Beauty Tool, $49

The benefits of this device are two-fold. The cold metal tip helps to reduce puffiness, which the vibration feature helps to push all of your serums and eye creams into the skin.

Ranavat Cosmetics Kansa Wand, $65

This tool is like a leveled-up jade roller. It’s made from a combination of copper and tin or aluminum, which is said to have a balancing, alkalizing effect on the skin—an added bonus to its lymphatic (aka de-puffing) benefits. Though it’s cool to the touch as is, you can pop it in the freezer for an extra arctic boost.

Originally posted December 11, 2017, updated August 10, 2018 and May 8, 2020.