The cost of western beauty standards: my journey with potato slices for puffy eyes I'm a skeptic when it comes to these 'do it yourself' beauty treatments, but I'll try anything once.

I love me some at home beauty remedies. Oatmeal bath? Loved it! Toothpaste to treat blemishes? It works! Mayo in my hair? DON’T EVER TRY THIS UNLESS SOMEONE IS PAYING YOU!

My latest challenge? To find out if sliced raw potatoes reduce under eye swelling.

Yes, swollen eyes, that dreaded ailment caused by lack of sleep, too much sleep, crying, a salty diet, allergies…yeah, you get the point. Basically, we’ve all had ‘em and we all hate ‘em.

I’m generally a skeptic when it comes to these ‘do it yourself’ treatments, but I’ll try anything once. Let’s face it: unless it really works, who wants a smelly potato on their face when cucumbers are so much more delicious and spa like?

The night before the experiment, I peeled a large baking potato, sliced about one third of it into circular pieces about half an inch thick and left it bagged in the fridge.

When I woke the next morning, my eyes were just as puffy as usual.

I retrieved my potatoes from the fridge and found that they had taken on a weird bluish color. Gross! So I sliced a few fresh pieces and went to test these babies out.

I laid down and placed one slice on my left eye and one slice on my right, imagining I was at the most extravagant spa around. Using both hands, I held the potatoes down so they touched my whole eye including the lid and those unfortunate under-eye bags. The slices were cold so it wasn’t exactly a comfy process.

After 10 minutes, I jumped up to look in the mirror. I didn’t look any different at all! But something felt different. I felt a hell of a lot more awake. Never before had it taken so little time without coffee to wake me up.

Seriously, it’s like all the good parts of a morning shower without the dreaded blow dry. And while the swelling hadn’t disappeared, the redness from wearing my contacts all night was gone.

I washed my face (the potato left a nasty film) and looked into the mirror once again.

The verdict

The Internet tells me this is supposed to work. Of course, the Internet lies sometimes. So I’m still not sure potatoes actually reduce swollen eyes.

But it does feel good and definitely wakes you up. My advice? Save it for the morning after a hard night of partying or a spa night with your girls.

Think you’d try putting potatoes on your eyes? What’s your fave at home beauty treatment? Tell us in the comments!