What Sushi Face Is, and 5 Ways to Avoid It

If you’ve ever enjoyed your favorite Japanese dish and woke up the next morning looking swollen, you might be familiar with what Julianne Moore calls a “sushi face.” The actress says she never eats sushi the night before a big event because she knows her face will be puffy. While we commonly associate certain foods with stomach bloating, as it turns out, some of them may make your face puffy as well.

We at Bright Side also love sushi and we’re not ready to give it up completely. We decided to find out what other foods tend to make us puffy as well as what we can do about it.

1. Avoid salty foods.

Eating too much salt causes your body to retain water, which results in bloating and gives you a puffy look in the morning. Although there can be many factors that cause bloating, including poor digestion, stress, and food allergies, medical experts recommend lowering your salt intake if you want to wake up camera-ready.

2. Cut back on carbs.

If you feel like you’ve gained weight after a high-carb day, it’s not exactly true. You can’t gain pounds after a meal or 2, but for every gram of carbs you eat, your body retains 3 to 4 grams of water, which in turn, causes bloating. If you’re familiar with this issue, opt for whole-wheat bread and rice instead of white bread and pasta. These foods are rich in fiber, which helps combat inflammation and facial bloating.

3. Stay hydrated.

Drinking enough water throughout the day helps to reduce fluid retention and the chance of bloating as well. Having a glass of water after a meal helps your body to get rid of sodium and encourages it to give up excess fluid. Drinking water before a meal will not only help to prevent facial puffiness, but can also keep you from overeating.

4. Replace ice cream with yogurt.

Even though many dairy products, such as milk and cheese, may cause puffiness, yogurt can actually help with bloating. A cup of sugar-free yogurt contains active cultures and probiotics that reduce gas in your body and might help with facial swelling.

5. Wash your face with cold water.

Splashing your face with cold water in the morning may quickly reduce puffiness. Cold water constricts blood vessels and helps to minimize swelling. A cool compress is also one of the easiest and fastest fixes for eye bags and overall facial puffiness. Gently press a clean wet cloth over your eyes for a few minutes to quickly eliminate swelling under your eyes.

Have you ever had “sushi face?” Do you know any other hacks to get rid of puffiness that you can share with other Bright Siders?