FACT: Alcohol isn’t good for you! But most of us love it! I know how that sounds, but it’s a big part of most or our daily lives. A de-stress drink, or a boozy catch up with friend can be the end of a workday norm! Not to mention extended happy hours and weekends full of late nights and boozy brunches. Life with alcohol can be fun, right! Of course we can gleefully skim through stories about how red wine helps us live longer, but ignore that that’s the occasional glass, not a carafe or two!
But here’s the thing, not everyone knows that, alcohol can have a damaging effect on our skin! In-fact it’s actually one of the most aggressive compounds to destroy our skin. So lets break down the effects of alcohol on your skin. But brace yourself, because it isn’t pretty!
Dehydration Is An Issue
We guess you kind of knew this one already? You know what it’s like, the morning after the night before, waking up bleary eyed and gagging for a drink of water – Knocking a few back the night before causes dehydration, making our skin puffy, dull and lacklustre. You might also notice more fines lines and wrinkles appearing over time. This is because the skin is starved of hydration – alcohol is a diuretic that actually takes the fluid out of the skin.
Puffiness, Bloating And Inflammation Too
Alcohol can also cause inflammation: puffy eyes and a bloated appearance as well as flushing of the skin – which with prolonged excessive drinking, can become a prominent facial feature that you can’t get away from! Drinking heavily can have other more permanent detrimental effects on your skin – Rosacea; a skin disorder that starts with a tendency to blush and flush easily is linked to alcohol. And then there’s cellulite; many believe the toxins in alcohol contribute to its build up.
Breakouts Setting Up Camp
It’s no secret that alcohol contains a lot of sugar. If you’re over indulging too often this will show up in your skin. Too much sugar can quite literally crystallise your skin cells leading to a less plump and supple skin plus a duller complexion with more breakouts. What’s more after a night on the town, removing our make-up off goes way down our lists of priorities and that can result in breakouts which can become prolonged to the point of claiming squatters rights!
Gut imbalance
You might find that alcohol bloats your tummy too. It can deplete healthy levels of the important bacteria that live in our gut – ‘The Micro Biome’ – that helps to regulate our immune system, which is so important for managing inflammatory skin conditions. If you have an unhealthy gut it can have a big impact on your overall health and especially the appearance of your skin.
So What Can We Do To Help Hung-Over Skin?
Alcohol is a toxin with little to no nutritional value that impacts the quality and appearance of our skin. So if you want a radiant, dewy glow, put down the champers! Or at least cut back on your daily consumption.
Give your body a helping hand and incorporate a little TLC into your skincare. Skincare with Retinol or Vitamin A are a great way to encourage your skin to regenerate and repair. Nutrition is key, taking a good nutritional supplement can help your skin recover by dosing it with healing vitamins and minerals. Invest in some Professional Skincare Treatments to turbo charge your efforts.
Drinking at least two litres of water a day with a squeeze of lemon will kick-start the detoxification process and will work wonders for re-hydrating the skin!
As we age the rate that drink leaves the body is slower, so give yourself a break. If you do continue to drink, try to limit it to every other day or less. The lower and less frequent the intake, the lower the damage to your skin. But remember if you have been hitting it hard for an extended time, it will take time to reverse the damage that’s been done.
