It is generally known that drinking is bad for your skin. And if you enjoy happy hour after work, you’ve most likely witnessed this yourself. Most of us have experienced a morning with a puffy, dry face (along with other symptoms of a dreaded hangover). If, on the other hand, drinking has become a regular part of your routine, here’s what you should know about drinking and your skin.
Here are the 10 impacts of alcohol on your skin:
1. Inflammation is caused by alcohol.
To begin with, excessive alcohol might cause inflammation. This is terrible news for skin health since persistent inflammation has been related to skin problems and visible skin aging. Inflammation also affects the general health of your arteries and organs, which can have a cascading effect on your health, including your skin.
2. Drinking causes dehydration in the body.
Alcohol is considered a diuretic. This implies that your body flushes away additional water with each sip. However, this might cause your skin to seem dull and dehydrated over time. Severe dehydration from alcohol may appear insignificant in the near term. In comparison to healthy, hydrated skin, chronically dehydrated skin will become considerably more noticeably wrinkled and damaged over 10 or 20 years.
3. Alcohol-induced oxidative stress may accelerate aging.
One less evident way that alcohol affects the skin is through oxidative stress, which occurs when the body has excessive free radicals. Every type of cell in your body, including your skin, is damaged by oxidative stress. Every day, we’re exposed to free radicals through food, pollution, tobacco, sunshine, and, yes, alcohol. Alcohol, according to a study, not only unleashes a torrent of free radicals into the body, but it also inhibits your antioxidant defense. Simply put, when it comes to oxidative stress, alcohol has a double-whammy effect. When paired with inflammation and dehydration, this can result in extremely unpleasant skin.
4. Causes collagen damage in the skin.
Cocktails can be high in sugar since they are typically made with a combination of sugary beverages and alcohol—and all that added sugar can lead to inflammation, accelerated aging, and acne. Moreover, glucose and fructose can cause collagen damage in the skin, which makes it difficult for your body to heal. If you’re concerned about your skin, avoid drinks as much as possible. Avoiding these beverages can help lessen the bad effects of alcohol on your skin.
5. Causes facial flushing and rosacea.
If you drink wine with supper every night, you may be wondering: Does wine age your skin? White wine, like any other sort of alcohol, should be used in moderation, more so if you want to maintain your skin in good condition. Yet, while your favorite champagne may taste light, it most certainly includes a lot of sugar. White wines can also promote face flushing and have been associated with incident rosacea. When combined with alcohol’s drying and inflammatory properties, this can cause wrinkles along with other skin issues over time.
6. Puffiness and parched red skin.
Bourbon and whiskey are powerful, black liquors that can produce bad morning-after skin (not to mention severe hangovers!) Congeners are chemicals found in dark liquors that are thought to create worse hangovers than other types of alcohol. Yet these nasty hangovers can exaggerate the parched, red, and puffy skin you’re used to seeing after a night out.
7. Imbalanced hormones
Alcohol alters the way the liver processes hormones. This, along with insulin resistance, can cause sex hormone abnormalities. There may be ‘androgenic’ (male-like) consequences in women, such as hirsutism and greasy skin. Men who drink regularly may have higher levels of female hormones, resulting in hair loss and possibly gynecomastia (breast growth).
8. Sleep problems
Alcohol interrupts the brain’s ‘circadian rhythm,’ or ‘body clock,’ making it difficult to sleep at night. The brain grows more attentive as the alcohol wears off, and repeated trips to the restroom don’t help. This is why, as the lethargy wears off, a night of drinking is frequently followed by a lack of restful sleep. This causes exhaustion, red eyes, and a sallow complexion.
9. Acne
Alcoholic drinks, especially cocktails and wine, are highly heavy in sugar—and this will appear on your complexion if you are eating more than the suggested quantity. Alcohol’s sugar content can crystallize your skin cells, a process known as ‘glycation,’ resulting in noticeably deflated skin, damaged cells, and a duller complexion. Sugar has also been proven to create an overproduction of oil in your skin, raising your chances of breakouts or, worse, acne.
10. Prone to skin eczema.
When you drink, alcohol’s dehydrating (or “diuretic”) action causes your skin to lose moisture and nutrients that are essential for healthy-looking skin. This can cause your skin to seem wrinkled, dull, and grey, as well as swollen and puffy. Dehydrated skin may also be more susceptible to some kinds of eczema.
Conclusion
So, what effect does alcohol have on your skin? In brief, drinking may promote breakouts, dry skin, and hastened aging due to inflammation, dehydration, and oxidative stress. Fortunately, having less alcohol can help you mitigate the effects. If you limit your margarita evenings to once a week (rather than every day), you’ll see a healthy, vibrant shine returning to your complexion.
