How Alcohol Affects Your Skin And What You Can Do To Counter The Damage

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In the fast-paced world of today, drinking has become a part and parcel of our lifestyle. Weekends are reserved for some drinks with your friends or colleagues (At least, we hope it is just the weekends!). But does alcohol has anything to do with the skin issues you have been facing lately? Well, duh! Of course, it does[1].

We look for products, hacks and tips to make our skin clean, bright and beautiful. Maybe it is time we start looking into the things that we need to avoid and cut down to achieve the skin that we so want. The health hazards of alcohol are known to all. But, it goes beyond that. Alcohol can quite visibly affect your skin. Before we move on how to combat the effects of alcohol on skin, let's look at how alcohol affects your skin.

How Does Alcohol Affect Your Skin?

Dehydrates the skin[2]

You must remember feeling extremely thirsty the morning after a few drinks. Yes, alcohol dehydrates not only your body but your skin as well. And rehydrating the skin is not as easy a task as you would like to think. Dehydration makes your skin dry, patchy and flaky and that doesn't make for healthy and plump skin.

Boosts skin ageing[3]

The lack of moisture in your skin makes the fine lines and wrinkles become more prominent. And that is why if you compare the skin of a person who is a non-drinker with one who is a regular drinker, you will find an evident different. The one who drinks has more prominent signs of skin ageing.

Puffiness

Alcohol causes inflammation. Your dried skin tries to take it as much moisture as it can. This leads to swelling, redness[4] and puffiness on your face and under your eyes. And over a period of time, the swelling and the redness becomes even more eminent.

Breakouts

Apart from dehydrating your skin and causing inflammation, alcohol can also alter the hormonal balance of your body. All this combined with stress and a bad diet can lead to frequent breakouts such as acne.

How To Counter The Effects Of Alcohol On Skin

Drink plenty of water

To counter the dehydration caused by alcohol, make sure that you stay hydrated. Drinking more water will not only keep your body hydrated but also aid in flushing the alcohol out of your skin. For each unit of alcohol you consume, drink a glass of water. And the morning following a night out, drink plenty after regular intervals to tackle the dehydration.

Give yourself a break

On an average, alcohol can stay in your system for 24 hours. And that is an ideal state. As you grow older, your body takes longer to flush the alcohol out of your system. So, it is important that you give your skin a break from the alcohol damage. The longer the gap, lesser is the damage to your skin. Keep alcohol consumption to once or twice a week.

Know which liquor causes more damage

Every liquor affects your body in a different manner. If you drink, you must know the drink that causes the least amount of damage to your skin. And how do you know that? The colour of the liquor can help you with that. Clear liquor is less harmful to the skin. So, vodka will do less damage to your skin than whiskey.

Plan your sleep schedule

A good night’s sleep is needed for your skin to rejuvenate and bounce back. A series of drinks if followed by a night of restless sleep and that is bad news for your skin. So, plan your beauty sleep. Sleeping immediately after your drinking session is not a good idea. Stop drinking a few hours before you sleep. Also, make sure you eat something and drink plenty of water with your drinks. The more relaxed sleep you have, the better for your skin.

An Important Point To Note

While you take all these measures to prevent your skin from the damage that can be done by alcohol, you must also remember that your age is also a huge factor while fighting this damage. As you grow old, it becomes difficult for your skin to bounce back. So, it is easier for someone in their 20s than someone in their 30s or 40s to fight the damage. So, the sooner you keep your alcohol consumption in check the better it is for your skin and your health.