5 Signs That Alcohol Consumption Is Affecting Your Skin
Written by Danielle Horgan
Over the past few months, we’ve all been confined to our homes due to the pandemic and during these unpredictable times, it's no wonder that many of us have reached for a few home comforts; one of them being alcohol. Now lockdown has lifted, we’re all racing to do some much needed socializing whether that be in a pub, in a park or in our friend’s gardens. The excitement of this anticipated reunion will have us clinking our wine glasses once more, but what’s it doing to our skin?
Here are five telltale signs:
1. You’re breaking out
Breakouts appear due to a combination of dead skin cells, sebum (oil) and bad bacteria that causes inflammation of the skin. When we drink alcohol it can affect the balance of our hormones, which makes our sebaceous glands overly stimulated. A sebaceous gland is a Microscopic gland in the skin that opens into a hair follicle to secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum. When our sebaceous gland is overly stimulated it leads to an overproduction of sebum, this excess sebum then mixes with bacteria and dead skin cells which can lead to breakouts.
What’s more, when our body intakes too much booze, our liver can be overwhelmed, so the body will expel any toxins the liver can’t handle via the skin as a last resort instead. These toxins sit on the skin and upset its delicate balance causing breakouts.
2. You’re dehydrated
Alcohol is a diuretic (makes you pass urine more), the more we pee the more we are dehydrating ourselves, so it’s important we are constantly rehydrating whilst drinking alcohol.
Dehydration has a negative impact on skin hydration levels making it dry, dull and lackluster, not to mention those dehydration lines that can be mistaken as wrinkles!
A tip, drink a glass of water in between each alcoholic drink to help keep the body balanced and you should feel and look less dehydrated.
3. You’re seeing more fine lines/wrinkles
More often than not alcoholic drinks are high in sugar. Sugar molecules attach to collagen and elastin proteins in the skin through a process called glycation. This process produces “Advanced glycation end products” (AGEs) which are proteins or lipids and damage the skin in the form of fine lines, wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and sallowness.
AGEs can also interfere with the production of new collagen and elastin which we need to keep the dermal matrix strong and tight.
2. You’re dehydrated
Alcohol is a diuretic (makes you pass urine more), the more we pee the more we are dehydrating ourselves, so it’s important we are constantly rehydrating whilst drinking alcohol.
Dehydration has a negative impact on skin hydration levels making it dry, dull, and lackluster, not to mention those dehydration lines that can be mistaken as wrinkles!
A tip, drink a glass of water in between each alcoholic drink to help keep the body balanced and you should feel and look less dehydrated.
3. You’re seeing more fine lines/wrinkles
More often than not alcoholic drinks are high in sugar. Sugar molecules attach to collagen and elastin proteins in the skin through a process called glycation. This process produces “Advanced glycation end products” (AGEs) which are proteins or lipids and damage the skin in the form of fine lines, wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and sallowness. AGEs can also interfere with the production of new collagen and elastin which we need to keep the dermal matrix strong and tight.
4. Your sleep patterns are interrupted
Alcohol and a good night’s sleep do not mix! It impacts sleep quality affecting our rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
REM sleep happens about 90 minutes after we fall asleep and it's thought to be the most restorative.
If we’re not getting good quality restorative sleep then our body does not have the best opportunity for cellular repair which happens faster during our sleep cycle. This, in turn, can lead to dark circles, sallow skin, and overall poor lackluster complexions.
5. Your gut health is poor
Alcohol is abrasive on our guts and our gastrointestinal linings and can cause an imbalance of gut bacteria. This can result in inflammation of the gut and cause the tight junctions in your intestinal lining to break apart; consequently harmful substances enter your bloodstream, leading to inflammation that can cause and aggravate skin conditions like rosacea and eczema.
In Conclusion
Most of us like an alcoholic beverage from time to time, whether it’s celebratory or if you’re just chilling with a glass of rosé on a summer evening. Just remember, whilst drinking it’s important to keep the balance and stay hydrated with lots of water. Make sure you take your makeup off with good quality skincare products before you go to bed after a night out to give your skin a fighting chance the next morning and keep the diet nourishing and healthy the next day. If you look after yourself and replace what alcohol depletes you of through maintaining a strong self-care routine, then you can still have radiant skin even after a drink or two. Cheers to that!
Danielle Horgan
Danielle has over 10 years of experience as a Health and Wellness PR working for a range of high profile skincare brands. A certified Yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner, Danielle is passionate about a 360 approach to skincare routed in exercise, plant-based nutrition, and high-quality natural products that yield great results.
