Most of you already know that consuming copious amounts of “adult libations” on a regular basis isn’t exactly the best habit for your health. And if drinking heaviliy leads to alcoholism, you run the risk of damaging your relationships with your family, your friends, and your self.
This aside, drinking alcohol can do quite a number of bad things to your skin. Consider the woman who drank a total of five large glasses of wine per week; after abstaining from alcohol for a solid month, her skin dramatically improved – no more redness, tired eyes, and dry skin. And since many of us consume more than the daily recommended amount at a given occasion – one drink per day for women, whereas it’s two for men – it’s time for us to look into what a shade-more-than-moderate drinking will do to your skin (Center for Disease Control).
Alcohol and Its Physiological Effects
If you’ve ever been to a crowded bar, you’ll know that it’s less-than-ideal; getting the bartender’s attention is difficult, and you spend the entire night feeling sweaty from the combined effects of the devil’s drink and those strangers you keep bumping into. But why does alcohol suddenly turn you into a red-faced resemblance of your sober self, even if you’ve only had one drink?
After consumption of the giggle water, your blood vessels dilate; if you’re a regular drinker, this could cause increased pressure that would potentially break the capillaries on your face, leading to spider veins (Dr. Perricone, M.D.). According to dermatologist Dr. Nick Lowe, these enlarged blood vessels also lead to your waking up with a swollen face and eyes due to fluids leaking from the vessels and accumulating in the loosest parts of your face – cheeks and eyes – as you sleep. This, however, can reverse itself after you quit drinking the firewater; says Dr. Lowe, “After a period of time without alcohol, our blood vessels constrict, so less fluid will accumulate in the first place and skin will look less swollen after a night’s rest” (Daily Mail).
Additionally, that saucy drink will interfere with absorption of vitamin A into your diet (American Journal of Epidemiology) and can cause the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Wu and Cederbaum). But what does that mean for your skin?
Alcohol and Your Skin – It Isn’t Pretty
If you’re drinking that hooch on the regular and you have certain skin conditions, you might want to rethink your habit. Alcohol can worsen the symptoms of existing skin conditions, eczema, psioriasis, seborrheic dermatitis (American Academy of Dermatology). In the case of rosacea, the dilation of blood vessels will exacerbate the condition (Dr. Perricone, M.D.).
And since that moonshine isn’t helping with your vitamin A absorption, it’s preventing you from holding on to your everlasting youth; vitamin A (retinoids) is important in the production of collagen, so if you’re not getting enough of it, your skin’s elasticity is decreasing, leaving you with saggy, aged skin (American Journal of Epidemiology). To further that, because alcohol is causing ROS formation, it’s creating a whole lot of unstable cells in your body, which can also lead to premature aging.Â
Bottom Line
Excessive drinking every weekend isn’t going to help your general health or your skin – keep in mind that you can’t exactly “roll over” the unused drinks every day for a guilt-free, seven-drinks-in-one-night weekend. Aside from other obvious health concerns, alcohol will cause you to age faster, and can exacerbate the skin problems you already have. Drink out of the adult sippy cup only once in a while, folks – remember, moderation is key – and your skin (and liver) will thank you for it.Â