What are the Effects of Alcohol on Your Skin? The Experts Weigh In

If you consume alcohol without sufficiently hydrating yourself how alcohol affects your skin (for example, having a glass of water between alcoholic drinks), your body will become dehydrated. Heavy drinking over time can cause weight gain, which might result in the appearance of a double chin. Alcohol can cause your face to become temporarily red and flushed (3).

Alcoholic eyes

This occurs when your body breaks down alcohol and creates acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde makes your body release histamine, which enlarges your blood vessels (known as vasodilation). Drinking alcohol is linked to cancer of the mouth, throat, voice box, and esophagus. Research shows alcohol use also may be tied to the most common types of skin cancer. Your body works to repair DNA damage caused by the sun, but alcohol can interfere with that process.

Puffiness

For inevitable night-outs, be more selective about the types of alcohol you drink. From the wines and spirits menu, avoid beer as it contains more additives, such as salt and sugar. Cocktails such as mojito, sangria, margarita, and martinis are high on the glycemic index due to their high sugar content.

Health Conditions

The incidence of melanoma has risen steadily over the past few decades.40 The incidence of melanoma is attributed to genetic and phenotypic characteristics and environmental exposure. Alcohol induces vasodilation and facial flushing in people who have rosacea. However, alcohol is not the cause of the skin disease in most people.

Nutritional deficiency can develop when alcohol replaces normal food in the diet and the digestive tract and liver do not digest and process food the way they should resulting in malabsorption. With little calorie or protein intake the skin becomes dry and loses elasticity. Transient flushing is also a common side effect of alcohol, particularly in heavy drinkers.

If such people quit overnight, they may experience sweating, tremors, and even seizures – so they are advised to get medical help to stop drinking. 90% of patients with rosacea who cut back on alcohol say it helps to reduce flare-ups. It’s important to note that there is no safe amount of alcohol intake. And if you want to ensure your skin is in top condition, avoid alcohol completely and stay well hydrated. If you want to know how many units you’re currently consuming, try using the unit calculator from Alcohol Change UK. The NHS says cutting back on your alcohol intake would be beneficial.

Treatment Programs For Alcohol Abuse

The skin and sclera of the eyes often turn yellow in patients with alcoholic liver disease. The colour, known as jaundice, is due to bilirubin, a product broken down from haem derived from red blood cells. The metabolism of bilirubin is impaired in acute and chronic liver disease. As with water retention in the face and body due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol, the feet can also become swollen and discolored due to excessive alcohol abuse. Recurrent swelling may suggest an underlying issue with the kidneys, liver, or heart and should be seen by a doctor if continuing for more than two days in a row.

Alcoholic Eyes

The bacteria get into your body through a cut or wound in your skin. When it isn’t working right, the toxins stay in your cells, which leads to warmth and flushing. It’s a genetic issue that’s more likely to affect people from Asian backgrounds. “Alcohol is actually one of the worst, most aggressive compounds to destroy your skin,” says New York nutritionist Jairo Rodriguez, who counts designers and Vogue editors among his clients. “I always joke with my patients, ‘If you want to get older, go ahead and drink!

• This slows metabolism as the body prioritizes getting rid of alcohol calories, leading to weight gain.
• You know, hangover anxiety that comes along the second you wake up after a night out?
• Avoiding alcohol, however, can help keep the condition from worsening.
• You’ll also enjoy multiple other health benefits, including reduced risk of disease, lower blood pressure, improved organ function, weight loss and better mental health.

If you know there’s going to be more than one margarita on the cards, a little prep beforehand could come in handy for the following day. Take a couple of Biocol labs’ Something For a Mini Hangover capsules (a clever concoction of choline, thistle and artichoke) prior to drinking to help break down the tequila-induced toxins in your body. It’s the oldest trick in the book and probably the most effective one, too. For every drink you consume, have a large glass of water before moving on to your next. Coconut water is also a good option, given its high electrolyte content.

• The build-up of these substances causes generalized skin itching, which can lead to irritation, inflammation, and rashes.
• In short, you may experience breakouts, dry skin, and accelerated aging because of inflammation, dehydration, and oxidative stress from drinking.
• ‘When the skin follicles become blocked with skin cells and oil, oil starts to build up behind this blockage, resulting in the subsequent development of spots’, says Dr Hextall.
• The rest of the alcohol will leave your body through your sweat and breath.
• She cut out alcohol completely for one month, which resulted in great improvement to her complexion.

Repairing Skin Damage from Alcohol

Alcohol can have a variety of effects on our appearance, from the way your skin and eyes look, to your weight and body odour. It can occur when the liver can no longer filter out a yellow-orange substance in the blood, causing it to show up in the skin, according to WebMD. In darker-skinned people, it may be more noticeable in the whites of the eye. Even diet-conscious alcoholic beverages like vodka sodas can lead to disproportionate belly weight if you drink enough of them.