How Does Alcohol Affect Skin?

If you’ve ever wondered why your skin seems to look less than its best after a night of drinking, it’s not the bleary eyes that are to blame – your skin may actually be going through its own hangover! 

For more on how alcohol affects your skin, take a look at our helpful article, below.

What happens to your skin when you drink alcohol?

Alcohol does a very good job of making us feel good, but there is a major trade-off for those few hours of endorphins: say it groggily with us… “hangover”.

Hangovers are essentially the body’s reaction to alcohol consumption. As alcohol is a diuretic, it drains the body of excess water, nutrients, and salt when you visit the loo, dehydrating the body. This can then affect the function of many of our body’s main organs – including our skin.

Hydration is key to maintaining a healthy complexion as water helps to keep the skin’s cells functioning properly. This includes protecting the skin’s barrier and helping to produce new skin cells, giving the appearance of glowing, youthful skin.

Not only does consuming alcohol make your skin cells lose vital nutrients, but alcohol also produces a toxic byproduct called acetaldehyde which, if not metabolised properly, releases histamine. 

Histamine causes inflammation and flushing of the skin, which is one reason you might experience red and ‘angry’ looking skin. Another reason may be that alcohol dilates the blood vessels under the skin, causing a reddened and puffy complexion on the surface. That’s right, those few troublesome spots that sprout up only after a night of boozing are not just a bad dream.

It’s not going great for alcohol so far, is it? Take a look at some of the main effects of alcohol on the skin, below, for the full list:

• Dry and flaky skin, especially after applying make-up
• Sunken eyes and dark circles
• Sagging skin
• Dull complexion
• Blemishes, flushed skin, and acne
• Puffier skin
• Decreased skin elasticity increasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Yellowing skin and of the whites of eyes (namely from frequent, excessive alcohol consumption)

How much alcohol do I need to drink for there to be an effect on my skin?

It would be nice to know that there is a window of, say, two or three initial drinks, where alcohol doesn’t affect skin. Sadly, that’s just not the case. 

Every time you drink alcohol, the alcohol dehydrates your body, draining your skin of the vital nutrients it needs to look its best. And yes, that still applies whether you’re drinking an elegant single glass of wine at home or downing your fifth cocktail at the pub quiz.  

Of course, the more alcohol you drink, and the more frequently that you drink it, will have a greater effect on any skin damage you might experience. The UK Chief Medical Officer advises drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, with several drink-free days to prevent long-term damage, especially to the liver. 

If drank frequently enough (more than twice a week), you could see long-term skin damage from drinking alcohol.

Does skin damage from alcohol get worse with age?

Do you think that hangovers are getting worse for you as you get older? Have you noticed any longer-lasting impacts, like headaches, fatigue, and – we may as well say it – worse skin? 

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of truth to the idea that drinking is a young person’s game. And yes, the effect of alcohol on the skin does get worse with age. It’s all because of three key moments in one’s life: metabolism, collagen production… and time. 

• Alcohol is less easily metabolised in the body as we get older as our livers become poorer at processing alcohol. This in turn makes flushing out the toxins a tricker task for the body, causing more dehydration and poorer skin health. 

• Our skin produces less collagen as we get older, reducing its structural integrity and causing a sagging appearance, along with fine lines and wrinkles. The dehydrating effects of alcohol on the skin can therefore appear more pronounced. 

• If you’re drinking consistently, alcohol has more time to make an impact on the skin’s appearance.

Is skin damage from alcohol reversible?

Alcohol hasn’t had the world’s most glowing review in this article, but there is a silver lining for you here: you can reverse alcohol damage on your skin. 

As many of the downsides from alcohol consumption are temporarily caused by dehydration, you can help to minimise the effects of alcohol skin damage by, you guessed it, cutting down on alcohol and staying nicely hydrated, every day. 

After all, your skin is your body’s biggest organ, it needs care to keep it functioning normally. This includes giving it plenty of nourishment from water, sunlight (for vitamin D), and cutting back on the stuff that it doesn’t like – like alcohol and other inflammatory-inducing products.

However, if you have drank an excessive amount of alcohol over a long period of time, and you do have long-lasting dermatological effects such as rosacea or jaundice, then these will of course be trickier to remedy. You can, however, always prevent the effects of alcohol on skin from getting worse by minimising or eliminating your alcohol consumption and keeping a keen eye on those daily hydration levels.

4 top tips for healthy, glowing skin

To all the party-seekers out there, you can relax; you can still be the life and soul of the party and enjoy a glowing complexion. Just take a look at our top tips for healthy skin, below, to see how to get the best of both worlds:

1. Try to limit the amount you drink. Remember, alcohol has short-term effects on the skin every time you drink, and long-term effects over a longer period of time.
2. When you are drinking alcohol, drink plenty of water between units. In fact, it is advisable to always drink plenty of water (between 6-8 cups per day) to support the healthy function of your body’s major organs, including your skin.
3. Take vitamins to up your nutrient intake, especially vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to stimulate collagen production and can also assist in fighting alcohol-induced free radicals.
4. Use good quality skincare products. Proper skin hydration requires the double whammy of not just drinking lots of water, but also hydrating the skin from the outside in with gentle, rich moisturisers and collagen-boosting serums. Look for skincare products with hyaluronic acid, glycerine, and ceramides. If they also contain vitamin C, then bonus points for you.

If you have any questions about how to combat the effects of alcohol on your skin, or want to know the best ways to up your skincare routine, just get in touch with our friendly team today!

Alternatively, if you’re ready to start your Absolute Collagen journey, shop our award-winning marine collagen supplements and skin-care collection today!