Can you feel the change of mood in the air? Season is almost here, the nights are balmy, the prospect of a much-needed break is pulling us through the final days of 2021 and all we want to do is to let loose and have some fun!
So I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer but heading into season remember that the drinks that you’re downing are going to drag your skin down too! And if it’s daytime drinking (The Grande’s Pacha New Year’s Day party we’re looking at you!) then the combo of UV rays plus alcohol can seriously set your skin back.
Here are the facts to mull over with your mulled wine..
– Alcohol is sucking the water out of your face!
Alcohol is a diuretic and is seriously dehydrating. Skin is not considered as ‘vital’ as your internal organs so it is the first to become parched. A dry skin is one with a compromised barrier – read flaky, sensitized and inflamed skin prone to breakouts.
– Your detoxification systems are overloaded!
Your poor liver is so busy flushing out the alcohol that other toxins accumulate.
– Sugary cocktails are damaging your collagen fibres
You would never drink a couple of glasses of Coke but we feel nothing to sip on glass after glass of deliciously fruity cocktails which are jam-packed full of sugar. Sugar literally sabotages your skin: it coats your collagen and elastin fibres making them inflexible. Sugar is also insanely inflammatory – ever wondered why your acne flares over the festive season? Wonder no longer!
– Alcohol will cause your rosacea to flare
A known trigger of rosacea because it dilates blood vessels. Increased vascular hyper-reactivity which increases blood flow to the face can cause burst capillaries on the skin and trigger inflammatory pimples.
– Cigarette smoke bombards your skin with free radicals
This is putting your skin under oxidative stress, exhausting its protective mechanisms leaving your vulnerable skin cells and collagen fibres defenseless against damage.
– Late night partying and lack of sleep is stressing out your skin
Alcohol disrupts the brain’s circadian rhythm or ‘body clock’ making it hard to sleep at night. A night of partying is often followed by a disrupted, restless night of sleep. Besides the fact that your skin needs sleep to regenerate, depriving your body of sleep pumps your body full of your stress hormone, cortisol. One of the fall-outs from this is spikes in your insulin which cause unbalancing of your hormones and acne flare-ups. A lack of sleep also causes dark under-eye circles, puffiness and a dull, sallow and lacklustre skin.
– Falling asleep without removing your make-up
Aha – you know that this is a major no-no. Besides the make-up, think of all the sweat and smoke clinging to your skin and promoting dehydration, inflammation and irritation. Unless you’re looking for clogged pores, breakouts, a sluggish cell turnover cycle and a damaged skin barrier – make cleansing your face before you collapse into bed an absolute golden rule. At the very least, use a swipe of micellar water to lift all the revelry’s grime off your face.
So how can you party-proof your skin?
– Keep hydrated
Drink water I mean. Have a glass of water between each alcoholic beverage. Try coconut water as an added bonus to add back depleted electrolytes. Take a bottle of water on to the dance floor – you wouldn’t do a spinning class without taking fluids with you and sweating it out on the dance floor is no different.
– Choose your alcohol wisely
Choose spirits and mixers rather than sugary cocktails. Choose mixers such as soda water over sugary or artificially sweetened ones. Tequila wins first prize in terms of being the least likely to wreak havoc with our metabolism and blood sugar levels followed by gin and vodka while beer, white wine and champagne should be had in moderation only. Beer is the most problematic particularly because it contains wheat or barley grains which contain gluten. Wine is preferable to beer because even though it is still loaded with calories and carbs, it contains some bioactive beneficial nutritional compounds such as resveratrol, ellagic acid and quercetin.
– Give your body ‘rest days’
As with exercise, it’s a good idea not to drink every day. In your 20’s, you can excrete your alcohol in just a few hours but in your 40’s it can take up to 33 hours.
– Show your liver some love
It works so hard at detoxifying the body so support it with supplements and a cleansing detox.
– Catch up on some zzzz’s during the day
If you’re partying through the night, catch up on all-important sleep during the day…and please not on the beach in the sun! The December partying scene causes skin fatigue resulting in accelerated ageing, inflamm-ageing and a dull, sallow and lack-lustre skin.
– Step up your skin’s antioxidant and skin barrier game
Protect and repair your skin with antioxidant serums and give your skin a much needed hydration boost. Add in hydrating masks, hyaluronic acid serums and moisturisers rich in skin-identical ingredients like ceramides, squalene, cholesterol and free fatty acids to repair the skin barrier. We love root4’s hyaluronic acid-based Complete Serum enriched with resveratrol and peptides and root4’s barrier-boosting Face Crème Originale. Show your skin some extra love by giving yourself a facial massage to boost lymphatic drainage and reduce puffiness from the night before.
key ingredients:
15 x concentrated cross-linked hyaluronic acid/ acetyl hexapeptide-8 /palmitoyl tripeptide-38/ resveratrol /niacinamide /glycerin/ chlorophyll/ malachite/ curcumin/ spirulina
R1795.00
key ingredients:
acetyl hexapeptide-8/ apple stem cells/ oil-soluble stable vitamin C/ vitamin E/ ferulic acid/ ceramides/ squalene/ d-panthenol/ turmeric roots/ niacinamide/ bisabolol/ aloe vera/glycerin / olive fruit extract/ rice bran/ cocoa seed butter/ candelilla wax/ jojoba oil/ chlorophyll/ malachite/ curcumin/ spirulina
R1565.00
– Treat your skin to a chemical peel or treatment to restore its glow
It’s the equivalent of saying sorry with red roses after a fight. Literally peel away hungover skin and restore its radiance. Just be extra cautious to stay out of the sun for at least a week before or after any treatments. Alternatively try at-home chemical exfoliation once or twice a week. Our favourite is root4’s MultiMasker with lactic acid which hydrates as it exfoliates.
key ingredients:
acetyl hexapeptide-8/ apple stem cells/ oil-soluble stable vitamin C/ vitamin E/ ferulic acid/ clay extracts/ lactic acid/ prebiotics from chicory/ yoghurt extracts/ rice bran/ vit E/ jojoba butter/ glycerin/ urea/ candelilla wax/ chlorophyll/ malachite/ curcumin/ spirulina
R865.00
– Restore your gut
I know – I’m being such a party pooper but partying actually affects your poop! Well the delicate bacterial ecosystem in it anyway. Alcohol depletes the ‘good’ beauty gut bugs which are regulating our immune system. Add some kombucha into your rehydration game, plan pre- and probiotic dense meals with fermented foods and stock up on a good probiotic.
– Fill your plate with antioxidant-rich fruit + veggies and curb other sugar intake
It’s a yin and yang: if you’re abusing your body at night, you need to counteract the damage during the day. Give your body the ammunition to repair free radical damage by focusing on antioxidant rich foods such as blueberries, cinnamon, green tea, foods high in vitamin C and glutathione-rich foods like onions. Also replenish important minerals lost through increased urination and sweating on the dance floor.
– If you’re too tired to remove your make-up…do it anyway!
Remember your golden rule.
– Learn to squash that FOMO feeling
Season can take its toll on your skin (and your general wellbeing) so learn that it’s OK not to attend every party or get-together and have a quiet night-in instead.
Take Home Message
At TASH 360, we believe in personalized care our skilled team at TASH360 can help you repair damage, prevent serious concerns and help reach your skin goals.
