As everyone knows I enjoy the odd glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but heard something on the radio recently about how 1 glass of wine = a donut aaah!! I have always prided myself in not eating lots of sugar so can you imagine my horror to learn I was drinking it!! So this got me thinking on how alcohol was affecting my skin and how can I combat it.
So how does alcohol affect the skin??? Well basically it depletes your vitamins as it interferes with the metabolism and absorption of many nutrients from your diet. It also affects the metabolising of fatty acids, interferes with zinc and vitamin A, destroys B Vitamins & Vitamin C, which is one of the hardest vitamins to hold onto at the best of times – all these are essential for healthy skin!!
Plain & simple alcohol dehydrates your body which is why the morning after you can wake up with a mouth like Gandi’s flip flop!! Why? Because it forces your kidney’s to work overtime and this leaves your skin (The largest organ) gasping for a drink of a different kind – WATER!!!
If you think about it from an anti ageing point of view wrinkles are more noticeable on parched skin, going back to the fact that alcohol robs the body of Vitamin A – an anti oxidant essential for cell renewal & turnover, it helps to thicken the epidermis and plump the skin – We want to hold onto that one!
Here is my Top Tips on how to combat the negative side if you have had one tipple too many!
- Start the day with water & lemon, ½ a lemon in hot water left to go cold (so as not to strip your enamel off your teeth),I make mine the night before. I then move onto herbal tea for breakfast my favourite is Pukka Triple Mint. Drinking small glasses of water throughout the day will help to keep the headache at bay.
- Remember what your Mum told you “Never drink on an empty tummy”, This is very true an empty tummy not only get you drunk faster it also worsens the affect the following day. (Even a couple of slices of pizza is better than nothing!!!
- Cleanse you face even if it is super quick and slather on something like Dermalogica Multi Vitamin mask – full of antioxidants and you can sleep in it, waking up with fresher skin in the morning. dermalogica.co.uk
- Use skincare that is full of anti oxidants, Vitamins A & C, my product choice is Environ – just for this reason iiaa.eu
- Aim to have 3 nights a week with no alcohol to give your liver and chance to recoup & rehydrate!!
Works for me, thanks for reading Mary