Keeping your skin young and healthy requires you to put in quite a bit of effort. You must maintain a healthy skin regimen, eat healthily, protect your skin, and avoid unhealthy habits.
A major unhealthy habit you should avoid is drinking too much alcohol.
It’s also no secret that alcohol has damaging effects on your body. From impairing your judgment to harming your health, too much alcohol can be deadly, and it’s hard to reverse the damage. What people might not be aware of is how damaging alcohol can be on the skin. In addition, it’s also detrimental to your dental health according to this dentist in Lexington.
Let’s go over some of the reasons why drinking too much alcohol can ruin your skin.
Dehydrates your skin
Alcohol dehydrates your skin, leaving it dull and dry. This dehydration can cause sebaceous glands to produce too much oil as a matter of compensation – commonly called “greasy skin.” As a result, more sebum clogs our pores, leading to breakouts and enlarged pores down the line.
The lack of hydration in the skin can also disrupt its natural barrier and make it more susceptible to environmental pollutants like dirt and debris. The dehydration caused by alcohol can make you prone to premature aging signs like wrinkles and fine lines due to the lack of elasticity in the skin tissue.
Leads to a flushed appearance
Another way that alcohol impacts your skin is the increase in redness or flushing that occurs with excessive drinking. This reddening of the skin is a result of intense dilation in the capillaries and blood vessels beneath the skin’s surface.
The expansion and contraction occur as a result of alcohol’s ability to interfere with hormones like histamine, which are responsible for controlling blood vessel size. Alcohol can also interfere with enzymes called acetaldehyde dehydrogenases, leading to the buildup of excess acetaldehyde and further exacerbating the body’s response.
High sugar amounts harm the skin
For many, a glass or two of alcohol can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, what we don’t think about is the fact that many alcoholic beverages are very high in sugar content.
An alcoholic beverage’s high sugar concentration can lead to advanced signs of aging, such as wrinkles, dark spots, and fine lines on the skin over time. Additionally, those who drink frequently can also begin to experience a more rapid breakdown of collagen in their skin.
Collagen helps to keep our skin looking firm and young by naturally hydrating and smoothing out wrinkles and lines. Combined with the impact that alcohol has on our metabolism and immune system, drinking too much alcohol could cause your skin to age faster than it would naturally.
Poor sleep quality
Poor sleep can leave you tired and more prone to untimely breakouts. A leading problem of poor sleep is directly related to drinking alcoholic beverages. Alcohol can disrupt your body’s natural cycle, preventing necessary REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
REM sleep is essential for cell renewal, which means that if we don’t get sufficient amounts, our bodies won’t be able to recover as they should. In addition, although it may seem like alcohol helps us relax and fall asleep quickly, its effects on hormones such as cortisol may have further knock-on effects on adrenals (epinephrine), leaving us more prone to stress-induced wrinkles in the long term.
Risk of developing rosacea and other skin conditions
Many people may not be aware that too much alcohol consumption can lead to skin conditions such as rosacea. Several studies suggest that regular or frequent alcohol consumption increases the odds of developing rosacea or worsening existing symptoms. This association appears to be dose-dependent; that is, the increased risk goes hand-in-hand with increased consumption.
Heavy drinking has been linked to a higher prevalence of skin lesions and inflammation, especially among middle-aged women. Alcohol has long been implicated in other dermatologic issues such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and solar elastosis (wrinkling due to sun damage). Alcohol can even make acne more severe by suppressing the immune system and disrupting cellular functions in the facial area.
Final thoughts
For those looking for healthier skin, one surefire way to reduce their risk is to reduce their intake of alcohol. Though a nightly glass or two won’t have too much of a negative effect on overall health, more than that might do your skin more harm than good in the long run.
Through this knowledge, we can all take steps towards better skin health by monitoring our intake of alcoholic beverages and avoiding excessive drinking wherever possible.
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