Alcohol and Your Skin

Practicing mindfulness when drinking benefits your skin

The changing of seasons is showing warmer days ahead, getting most of us in the mood for outdoor activities with drinks in our hands. While enjoying a few adult drinks is not a dire concern it’s important to know what’s happening to the largest organ on your body, your skin.

To put it simply, alcohol is dehydrating. Expanding on that, drinking any type of alcohol prevents your body’s production of vasopressin, the important hormone that helps our bodies retain water and contract blood vessels. Some people might notice their face flushing more when they consume alcohol because our body’s water retention is limited and the blood vessels in our faces are dilated allowing an increased rate of blood flow.

For the most part, once the alcohol is out of your system, flushing of the skin, such as the cheeks, and other symptoms of drinking subside. However, residual dehydration is common. Depleting your skin of water hinders your skin from being able to retain nutrients and can cause earlier onset of aging.

Whether you feel thirsty or not, chances are your skin is, so try and drink at least one glass of water in between alcohol-containing drinks. Aim to drink a few extra glasses of water throughout the next day to offset any dehydration.

It is standard to determine how much water you need based on your weight. Multiply your weight by 0.66 and the number remaining is how many ounces you should be drinking per day. Add twelve ounces per 30 minutes of dehydrating activity, such as exercise or consuming alcohol.

At Urban Retreat Spa we believe beautiful skin starts with healthy skin. Whatever your drink of choice, be cautious and mindful while enjoying it.