Most of us would agree with the statement that consuming alcohol is fine in moderation, but that excessive drinking can adversely affect your health. This is true on many levels, including a surprising impact on your skin and hair. In this post, we’ll look at some of the ways alcohol leads to a diminished appearance, including dried-out skin and damaged hair; we’ll also provide some pointers on avoiding these damaging effects (without totally giving up on drinking).
The Effects of Alcohol on Your Skin
We’ll start with the skin. To understand how alcohol impacts your skin, all you really need to understand is the importance of hydration. To look and feel healthy, skin has to be kept sufficiently moisturized. When skin becomes dried out, it looks scaly, leathery, or sallow.
Alcohol is bad for the skin precisely because it has a dehydrating effect. Alcohol is actually a diuretic, which means it makes you have to urinate with greater frequency—drying you out. At the same time, however, excessive amounts of alcohol curb your body’s production of an important hormone called vasopressin, which is what enables the body to reabsorb moisture. There’s something of a one-two punch here: Alcohol causes your body to lose moisture, then makes it very difficult to regain moisture.
You can probably imagine how this might impact your skin over time; you know basically what it feels like to have dried-out skin. Unfortunately, there are further ill effects of alcohol on the skin. For one thing, it opens the blood vessels, which is why many people look flushed when they consume alcoholic beverages. Over time, the blood vessel dilation can become so major that it leads to more serious and permanent cosmetic effects, like spider veins.
The Effects of Alcohol on Your Hair
Alcohol is just as rough on your hair, and for largely the same reasons—starting with dehydration. Just as your skin needs moisture to look and feel healthy, so does your hair—and when your hair gets dried out, it tends to become dry, brittle, and easily broken. That’s the effect that alcohol can produce.
Once again, though, the ill effects of alcohol are more wide-ranging than just dehydration. When you drink excessively, over a long period of time, it can sap the body of its zinc and folic acid, two nutrients that are crucial for keeping your hair strong and shiny. This significantly increases your risk of broken hair, and ultimately of hair loss.
How to Protect Your Hair and Skin
With all of that said, how do you keep your hair safe and healthy? The simplest solution, of course, is to just not drink, though it’s really not necessary to give up alcohol altogether. Simply drinking in moderation can minimize many of these risks, to say nothing of the other health risks that alcohol can bring.
In addition to judiciousness in your drinking habits, there are a few other things you can do to keep your hair and skin safe. Hydrating is one. Drink plenty of water, and if you have some drinks, alternate each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water.
Good nutrition also plays a role. Make sure you’re giving your hair everything it needs to be strong and shiny. Supplements don’t hurt, especially something like biotin, which gives your hair a boost.
Finally, we’d recommend using a rejuvenating hair mask, especially following evenings where you have been heavier with the alcohol consumption. Allow your hair some time to recover; pamper it.
Invest in Healthy Hair and Skin
Maintaining healthy skin and hair is something you have to be intentional about—and that extends well past your drinking habits. It’s a lot to consider, but we’re here to help, and to offer the products and solutions you need to ensure hair and skin that look great.
To make an investment in the health of your hair and skin, we invite you to come see us at Mane Image today. Allow our stylists to do a one-on-one evaluation, and recommend some effective ways to elevate your skin and hair routines.
