Most people enjoy a drink now and then. Typically people are inclined to have their drinks with dinner and this helps to complement the flavor. This isn’t always the case though. Some of us opt to have a few drinks outside of the context of a meal too. None of this may be the best option for your skin though. Alcohol can have noticeable effects on the skin depending on the amount you drink. As living a luxe lifestyle often means enjoying yourself around the world, it may be time to pause and have a good look at what alcohol can do to your skin. Your skin can be affected simply by imbibing the alcohol or using a product with an alcohol base. The effects of each of these are typically less than admirable. You may be left wondering if having a few drinks is even worth it.

Dehydrating
One of the big issues with both imbibing and applying alcohol is that it dehydrates you. Sustained drinking slowly saps moisture from your body. The largest impact comes from the fact that alcohol literally inhibits your body’s ability to retain water. Your body is regulated by various hormones that each govern different processes in your body. Alcohol inhibits the function of one of the primary hormones responsible for you being able to retain water. This leads to your losing water far faster than you otherwise would through the various processes of your body. It is particularly pronounced when going to the bathroom. This effect scales in proportion to the amount of alcohol you drink and is, all on its own, a good reason to drink in moderation. Additionally, the effect may be larger or smaller depending upon an individual’s heritage.

Inflammation
Beyond dehydration, alcohol is also known for inflaming the skin. This happens in a variety of ways with only one of them being directly linked back to the dehydration. Inflammation can appear in a variety of ways, but the two most common ones are puffiness and redness. Think about the supposed classic signs of an alcoholic. The face is flushed and the face is puffy in a variety of places. You shouldn’t take this to be an exaggeration. Those are signs of chronic drinking resulting in inflammation. Most of us will never experience the inflammation quite that badly as most people aren’t alcoholics. Those symptoms will be present to one degree or another if one drinks often enough though. You would do well to remember this in particular because if you give up alcohol these symptoms will often have a chance to fade. If you don’t, you run the risk of making many of these signs permanent.

The Crux of the Matter
Alcohol now and again, when imbibed, isn’t actually the worst thing in the world. Time and time again we’ve heard news reports highlighting that a tempered approach to indulging in alcohol may actually improve our overall health. Abuse of the substance is an almost guaranteed route towards rapid premature aging and permanent redness of the face. The dryness in the sky from chronic usage leads to wrinkles and sagging. These lead to even deeper wrinkles over time. Temporary redness can gradually transform into permanent redness as capillaries in the skin of the face burst and cause a permanent flush to the skin. Still yet worse for anyone with an already present skin condition, the inflammation can actually make already existing problems worse. You can enjoy alcohol, but anyone serious about their skin should remember that there are limits.

Alcohol impacts your skin whether you’re drinking it or applying it to your skin in a product. Long term issues typically come from drinking a little too often. Alcohol-based products will dry out and harm your skin if you don’t take care though. Living a luxe lifestyle affords people many opportunities to enjoy food and drink from around the world. Just let this article be a word of caution in your ear to remember to indulge responsibly.