Sadly, Drinking Alcohol Does Accelerate Skin Aging

I’m a proponent of a balanced lifestyle. I want to believe I can treat and hydrate my way out the negative effects of occasional alcohol consumption.

Am I fooling myself? Probably.

We know drinking alcohol dehydrates our body and makes the skin less elastic. Alcohol also increases blood vessel dilation which leads to redness, puffy eyes, and inflammation.

The older I get, the longer these after effects (and the pounding headache…) seem to hang around.

Sadly, there’s evidence to show the impact doesn’t stop there. Alcohol consumption accelerates the aging process of the skin and there’s no way around it.

“Effect of alcohol use. Regression analyses suggested a relationship between alcohol use and aging severity that was statistically significant for under-eye puffiness, mid-face volume loss, and blood vessels on the cheeks.”

Under-eye puffiness, mid-face volume loss, and blood vessels on the cheeks? Ugh. Regular alcohol consumption affects much more than just the hydration levels of our skin.

Corrective treatments for volume loss of the face and broken blood vessels require expensive, invasive procedures like dermal fillers and lasers.

It’s time to rethink my alcohol consumption!