It exacerbates inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea and psoriasis, induces facial redness, and can cause spider veins due to vascular dilation. Chronic drinking disrupts nutrient absorption, depriving the skin of vital vitamins and antioxidants necessary for repair and rejuvenation. Moreover, alcohol’s impairment of the immune system heightens susceptibility to infections and hampers wound healing, further compromising skin integrity and appearance.

Seborrheic dermatitis

Ifyou are facing a medical emergency or considering suicide or self harm, please call 911immediately. Edmund has an extensive background in addiction research and medical writing, working collaboratively with doctors, substance use disorder specialists, and clinical experts across all content on Recovered. A 2020 study published in Nutrients also confirmed alcohol’s diuretic effect and subsequent water retention, causing facial puffiness in 78% of individuals studied. Alcohol depletes essential nutrients like B vitamins, crucial for healthy nerve function.

The best and worst alcoholic drinks for your skin

It appears to be prudent precautionary public health policy to generally refrain from using ethanol in such products. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that although there is no certain link between oral cancer and mouthwash, its excessive use should be discouraged 151. The possibility of alcohol absorption across the injured skin is generally accepted in the literature 63. In 1950, Paulus 106 conclusively showed in animal experiments that alcohol is absorbed relatively rapidly through areas of wounded skin. A human case relating to the absorption of ethanol through abraised and lacerated skin was reported by Jones et al. 107.

How to reduce the effects of alcohol on your appearance

• This is more common in elderly people, who are more likely to be taking these kinds of medications and whose bodies have a more difficult time breaking down alcohol.
• Exposure of immature skin (especially under occlusion) may lead to significant local reactions and systemic toxicity 108.
• It appears to be prudent precautionary public health policy to generally refrain from using ethanol in such products.
• 4 ml were applied 20 times for 30 s, with a 1 minute break between applications.

The distribution of psoriasis has been observed to be particularly prominent on the fingers and hands of heavy drinkers. People who have psoriasis and drink more than 80g of alcohol per week have been found to have more severe treatment-resistant psoriasis, including erythrodermic psoriasis. The reasons for the association may be relative immune suppression induced by alcohol and/or that it induces proinflammatory cytokines. Regularly drinking more than the UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) low risk drinking guidelines (no more than 14 units a week, with several drink-free days) harms your liver.

Skin Cancer

Other studies also reported the opposite effect that ethanol containing mouthwashes may be less toxic than formulations without ethanol in tissue cultues of explants of neonatal rat peritoneum 123. Alcohol is an agent that poses a risk of percutaneous toxicity in the newborn. Exposure of immature skin (especially under occlusion) how alcohol affects your skin may lead to significant local reactions and systemic toxicity 108.