Facial Skin Problems Related to Alcohol

A few drinks throughout the week won't affect you too much, but a weekend ritual of binge drinking may take its toll not only on your social life, but on your skin as well. Alcohol depletes skin of moisture, vitamins and nourishment, leaving it looking less than healthy and fresh. Alcohol can make your skin look prematurely old and have an effect on its clarity.

Acne

When you drink too much alcohol, you cause damage to your liver. Trusted skin care website, The Acne Resource Center explains that the liver works as the cleaning system for your body. It removes toxins and expels them as waste, or metabolizes them. When you damage your liver, those toxins stay in your body, causing you to see more acne.

Dry Skin

Effects of Alcohol on Skin

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While you may think that your alcoholic beverage is hydrating and refreshing, keep in mind that alcohol has a drying effect on your body, rather than a hydrating one. This drying can cause more dry skin on your face, manifesting as dry patches, flaky spots and a less hydrated appearance. The University of Rochester notes that alcohol causes your body to lose water, resulting in dehydrated skin.

Sallow Skin

Your skin uses vitamin A to nourish your skin, hair and eyes and keep them all functioning properly. Morehead State University states that alcohol depletes your body of vitamin A by releasing all of your body's stores of vitamins at once, causing them to metabolize. The lack of vitamin A gives you a sallow and unhealthy appearance. Your facial skin may appear dull, yellowed or sallow, and you may notice that it isn't as bright as it used to be.

Wrinkles

Brown Spots on Face After Drinking Liquor

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Because your skin is undernourished when you abuse alcohol, you'll also see it age faster. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends that you not drink alcohol before bed, as the alcohol causes capillary leaks, which are linked to sagging of the skin, which is expedited when you lie down.

Skin Cancer

The Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill confirms that when you drink more than a moderate amount of alcohol, you more than double your risk of contracting skin cancer, whether on your face or elsewhere.