How does alcohol age your face?

Alcohol dries skin out

Alcohol dehydrates skin, which can make your face look older. One reason you lose fluid after drinking is that alcohol suppresses vasopressin, the hormone that tells your kidneys to retain water. You urinate more and lose more fluid. Alcohol also disrupts sleep: falling asleep faster does not mean sleeping well, because sleep becomes fragmented and you tend to wake earlier.14

Heavier drinking is linked with more visible aging

Among women, drinking eight or more drinks a week was associated with more upper facial lines, puffiness under the eyes, changes around the mouth corners, loss of fullness in the middle of the face and more visible blood vessels. These are associations, not a forecast for an individual face. Eight drinks was the category used for heavier drinking, not a recommended allowance or a boundary below which skin damage cannot happen.3

Why does alcohol make your face red?

Alcohol can cause temporary flushing. Acetaldehyde, a substance produced when your body breaks down alcohol, is thought to trigger this partly through histamine release. Sustained excessive drinking can also cause persistent redness from enlarged blood vessels, called telangiectasia. Temporary flushing and persistent visible vessels are different changes, even though both show up as redness.2

If you have rosacea, a condition that causes facial redness and sometimes burning, alcohol can trigger flushing even in small amounts. Blood vessels in the face widen more readily in response to triggers. Alcohol is not the cause of rosacea in most people. Keep a symptom diary to identify whether drinking worsens your symptoms, then avoid the triggers you identify.256

With chronic excessive drinking, nutrition can become another part of the problem. Alcohol can replace normal meals, while problems with digestion and liver function interfere with processing food. Too little protein or too few calories can leave skin dry and less elastic. This is different from an occasional flushed face after a drink.2

Not every line is caused by drinking

Natural aging changes facial fat: it loses volume and shifts downward, leaving some areas hollow and others looser. Repeated facial expressions create lines, while sun damage contributes to finer wrinkles. Alcohol is one influence on facial appearance, not the appointed spokesperson for every wrinkle. Age related loss of collagen and elastic fibers also makes skin less firm and more fragile.67

What can you do about it?

• Drink less alcohol to reduce a preventable contributor to premature skin aging.
• Apply facial moisturizer every day to help skin retain water.
• Protect exposed skin every day with broad spectrum, water resistant sunscreen rated SPF 30 or higher. Add shade and a wide brimmed hat.
• Wash gently rather than scrubbing. Stop using nonprescription skincare that stings or burns; tell your dermatologist if a prescribed product causes these symptoms.

Moisturizer can soothe dryness and temporarily make wrinkles less noticeable, but replacing lost facial fat is outside a jar's job description. Do not confuse recovering from a hangover with reversing established facial changes. Hangover symptoms can last 24 hours or longer, and coffee, showers and another drink do not cure them.47

See a doctor if your skin is very dry and itchy, or if persistent redness, burning or a rash suggests a skin condition rather than ordinary aging. A dermatologist can also discuss treatment options if facial lines or loss of firmness bother you.16