It’s party season, a time to eat, drink and be merry, but all the fun and frivolity can wreak havoc on your skin. Here’s how to minimise the damage and sparkle your way through the holidays.
The festive season beckons. The party calendar is filling up. You’re planning the dress(es), the shoes, the makeup, the hair, but what about prepping your skin for the cheese platters, late nights and one-too- many vinos?
Busy days rushing to get things done by the holidays, late nights celebrating, too much alcohol or indulgent food and too little sleep equals a dull and dehydrated complexion. Now’s the time to bolster your beauty regimen so you can glow right through the party season.
You are what you eat
When it comes to taking care of your skin, what you eat matters just as much as what you put on it. Your skin is a living, breathing organ of the body and it needs to be properly nourished and hydrated to look and feel its best.
When your skin is deprived of necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients, it is unable to function at optimal levels and its structure slowly begins to break down. In order to avoid this breakdown and keep a healthy-looking glow, you need to feed your skin a mix of nutrients each day.
Healthy skin starts from the inside and works its way out. The first step: eliminate refined sugar and fatty junk foods. Load up on fruits and vegetables which are packed with the best-known antioxidants – Vitamins C, E and beta-carotene (converted to Vitamin A once in the body). Your skin also needs a good supply of protein, iron, zinc, copper and folic acid. Essential beauty boosters in your daily diet should include at least two serves of fruit, five serves of vegetables, healthy carbohydrates such as wholegrain bread or rice as well as fish, lean meat, chicken and eggs.
Good skin also needs fat, such as essential fatty acids and omega fats, to keep it looking its best. Good sources are liquid oils (such as rice bran, olive and grapeseed oils), almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, avocado and seeds such as sunflower, sesame, poppy and linseeds. They make great summer snacks or the perfect dressing over salads.
Dehydration also causes skin ageing, so drink plenty of water every day. This will not only hydrate the skin but will help to remove waste from the kidneys and detoxify the liver.
Watch your alcohol intake
Excessive alcohol is a notorious beauty thief. The more you drink, the less hydrated you are – and that extends to your skin. You may notice your skin is dryer and less ‘plump’ after overdoing it on those holiday party drinks, and the lines you already have may appear more visible and etched.
Alcohol can also make your face puffy, blotchy and flushed. The histamine released by alcohol dilates the blood’s capillaries, causing erythema or reddening of the skin. Over time, this flushed appearance can become more prominent and even permanent.
To add insult to injury, a night on the sauce can also create or worsen breakouts; usually the high sugar levels in cocktails and wine are the worst culprits.
Not to completely put you off that holiday toast, but it’s a timely reminder that alcohol is a toxin with little nutrient value and can contribute to poorer liver function, reduced immunity, hormone disruption, cell damage and insulin issues – all impacting on the quality, appearance and rate of ageing of your skin.
It may seem unrealistic to cut out alcohol completely, so cut back. Make your wine a spritzer, choose a cocktail that’s low in added sugars, or even opt for one of the many delicious non-alcoholic cocktails and alcohol-free wines now available.
To minimise damage, drink water before, during and after your alcoholic drink. Staying hydrated should help with the problem of dull, dry skin the following day.
Beauty sleep is real
Sure, late nights can be fun, but your skin will be displaying the consequences. Lack of sleep can cause blood vessels under your eyes to dilate, leading to dark circles.
To help combat this, try using an eye cream with caffeine or vitamin K, which can help constrict blood vessels and reduce the appearance of dark circles.
When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces
more cortisol, which can cause inflammation and puffiness. To reduce puffiness, try using a cold compress or eye cream with anti-inflammatory ingredients like chamomile or green tea.
To brighten up your complexion, try using a face mask with brightening ingredients like vitamin C or glycolic acid.
No matter how late the night, never go to bed with makeup on! Leaving makeup on overnight can clog your pores, leading to breakouts and blackheads. It can also cause dryness and irritation, especially if you’re wearing heavy or long-wear makeup. Always remove your makeup and apply a rich moisturiser before you go to bed. Keep some makeup removal wipes and a night cream on your bedside table, in case a trip to the bathroom is just too much to handle.
