With the end of the year, and endless parties and festive lunches fast approaching, it can be easy for all thoughts of healthy living and balance to go out of the window.
But it is possible to enjoy a few drinks during the silly season – without the results showing up on your skin.
Here, FEMAIL speaks to leading Sydney-based dermatologist, Dr Natasha Cook, to find out what to drink and what to swerve at the bar of all those office parties for a clear complexion.
With the end of the year, and endless parties and festive lunches fast approaching, it can be easy for all thoughts of healthy living and balance to go out of the window (stock image)
But it is possible to make healthy drinking decisions this party season – FEMAIL spoke to Sydney-based dermatologist, Dr Natasha Cook (pictured), for her top tips
According to Dr Cook, the first thing to set straight is why alcohol is making your skin look lacklustre:
‘Alcohol dehydrates you, leading to dullness in your skin,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The darker the beverage, generally the worse it is for your skin.’
However, it’s not as simple as white wine is good for you, while red wine is bad:
‘Red wines cause dilation of your blood vessels, leading to redness and inflammation in the skin,’ Dr Cook said.
‘But white wines have a high sugar content leading to insulin instability. Insulin can affect our hormones, resulting in blotchy, breakout-like skin.’
According to Dr Cook, generally, the whiter or lighter the beverage, the better it is for you – however, you should have tonic or soda water instead of sugary mixers (stock image)
‘Red wines cause dilation of your blood vessels, leading to redness and inflammation in the skin,’ Dr Cook said (stock image)
So what can you drink if you want to party hard without ruining your complexion?
For Dr Cook, it’s all about ‘clean drinks’:
‘Low sugar, low carb white spirits are perhaps the best of the bunch, such as vodka,’ she said.
‘The lighter or whiter the beverage, the better. They have fewer substances in them which create flushing and redness of the skin.
‘They also have a low carb constitution, which means fewer issues with getting a “beer belly”.’
Dr Cook also added that tequila can in fact ‘be better than other beverages for rosacea, as it is a white spirit and plays less havoc with flushing and blushing’.
If you’re choosing spirits over wine, however, it pays to steer clear of ‘high sugar mixers’, which will ‘do more damage than a simple spirit with lime and soda water or tonic water’.
Dr Cook (pictured) also added that tequila can in fact ‘be better than other beverages for rosacea, as it is a white spirit and plays less havoc with flushing and blushing’
If you’ve partied too hard the night before, one simple trick to make yourself look and feel better is to have a teaspoon of Vegemite and Berocca, which give you vitamin B3 (stock image)
For those who have overdone it at a party, according to Dr Cook there are still some things which you can do for happy skin:
‘Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!,’ she exclaimed. ‘Try and drink 750ml-1 litre of water before you go to bed.’
The dermatologist also said you should try to cleanse your skin before bed, before applying a ‘Niacinimide (vitamin B3) serum, then moisturising’.
‘B3 is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, which will help to prevent inflammation and redness, and help you to wake up with a clearer complexion,’ she said.
Finally, Dr Cook said a teaspoon of Vegemite should be your new best friend this party season – as well as a Berocca:
‘The Vegemite is filled with vitamin B3, while the Berocca is filled with multi B vitamins. We lose them when drinking so it’s important to replace,’ she concluded.
‘I recommend having them before you go to bed, so they can work overnight.’
You can also use a concentrated illuminator, which contains a clinical strength amount of B3. To find out more about it, please click here.