How to Fix Day-After-Drinking Skin

You won’t usually find me drinking during the week. Nothing against alcohol (or anyone’s personal preferences about it) but drinking during the workweek usually messes with my sleep. And I have a hard enough time falling asleep these days as it is.

But this Wednesday, drinking was done. And it was celebratory. I was honestly on the fence about watching the inauguration. After the events of January 6, I was frankly too nervous I would see another horrifying scene play out live. However, I decided to tune in, cry it out and miss America for a while. It was far more cathartic than I’d predicted and when it was all over, I felt like raising a glass to the red, white and blue for the first time in a while.

So, we ordered entirely too large of a pizza, drained some champagne and the next morning…I looked like it. Drinking alcohol can really do a number on your skin. It’s seriously dehydrating, which means you can wake up with dry, dull skin with fines lines that look more pronounced. It can also make your eyes look pretty marshmallow-like.

Looking in the mirror really took the patriotic pep out of my step, so I reached for some favorite products in my skincare arsenal that always help me look fresh. And yeah, I took a painkiller too because, ya know. I maintain it would have been far worse had I not had my usual chlorophyll-laced glass of water before bed.

These products are my remedies for skin that says “I’ve been drinkin'”:

Biologique Recherche Masque VIP O2 + CocoKind Organic Chlorophyll Mask — When my skin is looking seriously dull and sad, this combo perks it right up. It’s an oxygenating, vitamin-rich, green juice treat for my skin. I mix about a quarter-size amount of the BR mask with two scoops of the CocoKind powder, spread it all over my face and neck and let it sit for 20 minutes. Afterwards, my skin looks brighter, feels softer and my dehydration lines are no more.

KNC All-Natural Retinol Infused Eye Mask — The combo of gold, retinol, hyaluronic acid, rosemary, licorice root and collagen helps to de-puff and firm my under-eye area in 10 minutes. These little shooting stars do have a tingle to them, but they never make my eye area red or irritated. Best of all? They don’t slide around. Hallelujah. I would buy them again for that reason alone.

NIOD Superoxide Dismutase Saccharide Mist — I had this mist on my wish list for a while and to be honest, I still don’t totally get what the hell it is. All I know is the hype is real. This mist is so soothing to use after a mask and before applying other products. I’ll also keep spraying it throughout the day if my skin is feeling extra thirsty. The secret ingredient is Yeast-Derived Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), which provides serious antioxidant benefits to brighten and protect your skin.

Living Libations Rose Glow Serum — This serum has quickly become my favorite in my collection. It’s hydrating and balancing thanks to jojoba and seabuckthorn oils, rose otto, geranium, immortelle, neroli, lavender, stone root and palmarosa. It helps with breakouts and dark spots and really does make your skin glow. It just makes me look…healthy. You can use it on its own (it layers well with water-based serums, creams and SPF) or mix it into your moisturizer.

Here are some other tips to help your skin recover:

Use an ice roller for puffiness.
Or a device like this for facial massage.
Drink lots of fluids. I like to add a boost to plain water with these greens tabs or this tincture.
Avoid topicals that are further dehydrating like strong acids.
Finish it off with a moisturizer and, as always, sunscreen.

How do you undo some of your skin sins like drinking?