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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think booze wrecks your face

150 replies

Everythingnotsaved · 04/08/2020 18:42

I normally have a booze break of 6 months every year- during that time I regain my skin and my jawline which at 47 is no mean feat.

I’m on summer hols at the moment & have been drinking for 2 weeks and I look bloated, fat, jowley and awful. I feel so crap about myself & look 10 years older.

Aibu to think as you get older, even small amounts of booze have a huge effect?

OP posts:
NiceGerbil · 04/08/2020 22:39

'Yes, and imagine what it's doing to the inside...'

True and having the ability to plough on, function and look fine even when putting it away is not a good thing.

There's a combo isn't there.

Sun
Smoking
Genes
Booze
Diet
Exercise

I am blessed and cursed with an ability to consume enough drink (and in the old days drugs) to fell a horse and not look too bad etc.

If it doesn't hold you up the idea that it's doing you damage inside is harder to get to grips with.

I have always drunk lots of water, used sun cream, slept like a log and walked a lot. I also look after my skin.

My liver must be fucked though and getting worse so in that sense, looking ok isn't the be all and end all.

borntohula · 04/08/2020 22:44

Definitely, even short term! I have recently had a break from it and went OTT on wine the other night. I commented the day after how awful my face looked and felt and I threw up in a car park so I'm considering just never doing it again.

WhatifIfeellikeacat · 04/08/2020 22:48

My other bil (52) is a fitness fanatic and rarely drinks, goes to bed about 9 pm...but he looks more tired and older

I have noticed that people who do professional sport like tennis, football or running often look much older than their actual age. Not sure if it's the sun or just over exercising or both.

Northernsoullover · 04/08/2020 22:53

The thing is you will always have anecdotes about Great Aunt Enid who drank a bottle of sherry every day and doesn't look a day over 20 but if you consume too much alcohol it changes the DNA of the cells in your body (check out Google scholar for papers). It wrecks your body inside and out and its a known carcinogen.
I belong to several Facebook quit drinking groups and before and after pics range from subtle differences but most are astounding differences.
I drank more than was healthy but how many people who drink regularly really stick to 14 units per week?

Iloveyoutothefridgeandback · 04/08/2020 22:53

My mother was an alcohol until her mid 50s. It's been almost 7 years since she drank and she doesn't look any different. She looked fantastic then and she still does now. Obviously it's much better for her not to be drinking but I honestly can't see any difference to her physical appearance.

Do genes play a big part in this? does this mean I can drink as much as like and still look great in my 50s

NiceGerbil · 04/08/2020 22:54

Sun I'd guess and also after 40ish your face thins out so if you are v slender (long distance runner etc) it does make you look older.

All that is I'm sure offset by the feelings of health, well-being, achievement and the seratonin high that comes with it! Aka I doubt they care.

FWIW the people I knew who were really into pills etc when young and aren't still doing it, ALL do running in a fairly serious way. Apparently it gives them the same rush.

So that's interesting.

Iloveyoutothefridgeandback · 04/08/2020 22:54

Oh for God's sake... She was an alcoholic, not "an alcohol" Blush

Iloveyoutothefridgeandback · 04/08/2020 22:56

FWIW the people I knew who were really into pills etc when young and aren't still doing it, ALL do running in a fairly serious way. Apparently it gives them the same rush.

@NiceGerbil am I one of your friends IRL? You just described me lol. Running really does make you feel so good. It's addictive, just like drugs.

JaneJeffer · 04/08/2020 23:01

Booze has no effect on my face. I mustn't be drinking enough.

Houseplantmad · 04/08/2020 23:02

I've just seen a cousin I haven't seen for two years. She's a daily wine drinker and I was shocked at the state of her skin and puffy face. She was a beautiful woman before but now has veiny, blotchy skin with a red nose. She's in her early 50s and looks 65.

lilgreen · 04/08/2020 23:06

Hmmm depends how much you drink. I only drink Fri and Sat and maybe 3 drinks each of those nights or 2. I’ve done dry jan twice and looked no better. I know teetotal runners who look hagglers as too thin.

lilgreen · 04/08/2020 23:06

Haggered

AntiAuntieAnty · 04/08/2020 23:07

@Northernsoullover

The thing is you will always have anecdotes about Great Aunt Enid who drank a bottle of sherry every day and doesn't look a day over 20 but if you consume too much alcohol it changes the DNA of the cells in your body (check out Google scholar for papers). It wrecks your body inside and out and its a known carcinogen. I belong to several Facebook quit drinking groups and before and after pics range from subtle differences but most are astounding differences. I drank more than was healthy but how many people who drink regularly really stick to 14 units per week?
Yes, this is the thing. The anecdata we, (including me), are using on here, probably isn't that helpful. Like, my old gran who smoked like a chimney and drank whisky like it was going out if fashion till she was in her 70s and still lived independently, more or less until she died in her late 80s. She only quit the cigs and booze as she didn't enjoy them any more. But, nobody would say that she had made good lifestyles choices. She did walk everywhere and I think was just made of hardy, irish stock. She did not look particularly good for her age though.

Scary to read the carcinogenic properties of alcohol. I remember that health minister saying that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. Does make me think, as it is one of the things, I'd have an equally good, or even better (?), quality of life if I didn't have it. So it does make me think I should knock it on the head. I don't drink a lot anyway though, so don't imagine I will morph into a supermodel by quitting it though, sadly.

FuckYouCorona · 04/08/2020 23:08

I think its largely genetic. I'm late 40's & drank shitloads most of my life alongside having to take loads of pain meds. Decided to give up drinking because I want to stay alive for my kids. Not touched a drop in over 7 months & I look exactly the same, (pretty good for my age, if I do say so myself) not lost any weight. I'm really pissed off about it because I hoped to lose weight. I've given up booze for years at a time when PG & the DC were young too. Still no change. My mum drank shitloads & smoked too, yet still looked young up until she was diagnosed with smoking related lung cancer & died within a matter of weeks. She literally aged from looking in her 40's to 80's in a month. Thats smoking for you! Sad

welldonesquirrels · 04/08/2020 23:12

You know how in Peppa Pig, the grandparent characters all have wobbly lines for the bottom half of their faces instead of smooth lines? Boozeface looks like that irl.

roarfeckingroarr · 04/08/2020 23:14

Yeah I've been told by lots of people that I'm looking really well (pregnant) and I'm pretty sure its the lack of booze

managedmis · 04/08/2020 23:22

Booze, fags, bad diet. Fine in your 20s, maybe 30s, but your 40s? Forget it. You'll look knackered and haggard.

I knew 2 women who were exactly the same age, one didn't drink, the other day. Tee total looked 30s, the other women looked in her 50s. They were both around early 40s I think.

managedmis · 04/08/2020 23:23
Grin

Well done squirrels

Very funny

TheNestedIf · 04/08/2020 23:26

Booze, no. Salt, yes.

More than one cup-a-soup (yes, I know) and I can see a definite resemblance to Hannibal The Hamster.

KorkMum · 04/08/2020 23:55

You are definately not wrong. Same for people that smoke. They do not look good.

madcatladyforever · 04/08/2020 23:58

Yes booze does wreck your face and is why I am teetotal.

NiceGerbil · 05/08/2020 00:00

Reading this it's genetic I think.

I come from a long line of serious boozers. I am one. It's not a good thing.

I agree that with some people you can spot a drinker. For sure. But that's serious drinkers. The occasional smallish consumption being talked about on here is in most people unlikely to make a difference.

What can make a difference is what comes with it.

Many people can't sleep properly when they've been drinking, and can't lie in. Tired. When tired, eat less healthily and don't exercise. Feel crappy, which has an impact on what you see in the mirror psychologically. That sort of thing.

NiceGerbil · 05/08/2020 00:04

The other thing is that the focus on looks of a bit ???

There is more to life than looking good.

I know plenty of women who enjoy a drink or 2 and let's face it nights out which are boozy can be awesome fun.

The idea of being teetotal to look after your face (rather than your heart, MH, liver etc etc) feels a bit sad tbh

OhioOhioOhio · 05/08/2020 00:34

Totally agree

Original poster
Everythingnotsaved · 05/08/2020 02:44

I can’t sleep (because I had wine yesterday) and that’s the other thing for me. When I don’t drink- which is most of the time- after about a month my sleep is so brilliant and i feel rested and calm. For me- I am trying to get to a point of having a year off and then deciding if I want to go tee total or not - I feel peer pressure still and need to address that element! I am a health eater - Mostly plant based & generally a happier person sober- it’s a no brainer and the added impact on my face of being sober is a bonus!

OP posts: