Cutting back on alcohol, what affects did it have on your face & body?

[Explodingatomickittens]

I drink a couple of glasses of white wine in 3 or 4 nights a week (I've been good this week & haven't had a glass since last Saturday). Thinking of cutting back to just weekends & hoping it will have a positive effect on my appearance.. And if I switch to red wine will this be better for my skin/health?

I've just finished dry January. Every year I lose weight and my skin is much clearer/glowy. I think you need to cut out / back on alcohol for similar affects rather than switching from white to red wine.

*effects

I’ve gone from drinking a couple of glasses every weeknight and a whole bottle Saturday and Sunday to just a couple of glasses a week. The main benefit for me is much better sleep which I think makes your skin look much better as well!

I can’t say it made any difference at all.

I gave up wine in November when I realised that even drinking 1 small glass was giving me a headache.
Haven't had a headache since.

Sorry, also face lost puffiness and lost some weight.

www.vogue.com/article/alcohol-skin-damage-effects

I think it’s more about genetics though. I’ve never drunk alcohol and don’t think my skin is particularly better than my peers (30 years in).

Cut back radically and it made zero difference as far as I can see. But I am 51 and lol permanently knackered anyway…..

Just did dry Jan and it made no difference whatsoever to my skin.

Stopped drinking beginning of September. My skin is so much better and brighter but I'd say it took around 3 months to see the full benefit.

Haven't had a drop since 2017 (I never liked it but got drunk socially at least once a week). I don't think it had a huge affect on my body but I certainly just feel better overall. I don't feel randomly sick and I feel like I have a lot more energy overall.

I used to drink a similar amount to you OP, and now I don't drink anything. I cant say it made any difference to my skin at all. I also didn't lose weight but I've always had some health issues with weight (I'm underweight and struggle to gain it) so that was actually a good thing not to lose any.

None, I haven't drank since Oct 21 due to tablets I am taking and it hasn't made one bit of difference to my skin or "beauty"

I would be more of a binge drinker than a glass of wine with dinner each evening but even then I never got hangovers, so there is no real upside to this. Apart from liver cleansing blah blah blah - which it obv isn't or else I could drink on the medication as its obviously shitting up my liver🙄

Stress makes me look old and has given me crows feet etc around my eyes.

Alcohol consumption doesn't affect my skin.

Hasn't made any difference to my face but since January I have only been drinking alcohol one night a week and I've lost 2.5kgs, am sleeping so much better and waking feeling very refreshed with a lot more energy in the day.

Not drinking alcohol increases my energy, helps me sleep better, and never waking up with a hangover is amazing. I don't miss it.

Stopping the drink made me better rested. The dark circles are still there, but my eyes themselves look a bit brighter. My forehead wrinkles also look a lot less prominent than I thought they did 4 years ago.

As long as I remember to drink actual water rather than a constant stream of coffee, I think the being more hydrated thing has had a good effect.

But the feeling better rested thing has been worth it regardless. I'm more pleasant in the mornings that I used to be.

Just done dry Jan. No difference whatsoever. Don't look like I've lost weight either!

Can’t say I noticed a difference in my skin after almost entirely quitting alcohol. But the improvement in sleep is amazing.

I remember waking up after having just a couple of glasses if wine and my face would be puffy and blotchy. I very rarely drink now but when I do I can always see it in my face the morning after. Long term I don't know if it has made any difference. I used to work with alcoholics and the long term effects on your body when drinking a lot, and the lifestyle that often comes with it, would in many cases be quite visible.

I didn't notice a difference in skin but didn't sweat as much and caused a hell of a lot less arguments with DH. Weight gain was less (main reason for dry Jan, booze stimulates my appetite).
I moved to coffee instead so I think that's why my skin isn't that good. Sugar is a complete bastard I've noticed. If I cut that down I look a bit better.

I was drinking too much wine and what I have found is this:

1. First month without alcohol: face is less red, less puffy, sleep is some nights good and some nights terrible, gums less inflamed, lost about 3lbs
2. Second month: nails looking stronger, skin still has some redness but getting better, eyes looking much brighter face slimmed down, lost 2lbs. I wasn't trying to lose weight but I wasn't stuffing my face either.
3. Third month: lots of baby hairs which is great as my hair was thinning. Stomach about 80% flat as what it used to be before the period of heavy wine drinking
4. By 6 months: stomach really flat, digestion regulated, face looks younger by 5 to 7 years. My under eyes troughs were less visible, perhaps helped by a less bloated face and sleeping better as well as hydration.
5. By 9 months: lost a stone and a half naturally without consciously trying. I was doing a lot of work on processing and dealing with my emotions in a healthy way, overeating and overdrinking tend to be to numb or cope with life and feelings, if you sort out the root of the problem, the symptoms will resolve themselves (the drinking, the eating) resolve themselves. Of course at some point the drinking and overeating create their own sets of problems but at the root of these behaviours that led you to seek them is something destructive and toxic that needs dealing with otherwise it's sticking a plaster on a time bomb, which is why diets 'fail' for example, jumping from one diet to another, restarting again and again. Cut the power off at the source.

In my twenties, it was 2 weeks and I notice a difference from dropping alcohol. In my mid thirties it took me 6 good weeks for others to notice that I'm glowing. Not everyone knew how much I drank as I only drank heavily at home, hold a sensible job etc.

My teeth are also a lot better as my dental hygiene is improved (i'm not too drunk to brush and floss ) and my mouth isn't bathing in sugary acids and then dry all night nor am I chugging coffee and sweets to stay focused. Alcohol is such a shitty shitty thing. I could write a book on how my life has changed without it but I'll stop waffling on now. Good luck with it.

Ive stopped being red and puffy looking; started dry January late so I’m 28 days sober. I’ve lost 2kg as well. I quit alcohol completely though. I do think I need to cut down on coffee too though.

Probably not what you want to hear but in my experience you have to cut back a LOT more than that to see and feel the effects.(as in not drinking at all or at most once every few months). I found after two months sober the compliments started rolling in about my skin. My eyes did look less puffy after a few days but I didn't see a huge difference for several weeks. I don't think switching to red wine will make much difference. Its still poison unfortunately.