How to defeat the signs of a hangover
If a look in your diary over the next few weeks presents you with the prospect of more evening appointments than a pizza delivery driver on Champions League night when your hangover hits you may have cause for concern regarding the state of your appearance at morning meetings.
“Too much work and no vacation, Deserves at least a small libation. So hail! my friends, and raise your glasses, Work’s the curse of the drinking classes.”
– Oscar Wilde.
The festive period, in particular, means plenty of boozy evenings at work parties, charity functions and even over Christmas itself, where champagne and wine inevitably flows a little more freely.
So whether you’ve overdone it through finding a barman who swings a particularly fine shaker, or because you were stuck next to Brian from compliance for an hour and sought solace in your glass, there are a number of steps we can recommend to ease your pain and sharpen your appearance the morning after when the hangover sets in, in particular looking after your skin.
Hydrate your hangover
The central launchpad for much of the below is hydration. The diuretic effects of alcohol mean you become dehydrated, and your skin is one of the most obvious areas this manifests itself. A way to offset this is by drinking plenty of water BEFORE you turn to the good stuff, which will ensure you start the evening hydrated and provide you with a buffer of sorts. In the morning, turn to a hypotonic drink, which is taken up by the body more quickly than water. Coconut water is an excellent option, containing more potassium than a banana, and easily digested carbohydrates in the form of electrolytes and sugar.
In terms of direct help for your skin, hydration is again the best help you can give yourself. Alcohol robs the skin of moisture which means you will look dry, dull and pallid. Dry skin also ages faster, so combatting this at source will help keep the wrinkles away. A good moisturiser will give your skin the boost it needs to improve a tired complexion and more importantly keep it hydrated throughout the day. HOMMAGE’s Fortify Face moisturizer is the perfect tonic for your skin at this moment. It contains chamomile extract to soothe skin which will be inflamed and puffy after a night drinking, as well as improving your skin's complexion, which is often grey and pale when dehydrated and hungover. Fortify comes in two sizes, including a travel size which is perfect to keep in your desk drawer in case your hangover morning routine was less than thorough and you need a boost.
Reduce those bags
As well as your skin, your eyes, in particular, will also be a massive giveaway that you spent a little longer at the bar than was advisable the night before. When large amounts of alcohol enter your body, the blood vessels on the surface of your eye dilate, causing redness. The aforementioned dehydration that comes from drinking also causes red eyes, puffy eyelids and the telltale dark circles. The redness will decrease the more you hydrate, or you can use a good eye drop to whiten your eyes in a matter of minutes.
To target dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles around your eyes, try HOMMAGE’s Awaken Eye Serum. It helps attract and retain moisture and is infused with energy boosting caffeine which gives your skin cells a jolt of energy and youth. It also contains Horse Chestnut, which is a natural astringent, anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant that helps to stimulate the circulation of the skin.
Use a small amount after cleansing and shaving, pressing the product gently onto the skin around your eye, and you will be delighted with the improvement. Well, as delighted as anyone can be when a small rugby squad is practising scrummaging at the back of your skull.