Yes, your skin gets hangovers too.
Your dull complexion, those dark under eyes, that puffy, puffy face. If you’ve had a big night, it will quite literally be written all over your face the next morning. Knowing why the skin does what it does the morning after the night before will make it easier for you to craft the ultimate hangover skin routine. A routine designed to counteract the signs of a big night, and one I’ve admittedly had many opportunities to personally refine.
Alcohol has two major side effects on the skin- dehydration, leading to a dull, dry complexion, and inflammation, leading to the puffiness we often associate with a lack of sleep (if your inflammation is red in appearance, your alcohol intake may be serving as a trigger for a skin condition like rosacea. If your skin looks and feels irritated after drinking, it may be worth visiting a doctor, dermatologist or dermal clinician). This in mind, every single step in your skincare hangover cure should serve at least one of two purposes- restoring that moisture and glow to dehydrated skin, or relieving puffiness and fluid retention from the face. Any product that can do both shall be deemed the Big Mac of skincare (in that it is the superior hangover cure and I will hear no different).
Regardless of whether or not you removed your makeup before hitting the pillow (and look, if you didn’t, don’t tell me. Ignorance is bliss), every thorough skincare routine must begin with a deep cleanse. Your skin will be looking particularly sad and dull before you undergo step one of your hangover skin routine, which is why I like to work a gentle manual exfoliation into this step to reveal brighter, fresher skin. I personally use a Foreo Luna 2 for this, but even just removing your cleanser by working a warm, damp face cloth over the skin in circular motions will provide some level of exfoliation and help to reveal a bit of that lost glow.
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We’ve done this already. They’re all LISTED here.
Next, we use a sheet mask to restore hydration to the skin and relieve puffiness. A sheet mask at room temperature will give the skin a post-facial glow, making it a hangover skincare essential, however a sheet mask that has been kept in the fridge has magical de-puffing properties. When our skin looks puffy (this applies to the under eye area, too), it’s usually a sign of fluid retention. Both the cold and facial massage will help to get things moving again and relieve inflammation, which is why a great hangover skincare routine will incorporate both of these elements. If you’ve not had the foresight to put your sheet mask in the refrigerator overnight, you can take an ice cube or two and rub them over the mask once you’ve applied it to your face (this can get a bit annoying as the ice starts to melt, but desperate times call for desperate measures).
The first few sheet masks I’ve listed below are extortionary. The only reason I would ever use one of these to cure my hangover skin would be if I also had a very fancy and important event that day (although, if that were the case, I probably wouldn’t have written myself off the night before… I digress). I’ve listed them for the sake of having a list of my favourite sheet masks in one place but, honestly, if your skin has a hangover, most masks will do just fine as long as you’ve had the foresight to refrigerate it. Here are my favourites.
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111 Skin Rose Gold Mask
KNESKO Nano Gold Repair Face Mask
MZ Skin Hydra-Lift Golden Facial Treatment Mask
La Mer Treatment Lotion Mask
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery PowerFoil Mask
Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mask
Go-To Transformazing Sheet Mask
SKII Facial Treatment Mask
FOREO UFO 2 (Like using a regular sheet mask, but surprisingly more economical. MORE ON THAT HERE).
Where most will follow their facial sheet mask with an eye cream, I prefer to use a targeted eye mask (also kept in the fridge). Is this excessive? Yes. But does putting on a second mask afford me more time in the bathroom and, in turn, more time to deeply inhale and exhale before I have to front other humans? Also yes.
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Mecca Cosmetica Bright Eyed Eye Masks
Aceology Anti-Ageing Gold Eye Masks
Skyn Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery Eye Mask
You should still have a nice amount of serum left on your skin after your excessive double masking session (I will convert you, I promise), but you’ll need a little more “slip” on your skin for this next step, so now we massage a facial oil into our face and neck. I won’t list my favourite oils here, as the purpose they serve in this routine is less about your hungover skin and more about providing a base for the pièce de résistance- your crystal roller. There is much debate surrounding the efficacy of rollers, however I have relied on mine for many, many years. Morning-after-puffiness is often the result of fluid retention, and a lymphatic drainage facial massage is, in my opinion, the very best way to rid the skin of excess fluid. I find a roller works much better than my fingers when giving myself a facial massage and reducing puffiness, plus you’re getting the added cooling benefits of the crystal. The reason we need the aforementioned “slip” is because we want the roller to work with the skin, rather than pulling and tugging against it.
I believed, for many years, that all crystal facial tools were made equal and that spending more than an AliExpress delivery fee on a roller was madness. I was very, very wrong. I have trialled countless rollers during my time in beauty, and I’ve found the quality, size, materials, craftsmanship and other synonyms of the Zove Beauty range to be the best by far. I also love their Gua Sha for sculpting the face and relieving jaw tension, and although I’ll reach for the roller over the Gua Sha if we’re strictly talking hangover skin, I’ve still listed my favourite below because it’s that good. Unsure how to use a roller to reduce facial puffiness? This should help.
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Zove Beauty Rose Quartz Facial Roller & Gua Sha Set
Aceology Ice Globe Facial Massagers (not technically a roller, but too good not to share. You keep these in the fridge, massage your face with them, and any fluid retention is gone. Also great after a very hot laser treatment).
Lock in any remaining mask serum and facial oil with a simple moisturiser (which, honestly, all moisturisers should be. They should all be simple. They serve little purpose beyond moisturising. Serums are there to do the heavy lifting), then lock that in with a facial mist. Facial mists are the unsung hero of a hangover skincare routine. They’re the equivalent of dunking a bucket of water over your head in that they wake you right up, but also they don’t wet your hair and you don’t have to use a mop afterwards. Keep your mist on hand for the entire day. A great mist will deliver an extra hit of moisture to your dull, dehydrated skin, plus the sensation will pep you up when you can feel your eyes starting to close mid-conversation.
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La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water
Jane Iredale Pommist
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs & Rosewater
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Ultra Fine Mist
Now get some sleep. You need it.
Photography: Melissa Cowan
Hair & Makeup: Sophia Pafitis
Model: Kate Mogg at Precision MGMT
Styling & Art Direction: Gemma Watts
This article is not sponsored and all views are the author’s own.
