Indulgence. Unwind. Blow off steam.

So there you are. It’s your birthday and you have a night out planned with a decadent meal and champagne. Towards the end of the meal, it’s cocktails, and by the end of the night it’s shots and a few puffs off your new bathroom bestie’s vape. On the Uber ride home, you take a hit off your boyfriend’s weed pen. Here’s what you just did to your skin:

Alcohol: The Dehydrator

Alcohol is a diuretic that drains moisture from your skin, making fine lines more visible and killing your glow. It triggers inflammation throughout your body, causing puffiness, redness, and flare-ups of conditions like rosacea and eczema. The sugar content spikes insulin, ramping up oil production and creating the perfect storm for breakouts.

Regular drinking of substances accelerates aging by depleting antioxidants and slowing collagen production. It causes blood vessels to dilate repeatedly until they become permanently enlarged, creating broken capillaries and persistent facial redness. Alcohol also blocks absorption of vitamins A, C, and B—essential nutrients your skin needs to repair and protect itself. And while it might knock you out initially, it disrupts the deep sleep your skin needs for nightly repair and regeneration.

Tobacco: Stealing Your Youth

Smoking is one of the worst things you can do for your skin. It constricts blood vessels, drastically reducing blood flow and starving your skin of oxygen and nutrients. This oxygen deprivation literally suffocates your skin cells, preventing them from functioning optimally.

Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals that directly damage collagen and elastin—the proteins that keep your skin firm and supple. The repetitive facial movements from smoking create deep lines around the mouth (smoker’s lines) and cause premature wrinkling throughout the face. Smokers can look up to 10 years older than non-smokers of the same age.

The chemicals also cause a dull, grayish complexion and can lead to yellowing of the skin and teeth. Smoking compromises your immune system and slows wound healing, meaning your skin takes longer to recover from any damage or breakouts.

Nicotine: The Silent Saboteur

Think vaping is better? Think again. Nicotine—whether from cigarettes, vapes, or any other source—is a vasoconstrictor that severely reduces blood flow and oxygen to your skin. Less oxygen means your skin cells can’t regenerate properly or maintain their healthy function.

Nicotine actively breaks down collagen, damages fibroblasts (the cells that produce new collagen), and destroys elastin. This creates a perfect recipe for sagging, wrinkled skin. It significantly delays wound healing, meaning acne scars, cuts, and any skin damage stick around much longer. Nicotine also increases inflammation throughout your body, exacerbating existing skin conditions and accelerating the aging process.

THC: Not As Innocent As You Think

That weed pen might seem harmless, but THC has its own roster of skin sins. When smoked or vaped, THC exposes your skin to many of the same harmful combustion byproducts as tobacco, including free radicals that break down collagen and accelerate aging.

THC increases cortisol levels—your body’s stress hormone—which triggers inflammation, breaks down collagen, and can worsen acne and other inflammatory skin conditions. It also disrupts your skin’s natural oil production, often leading to either excessive oiliness or paradoxical dryness, both of which can contribute to breakouts and an uneven complexion.

Perhaps most problematically, THC significantly disrupts your sleep architecture, particularly REM sleep. While you might feel relaxed, your skin is missing out on critical deep-sleep repair phases when cell regeneration and collagen production peak. Chronic use can also impair your skin’s barrier function, making it more vulnerable to environmental damage and less able to retain moisture.

The munchies don’t help either—increased appetite often leads to consuming high-sugar, high-glycemic foods that spike insulin and promote inflammation, creating a cascade effect that shows up on your face.

The Bottom Line

That birthday celebration might have felt amazing in the moment, but your skin is paying the price when you intake these substances. The good news? Your skin is remarkably resilient. Cutting back on these substances—or eliminating them entirely—can lead to visible improvements in weeks! Your glow will come from within. Ready to rehabilitate your skin? Customized Facials deeply hydrate and replenish depleted nutrients, giving your skin the intensive care it’s been craving.

Microneedling stimulates your body’s natural collagen and elastin production, rebuilding the structural support that substances have broken down.

HydroFacials detoxify, extract, and infuse your skin with powerful antioxidants and peptides, restoring clarity and vitality.

Chemical Peels accelerate cell turnover, sloughing away dull, damaged layers to reveal fresh, radiant skin underneath.

Don’t let last night’s choices define tomorrow’s reflection. Your skin is resilient and with the right professional care, remarkable transformation is possible. Book your appointment today and let us create a personalized treatment plan to bring your healthiest, most radiant skin back to life.

Your glow is waiting. Let’s revive it together!