Glam Slam: Save Your Skin During The Holiday Season

Holiday partying can take a major toll on our skin. “When people party, it’s not just their body that gets hung-over, their skin feels the effects too,” says celebrity skin care maven, Sonya Dakar, whose clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Fergie and Sofia Vergara. “The same way the body gets dehydrated and overworked by alcohol consumption and late nights, so does the skin.” But a hard day’s night doesn’t have to show up on your face the morning after. Sonya shares some tips to help brighten, de-puff, and detox skin to help bring it back to life after you’ve been the life of the party.

1. Puffy Eyes
The #1 sign of “hung-over” skin is puffiness and dark circles. To treat this, steep green zucchini slices in green tea, let cool, and leave on eye area for 3-5 minutes. Follow with a generous application of antioxidant rich eye cream like my Eyeposuction. Make sure to apply to lids, under eye area and as far out as the hairline.

2. Ruddy Complexion
Drinking can also lead to a gray, sallow and ruddy complexion. Bring life back to your skin with a quick acupressure massage to help boost circulation and de-puff entire face. Apply a soothing and hydrating facial oil (this will help with glide too) and perform the following massage to the entire face. Locate the points with your index fingers, this is usually a small indentation in the skin. Gently press them until you feel no more than a comfortable pain. Hold the pressure while you knead the points with very small, circular movements. Breathe slowly and deeply and focus your mind on the points as you massage them. Repeat for 2-3 minutes.

3. Breakouts
Many people wake up the morning after with breakouts that pop up as a result of having too much fun the night before. Here is my secret, at-home, zit-zapping recipe: Pour yeast into a bowl and add water- one drop at a time (approximately two tablespoons of water). Mix well after each drop until the mixture turns to a medium paste. Add a drop or two of lemon juice. Once the yeast has been mixed with the water, keep stirring until the juice is blended in. Dab the paste on your breakouts (but be sure to give it time to dry before hiding under the covers).

4. Dehydrated Skin
Overindulging in alcohol will severely dehydrate the skin resulting in a tight, dry feel the next morning—never mind a headache! Start by cleansing the skin with a mild, soap-free, sulfate-free cleanser (oil based cleansers, like my Buriti Purifying Cleanser, are the best since they are very gentle and add extra moisture to the skin). What to do to relieve tight, dry, dehydrated skin? Drinking depletes water and vitamins out of the skin and body, so it’s important to load up topically and internally with an antioxidant rich moisturizer.

5. Heal From the Inside Out
Skip your morning coffee! Substitute caffeine (i.e. coffee and energy drinks) with pomegranate or cranberry juice. Coffee is a diuretic and will (albeit give you a short-lived boost) further dehydrate your body. Opt for an antioxidant rich beverage or good old H20 with lemon.

For more info on the Sonya Dakar Skin Clinic, head to www.sonyadakarskinclinic.com.