Every Christmas, my Austrian mother bakes traditional Vanillekipferl biscuits. They’re outrageously delicious – her skills were inherited from a father who was a Viennese baker – and we as a family greedily gobble them from the first day of December onwards.
Of course this is merely one of a pretty long list of indulgences that make their way into my life and stomach at this time of year. The odd glass of champagne here, a glass of wine there, cheese after a long pub lunch: it all stacks up. I embrace this; it’s all part of the festivities after all. The problem is what it does to the way I look.
My skin becomes paler and puffier, my jawline indistinct, my eyes less sparkly and my glow entirely disappears, leaving me looking dull and tired. I call it Christmas Face. And it’s down to the three worst things for your skin: alcohol, sugar and cheese.
Aesthetic doctor Antoni Calmon says sugar is the biggest problem: ‘Sugar triggers glycation, a process that stiffens collagen fibres so your face becomes slightly swollen, less firm, with a loss of glow. For some there’s also the risk of ‘more texture [roughness] or breakouts’. I ask Pam Marshall, a clinical aesthetician and the woman I entrust with my monthly facials, whether everyone’s face responds to sugar like mine. ‘It’s individual. You tend to get puffy, Madeleine, but eating lots of sugar for another person may aggravate their acne.
‘When a client tells me sugar makes their skin break out, I tackle it from a gut perspective, which means looking at their diet… [the skin] is just one of the ways our bodies give us a window into what’s happening internally.’
The problem is, almost everything has sugar in it at this time of year. Mince pies. Yule logs. Mulled wine. Panettone. Even the vegetables are glazed in honey.
Surely sticking to the cheese board is better for your skin? Alas, no.
‘The odd glass of champagne here, a glass of wine there, cheese after a long pub lunch: it all stacks up. I embrace this; it’s all part of the festivities after all,’ writes Madeleine Spencer
Sugar doesn’t especially prompt spots in my case but cheese definitely does. The odd bit of brie or camembert doesn’t massively affect my appearance but, if I eat it daily, I invariably break out and have to do a fair bit of work to calm my skin down.
Dr Calmon tells me this is the standard response, while Marshall explains that ‘surface inflammation – which means the skin may appear red and will likely show signs of acne, rosacea and psoriasis among other inflammatory skin conditions – can be the result of dairy, alongside other things including weather, water quality, hormones and the state of the gut’.
Undeniably one of those other factors, for me and many others, is alcohol. If I drink too much, it shows up on my skin – and quickly. On the night itself it’ll be more red, then the dehydration the next day reveals itself in a network of fine lines that didn’t exist before the wine.
This feels like the ultimate Catch-22. You want to enjoy the Christmas pub night with friends but you also want to look your best at a work party two nights later. ‘Alcohol is both a dehydrating agent and a vasodilator [meaning your capillary network opens and remains open, allowing blood to rush to the surface, creating that telltale redness],’ explains Dr Calmon.
‘Instant flushing can often be the result of a histamine intolerance,’ adds Marshall. All wines contain histamines with red typically having the highest levels, followed by fizz, then white.
Prior to the pandemic, I was teetotal for three years and my skin looked so much better. I didn’t get flushed during or after a night out and the smoothness and calmness of my skin provided a very good incentive to remain sober.
But I do like the odd drink these days. So what can we do about the dreaded Christmas Face? The cheeks redder than Santa and the wrinkles rivalling a Christmas stocking?
The first top tip is to avoid having all three Christmas Face vices at once. As Debbie Thomas, Skin & Laser Expert and founder of D. Thomas Clinic and Cellis Skin, says: ‘Having dairy, alcohol and sugar together will compound the effects. If you generally suffer from acne, rosacea or eczema, you’re much more likely to experience a flare-up if you indulge in all three.’
So opt for Christmas cake or port and stilton – but not both.
Other factors that mean skin takes a hit include high stress – so try not to get wound up by troublesome relatives. Getting a daily dose of vitamin D is crucial for skin repair and a long walk is a good way to avoid Uncle Tony setting the world to rights after lunch.
The good news? It doesn’t take long for things to return to normal. Marshall tells me that the standard cell cycle is 26 to 28 days and that, so long as you stop over-indulging, problems with skin will generally resolve themselves within that time.
This, I can attest to: once the Vanillekipferls are finished and my usual sensible habits return, my Christmas Face vanishes. I have learned to lean into the fun, not unduly worry, then let my daily routine in January sort my face out. But I’ve also incorporated some tips from the experts and would highly recommend them should you notice the signs of sugar, dairy or alcohol on your face.
How to fix sugar face…
This digitally adjusted photo shows how Madeleine’s face would look if she overindulged on sugar
Sugar is a bit of a stealth operator, so you may not notice what’s happening without comparing ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures. And it’s not a bad idea to take them if you’re interested in the ways sugar affects you personally.
As Dr Calmon explains, sugar can change the texture of your skin, making it look puffier, saggier, duller and, for some, spottier.
He recommends stabilising blood sugar with balanced meals. Among your festive fare, eat more foods rich in vitamin C such as peppers and kiwis. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps to offset free radicals caused by lots of sugar consumption, ushering it out of the body a little like a bouncer might a cantankerous reveller at a bar.
Debbie Thomas also suggests avoiding sugary foods in isolation: ‘Make sure you have sweets after meals rather than on an empty stomach to reduce sugar spikes.’
Doing this reduces the rollercoaster effects of sugar which affect skin and energy levels.
It’s also a good idea to eat more foods rich in omega 3, such as sardines and olive oil. Pam Marshall explains that these help to keep cells robust and healthy. Drinking lots of water will have the same effect.
If you want a proper rapid-fire reset, Dr Calmon suggests trying exosome mesotherapy (a series of microinjections in the top layer of the skin that deliver vitamins and minerals) paired with a radio frequency session for a noticeable boost in radiance. But that will mean finding time to visit a clinic.
If you’re still getting spots, Rowan Hall-Farrise, International Brand Ambassador for QMS Medicosmetics, advises nudging along cell renewal with an active exfoliant (this should be in liquid form rather than granular, as big grains can cause micro-tears in the skin’s barrier). This will also brighten, which is a godsend when skin is flat and pale, an effect sugar often causes.
Cheese face…
This digitally adjusted photo shows how Madeleine’s face would look if she overindulged on cheese
We Brits love our cheese and cream, and spent £593 million on dairy products in the two weeks before Christmas in 2023.
Dairy is perhaps the least likely of all three to arouse suspicion when it comes to the face but Dr Calmon warns that excess cheese can nudge up low-grade inflammation. ‘It’s different for every individual but it may be too much cheese that’s making your under eyes look puffy and causing breakouts of spots along the jawline.’
His fix is to eliminate dairy completely for a few days to a week after Christmas to give your skin and body a break.
It’s also worth hydrating generously and reintroducing gentle exfoliation, plus a product with niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, to calm everything down. If you have one, using an LED mask will also settle inflammation and trigger the repair process.
Debbie Thomas’s take is sensible and easy: opt for plant-based cheeses where possible – Honestly Tasty from Ocado make great ones – and treat dairy as a high-quality indulgence rather than something to have with every meal.
If telltale signs start to show in anyone who suffers from acne, rosacea or eczema, remember to make sure your routine is gentle and supports skin barrier function – a gentle cleanser and moisturiser are essentials.
…and wine face
This digitally adjusted photo shows how Madeleine’s face would look if she overindulged on wine
The frustrating thing about alcohol is that it not only acts as a vasodilator but, as everyone knows, it will also ruin your sleep, so you get a lovely combination of the grey, hollowed-out look alongside diffuse redness across the face.
‘Facial redness sets in because alcohol expands blood vessels,’ explains Rowan Hall-Farrise.
It can cause puffiness from inflammation and you may also notice the under-eye area looks darker. Her cure is to focus on de-puffing by plunging the face into ice water – like dozens of Gen Z posters on TikTok – to stimulate lymphatic drainage and clear out fluid.
Debbie Thomas sees the same recurring themes in those who drink too much over Christmas: dehydration, next-day puffiness, redness and, over time, more broken capillaries, especially for those prone to rosacea.
She recommends avoiding sugary mixers so you’re not doubling up on alcohol and sugar, and choosing clearer drinks such as white wine if your face flushes easily. After the party, take it gently with your cleanser and skip any strong acids or retinoids.
And Pam Marshall’s top tip? ‘Water is a good vasoconstrictor, so as well as just being a sensible thing to drink alongside alcohol, it will reduce redness on the night and overall.’