Why Wine Deserves A Spot In Your Natural Beauty Arsenal

How to Use Wine for Your Natural Skincare and Beauty Routine

1. Exfoliate Your Skin with Red Wine

Aight, something that you may not have known (until now) that wine has in it is alpha hydroxy acid. That is good for your skin because it increases blood circulation to it, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, helps to even out discoloration, brightens your skin over time, and even aids in exfoliating it (you know, removing dead skin cells). Since red wine contains a good amount of this type of acid, why not exfoliate your skin with a red wine solution? I happened upon a red wine scrub recipe that is super easy to make here.​

2. DIY a Red Wine Mask

Between the alpha hydroxy acid, antioxidants, and polyphenols (plant-based antioxidant compounds) that are in red wine, you could do your skin a world of good by also making your own peel-off face mask. HelloGiggles featured one that contains only three ingredients: wine, kefir, and honey. The kefir is a nice addition because it’s packed with probiotics and those can help your skin to be far less dry while also balancing your skin’s pH levels and even soothing acne and eczema. As far as honey goes, it’s good for your skin because it softens it, contains anti-aging properties, and it can help to reduce the appearance of pimples, too. The mask recipe is available here.

3. Apply Red Wine As a Toner

When it comes to maintaining optimal skincare, one thing that continues to be underrated is toner. Toner is essential because it deeply cleanses your skin, unclogs your pores, balances the pH levels of your skin, and helps to soften the feel and appearance of your skin. If you mix two tablespoons of red wine with two tablespoons of rose water, the red wine will provide toner benefits, while the rose water will moisturize your skin and give anti-aging benefits.

4. Rinse Your Hair with Red Wine

Since red wine has polyphenols in it, if you’re looking for something that will clarify and even help strengthen your hair, you might want to try some red wine. Word on the street is that not only will it help to remove extra product or residue from your tresses, but it can also decrease frizzing as well. My two cents? Because wine has alcohol in it, rinse with it like every third wash day and also apply the rinse in between shampooing and conditioning — just so you decrease the chances of inadvertently drying your hair out in the process.

5. Soothe Your Scalp with Red Wine

If you already deal with dry scalp quite a bit (check out “Stop Scratching: The Differences Between Dandruff And Dry Scalp”), please keep in mind that, reportedly, a five-ounce glass of wine is made up of approximately 12 percent alcohol. What this means is if your skin (or scalp) is naturally dry, using wine only on it could amplify the issue. The flip side to this? Thanks to the antifungal properties that are also found in wine, if you put some of it on your scalp, it can help bring relief to itchiness and irritation. Just be sure to mix the wine with something like olive oil; it will help to keep the wine from drying out your scalp and the antioxidants and fatty acids in the oil will help to soothe your scalp even more.

6. Dab White Wine on (Minor) Breakouts

It’s kind of ironic that although alcohol has the ability to alter your hormones to the point where it could cause a pimple or two (inflammation overall, if you’re not careful), applying a bit of wine to your zits can help speed up their healing process. That’s because the antioxidant resveratrol that’s in wine helps to​prevent the growth of the bacteria that causes acne in the first place. So, if you’ve got a pimple that you would like to go down overnight, put some wine on a cotton ball and then dab it on your zit; you should see some reduction in size by morning.​

7. Create a Skin Mist with Champagne

Champagne is simply sparkling wine, so yes, it comes with some impressive skincare benefits. For instance, since the tartaric acid that’s in wine can help to exfoliate your skin, reduce the signs of aging in your skin as well as increase hydration — using a skin mist that has champagne in it can give you all of these benefits in just a couple of sprays. Just add a bottle cap of champagne to some distilled water and a few drops of vegetable glycerin (which will help to soften your skin), and you’ll be good to go!

8. Use Champagne Cubes to “Tighten” Your Skin

Something else that champagne has in it is potassium. Since potassium is both a mineral and an electrolyte, and electrolytes help to provide your blood vessels with the nutrients that your skin needs, champagne can also do wonders for your skin if you turn the drink into ice cubes and then apply the cubes to your freshly washed skin. Apart from all of the benefits that I’ve already mentioned, the ice will help to tighten up your pores, get rid of puffy eyes, decrease the inflammation of breakouts, and help your skin to look younger and (temporarily) tighten it as well.

9. A Bit of Champagne Might Even Out Your Skin Tone

Something else that champagne has in it is carbon dioxide (CO2). The reason why carbon dioxide laser treatments are becoming more popular is that they are known for removing mild scarring and lesions as well as evening skin tone and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Although the CO2 in champagne will not provide as dramatic results as laser treatments do, using champagne on your skin a few times a month could result in you seeing more even skin over time.

10. Drink Wine to Slow Down the Aging Process

And yes, if you are looking for a way to slow down the aging process of your system overall, science has shown that resveratrol has increased the lifespan of mice, rats, and monkeys. And so, although studies are still being conducted on humans, with all of the benefits that were mentioned in the intro — if it can do all of that and make your skin look younger, why not toast yourself with a glass from time to time? (I mean, really…)

BONUS: Can (and Should) You Bathe in Wine?

With all that I just shared about how wine can benefit your skin, you might wonder why you shouldn’t just jump into a tub that’s filled with it. Good question. Several years back, Allure published an article entitled, “I Bathed in Red Wine and Here's What Happened to My Skin.” The biggest takeaway that I got from the author is it sounds good more than anything. And while doing something this “extravagant” would certainly qualify as a form of self-pampering, I think it is a good idea to, once again, keep in mind that wine has alcohol in it.

So, if you are going to “treat yourself,” make sure that you put no more than a cup or two of wine into your bathwater and also that you seal your skin (check out “Your Skin Is BEGGING You To Do This Right About Now”) once you step out of it.

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Martin Luther once said, “Beer is made by men, wine by God!" If you factor in that the Bible says that Christ turned water into wine (John 2) with all of what was just shared, that is definitely a fair debate. LOL.

So, whether you drink wine or not, at least consider nourishing your skin with it. As you just read, there are far too many reasons — really good ones, at that — not to.

Indulge, sis. INDULGE.

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