6 Ways to Enjoy Happy Hour When You Have Rosacea

When you have the skin condition rosacea, having a glass of red wine could have a surprising effect on your skin.

Rosacea causes redness on the cheeks, chin, forehead, and nose and affects more than 16 million Americans, according to the National Rosacea Society (NRS). Facial redness can come and go, with different factors triggering flares. These factors include too much sun exposure, stress, exercise, spicy foods — and yes, drinking alcohol.

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How much alcohol it takes to trigger rosacea seems to vary. “Each person has a different tolerance,” says Tanya Kormeili, MD, a dermatologist in Santa Monica, California. “What triggers one person may not be enough to do so for a different patient.”

This raises a question: What’s the connection between rosacea and alcohol?

Because rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, the effects of drinking alcohol have a lot to do with inflammation, notes one study. When evaluating rosacea risk in American women, researchers found that drinking alcohol increased the production of inflammatory cytokines that cause blood vessels to widen.

The fact that alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate exacerbates rosacea, says Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with offices in New York City and Hicksville, New York.

So, what are your options if alcohol bothers your skin? Try these science-backed tips to help minimize a red reaction.