As we transition from the festive period straight into the liminal space between Christmas and New Year, nobody knows what day it is, but everyone has already turned their interests towards the annual New Year’s Eve celebrations.

With festive season prep already done before Christmas, clients are using this in-between period for minor touch-ups and infills. This time of year has also proven to be popular for clients seeking non-surgical, aesthetic tweakments. Generally, with many people having this full period off work, aesthetic treatments are a go-to, as clients can manage any minor side effects such as swelling or bruising, without having to face anyone outside their households. 

However, it’s important that you as a client or as a practitioner time these treatments correctly; the next big event for many is New Year’s Eve, and this only leaves a 5-day gap after Christmas for clients to squeeze in their party-prep. One of the biggest factors most clients should be aware of but aren’t is alcohol. Many people drink during this period, but most do not understand the effects of alcohol on injectables such as dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections, leading to a slew of Google queries such as ‘can you drink alcohol before fillers?’

How Does Alcohol Affect Fillers?

If you’re planning on attending an event whilst also scheduling an aesthetics appointment at the same time, you may want to think about rescheduling unless you are willing to keep the cork in your wine bottle.

Alcohol is a vasodilator, causing the blood vessels to relax and widen, leading to blood thinning. Drinking alcohol both before and after an injectable treatment, without time in between, can make you more susceptible to deep bruising and excessive bleeding. It is recommended for clients to avoid drinking alcohol for at least  24-72 hours before and after treatments to lessen any side effects such as significant swelling in the area.

Although most injectable treatments such as dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections are safe, they are not entirely without their risks. Certain side effects such as minor bruising are somewhat expected however, the consumption of alcohol near your appointment can exacerbate these effects with longer downtime.

Moreover, alcohol can cause skin dryness and dehydrates the body. Due to the diuretic effects of alcohol, your skin will begin to lose fluids, causing the skin to look and feel parched. With dry skin unfortunately comes other undesirable side effects such as cracking and flaking skin; not only does this affect everything from makeup application to skin comfortability, but it will also hinder the appearance and effects of your result. 

The Summary

 If you are planning an aesthetics appointment in time for a big event, make sure to book it with enough time on either side to allow for the correct preparation and downtime recovery. Unless you’re comfortable with enduring a longer recovery period, it’s a simpler option to just hold on to the booze in the meantime!