There’s A New Month Long Hangover That Most Of Us Could Activate This Christmas

There's hangovers and then there's a Christmas drinking hangover.

Experts from CACI International, a non-surgical anti-ageing facial treatment, have looked at how drinking affects your skin and calculated how long it actually takes for all the bad stuff to leave your body after a heavy night on the sauce.

They found that drinking at Christmas makes you feel more than a little ill and can give you a "skin hangover" that lasts for up to a month.

Red and puffy skin and dark circles under your eyes remain long after the physical sickness and tiredness fades away.

As well as this, the dehydration caused by drinking accentuates your fine lines and wrinkles on your forehead, chin and lips.

You’re also likely to notice broken blood vessels around the cheeks and nose and your skin will sag around your cheeks and jaw.

Well, this sounds delightful doesn't it?

They found that men's skin recovers faster but the recovery time - at a minimum - is still around two weeks, meaning you'll be well over the festive holidays by the time you're actually fully yourself again.

Dean Nathanson, CACI chief executive, said: “The effects of Christmas party binge drinking on the skin last much longer than the immediate hangover.

“Consumption of over 14 units of alcohol in one night will take a 40-year-old woman’s skin nearly a month to recover fully from and if she goes out a few times over the festive season it will only get worse.

“The toxic effect of the alcohol and sugar remain in the skin long after the hangover feeling has subsided.

“We are not saying don’t go out and enjoy yourself but it is important to take preventative measures to protect your skin and we feel the need to raise awareness that repeated alcohol binge drinking can have long-term detrimental effects on the skin.”

Their advice to help prevent the hangover for lasting longer than two weeks? "Always make sure you drink a pint of water before you go out and another when you get home."

The HSE recommends that women should have up to 11 standard drinks in a week and up to 17 standard drinks in a week for men.