When it comes to sugar’s effects on health, we’re typically concerned with weight or diabetes – but we never consider what it’s doing to our skin.
According to dermatologists, including Dr Harold Lancer, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian’s skin doc, high sugar consumption can trigger hormonal shifts that lead to poor skin complexion.
You’ve maybe heard the millennial shorthand for ugly – a ‘butterface’ – but this is what a ‘sugar face’ looks like, and the features to look out for:
- Lines and wrinkles on the forehead
- Sagging under the eyes
- Gaunt look to the face
- Painful pustular spots all over the face
- Thinning of the skin
- A grey/pasty white hue to the skin
- Thinner eyebrows
These aftereffects are the result of a byproduct of sugar, glycation. It more or less eliminates collagen, making skin less elastic and more susceptible to wrinkles.
Related: 3 Foods that Revitalize Your Skin
The Face Mapping theory, an ancient idea that links parts of your face to organs in your body, suggests that the digestive tract is linked to your forehead – meaning you’ll see dry patches and spots up there. Insulin spikes also pressure your adrenal glands, which play a role in brow growth; sugar can lead to thinning or sparse brows, too.
So if you’re worried about your skin’s vitality, trade that afternoon chocolate bar for a cup of green tea instead.
Photo Credit: Fascinadora/Shutterstock.com; gpointstudio/Shutterstock.com
