Aight, so y’all can thank a friend of mine for this article. I say that because, after teasing her about how I don’t know if she loves her man or her red wine collection more, she had to pause before giving me an honest answer. LOL. And although I personally am not the biggest wine drinker on the planet, I do get why it brings her joy. Aside from the fact that various wines can provide a variety of flavors (and even textures), science has proven that, when consumed in moderation, wine is pretty good for you too.
For instance, both red and white wines are able to strengthen your heart, lower your cholesterol levels and even increase longevity while red wine, especially, has the ability to improve your gut health, reduce oxidative stress, lower your chances of being diagnosed with breast or lung cancer, less depression-related symptoms and, red wine is also considered to be an aphrodisiac (give thanks).
Even if you already knew (most of) this, what might surprise you is the fact that wine is wonderful, not just when it comes to your insides but your outsides (your skin, specifically), too. Yep, thanks to the antioxidants, tannins, and manganese that wine contains, if you apply it to your skin, it can benefit it in ways that you probably never would’ve imagined — until today.
According to the American Heart Association, men should have no more than two glasses of wine a day, while women should indulge in no more than one. Still, if you’re looking for some other ways to make wine a part of your daily routine, I’ve got 10 that can have your skin looking absolutely amazing in no time.
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.
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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.
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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 toprevent 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.
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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…)
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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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Ding. Ding. DING.
A life coach by the name of Thomas Leonard once said that “Clarity affords focus” and, believe you me, when it comes to dealing with other human beings, if you don’t get clear on where you stand when it comes to your interactions with them, you can very easily find yourself “focusing too much” on those who don’t deserve it and too little on those who absolutely do. And y’all, this lil’ PSA couldn’t be more relevant than when it comes to what I call “casual friendships.”
Let’s dig — and for some of us, dig our way out of — what it means to have a casual friend, so that you can get clear on if you really need those in your life…and if so…why?
Article continues after the video.
It Can’t Be Said Enough: Always Remember What “Casual” Means
GiphyThere’s a reason why I decided to share two videos by mental health coach Isaiah Frizzle at the top and bottom of this article. It’s because a lot of what he shares in both of them complements a piece that I wrote for the platform last year entitled, “This Is Just What Purposeful Relationships Look Like.”
It’s the author M. Scott Peck who once said, “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it” and please believe that the older (and hopefully more mature) you get, the more you tend to see just how valuable — and fleeting — time is; and that is what plays a huge role in motivating you want to only involve yourself with people, places, things and ideas that will honor your time — and when something is casual? In my opinion, it’s highly debatable that it’s worth much of your months, days, hours, or even too many of your minutes.
The main reason why is addressed in an article that I wrote back in the day entitled, “We Should Really Rethink The Term 'Casual Sex.'” The gist? When it comes to relationships, “casual” is certainly not a favorite word of mine because I know what it means. Have mercy — why would you want to invest your time, energy, and emotions into something that is, by definition, apathetic, indifferent, careless, lacking emotional intimacy, and/or is without purpose?
I don’t know about y’all but that sounds like a complete and total crap shoot to me — especially if you are going to go so far as to consider this type of dynamic a true friendship (check out “Ever Wonder If A Friend Is Just...Not That Into You?,” “6 Signs You're About To Make A Huge Mistake In Making Them A Close Friend,” “5 Signs Of A Toxic Friendship That Is Secretly Poisoning Your Life,” “12 Friend Facts That Might Cause You To Rethink (Some Of) Your Own,” and “Less & Less Of Us Have Close Friends These Days. Why Is That?” ).
To me, when you decide to call someone “friend,” it means that they are loyal, reliable, consistent, trustworthy and willing to be there to support you to the very best of their ability — even if it’s inconvenient to do so sometimes (check out “Life Taught Me That True Friendships Are 'Inconvenient'”). How in the world can you expect that from something that has the word “casual” in it?
And you know what? That actually segues into my next point about casual friendships pretty darn well.
Ponder the Purpose “Casual Friends” Serve in Your Life
GiphyA couple of years ago, Verywell Mind published an article entitled, “How the 4 Types of Friendship Fit Into Your Life.” The four that it listed were acquaintances (which I actually don’t consider to be friends; check out “6 Differences Between A Close Acquaintance And An Actual Friend”), casual friends, close friends, and lifelong friends. After reading the piece, I think they consider casual friends to be the “pleasure” friends that I mentioned in the article, “According To Aristotle, We Need ‘Utility’, ‘Pleasure’ & ‘Good’ Friends.”
And although I certainly get that, I think my “cause for pause” is calling those people “friends” when they probably should be called something like an associate or possibly even a buddy instead. Why do I feel this way? Well, I’ve shared in other articles that I think social media has jacked up vocabulary words and their true meaning on a billion different levels.
Take “friend,” for example. Facebook had us out here calling everyone we connected to on their platform “friends” when some of them, we’ve never even spoken to before — and I personally think that influenced, affected and perhaps even infected our psyche to the point where we will call folks, both online and off, “friend” even when they haven’t earned it and/or who possibly don’t deserve it.
That said, do I think that we all could use lighthearted interactions that don’t go very deep and are filled with not much more than fun? Sure. However, if we were to move this over into a sexual thing — those types of people would probably be called a sneaky link, and there is nothing significant or substantial about ‘em. In fact, if anything pretty much automatically comes with an expiration date, sneaky links would have to be it.
And that’s kind of the point that I’m trying to make about a casual friend — so long as you know that the word “casual” is being used to describe them, while you may enjoy the people who fit that bill, they aren’t really anything that you can or even should fully rely on. Instead, take them for what they are and don’t really expect much more than that. Otherwise, you could be in for some profound levels of disappointment. And who wants that?
Final point.
How a Casual Friend Can Become a Huge Red Flag
GiphyI’m telling you, y’all gonna quit clowning Tubi. LOL. To me, the best way to describe it is it’s the Cricket of current streaming apps. What I mean by that is, back when Cricket (the cell phone service) first came out, people, like me, who used it service got incessantly clowned because it was seen as a bootleg provider. Now it’s owned by AT&T, and as someone who has rocked with them since I was in my 20s, I don’t have one regret for doing so. Cricket has always been good to me, chile.
And Tubi? Well, when you get a chance, check out CNBC’s article, “CEO at 33, Tubi’s Anjali Sud on success hacks she learned at Amazon, IAC on way to top of Fox streaming” — take note of the moves the streaming app is making and the quality of programming that is transpiring in real time.
Anyway, I find myself bringing up Tubi more and more in my content because it helps to amplify some of the points that I like to make. This time, it’s a movie that’s (currently) on there calledRight Man, Wrong Woman. If you haven’t seen it before, I don’t want to give too much of the film away. What I will say is that the main female character, she had a casual friend and then she had a close friend.
That casual friend—the one who liked to kick it all of the time—was a lot of fun; however, dealing with her came with a ton of semi-unforeseen consequences. Meanwhile, the close friend? She’s what the Aristotle article (that I mentioned earlier) would call the “good friend” because she tried her best to hold her friend accountable.
And really, it shouldn’t be a shock that the casual friend turned out to be a plum trip because if someone is loads of entertainment and pleasure and yet they are indifferent towards you, they make careless decisions around you and/or they don’t really make known the purpose for you being in their life other than to pass some time — where really do you and that person have to go past drinks after work or dinner on a rooftop restaurant from time to time? And if that is all that the two of you are doing, again, why are they deserving of the word “friend”?
Hmph and don’t get me started on the lack of reciprocity that typically transpires when it comes to dealing with people like this because, while they won’t mind you spending your coins on them, taking their calls in the middle of the night or listening to all of their issues — when it comes time for them to show up for you, they very well may gaslight you into thinking that you are being dramatic, clingy or “doing the most.” Why? Well, it’s mostly because the two of you never really established what the hell the both of you are to one another.
And so, while you’re somewhere taking them seriously, they are out here seeing you casually, and as much as it might hurt to hear, that doesn’t automatically or necessarily make them a bad person. You shouldn’t expect much where no clarity is involved. After all, casual is just that: CASUAL.
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I’m hoping that you can now see why I entitled this piece in the way that I did. It’s because a red flag is pretty much a warning, and to me, a casual friend is about as big of an oxymoron (again, to me) as casual sex is. Friends and sex are both too intimate to be seen or treated casually. Oh, but if you step out and take that risk, you could find yourself getting far more involved than the other individual ever wanted to go, because casual is how things have always been. “Friend” was simply to get you more mentally and emotionally invested. SMDH.
American columnist Walter Winchell once said, “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” A wise person once said, “One good friendship will outlive forty average loves." Former President Ulysses S. Grant once said, “The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.” Does any of this sound casual to you? Yeah, me neither.
Again, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have people in your life who aren’t on deep levels. I’m just saying that you might want to consider putting them into another category than friend, because what friends do for people? There ain’t nothin’ even remotely casual about it, sis. Not even a lil’ bit.
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