Is your face revealing your weekend cocaine habit? The subtle clues skin experts say are hard to miss – and what can and can’t be reversed

If you think no one can tell you’ve been burning the candle at both ends, think again.

Vaping and partying – and even indulging in recreational drugs – are ageing you faster than you think. And you don’t have to be a daily user to show the effects.

That Sunday morning iced matcha, gym session or expensive skincare routine might help you feel refreshed after a big weekend, but, according to skin experts, your face could still be giving the game away.

Whether it’s one too many late nights, regular weekend benders, vaping, smoking or the occasional ‘cheeky line’ on a Friday night, these unhealthy habits – which have crept into middle-class acceptability in recent years – can quietly build up over time, leaving behind tell-tale signs that become increasingly difficult to hide.

While there’s no single lifestyle choice that is solely responsible for premature ageing, dermal clinician Leelah Linke notes that each vice damages the skin in different ways.

Unsurprisingly, smoking remains one of the worst culprits, accelerating collagen breakdown, restricting blood flow and leaving skin looking dull, tired and older than its years. Vaping and party drugs also have their own uniquely negative effects on the complexion.

While dehydration lines, persistent puffiness, dark circles, sallow skin and stubborn breakouts are often dismissed as a normal part of ageing, many people fail to realise that these changes, particularly when they appear suddenly or earlier than expected, can be the body’s way of revealing what’s really happening behind the scenes.

Now, two leading skin experts have revealed to the Daily Mail the facial ‘red flags’ they see time and time again in clinics, the vices that could be behind them – and why no expensive serum or cosmetic treatment can completely undo the damage if the underlying habits don’t change.

It’s written all over your face 

One of the biggest misconceptions, according to the experts, is believing that slathering on a boujee serum and LED light can undo potentially years of partying.

Instead, our skin is constantly responding to what is happening inside the body.

Linke says people often isolate a single concern, such as dryness or wrinkles, when in reality multiple biological processes are being affected at once.

Common signs of excessive partying include a dull complexion, dehydrated or rough skin, persistent redness, breakouts, uneven pigmentation, slow healing, premature fine lines, dark circles and puffiness around the eyes.

Sydney-based aesthetic nurse specialist Nita McHugh agrees, adding that the first thing she notices in clients’ skin is lack of vitality.

‘Instead of looking healthy and luminous, it becomes grey, dehydrated and tired-looking,’ she told the Daily Mail.

She also frequently sees enlarged pores, pigmentation and a gaunt appearance due to volume loss.

Smoking and vaping among the worst offenders

While every unhealthy habit affects the skin differently, old-fashioned nicotine remains the worst offender.

It constricts blood vessels, limits the amount of oxygen and nutrients reaching the skin and damages collagen and elastin, the proteins responsible for keeping skin firm and youthful.

Over time, this reduced circulation is responsible for leaving the skin looking dull, grey and less resilient, while fine lines and wrinkles appear sooner than expected.

Although many people consider vaping a ‘healthier’ option to smoking cigarettes, Linke warns it is not harmless when it comes to the skin.

‘We’re still understanding the long-term effects of vaping, but early evidence suggests it is not harmless,’ she explained. 

Clinicians are also seeing increasing numbers of patients experiencing what has become colloquially known as ‘vape acne’.

While not a recognised dermatological diagnosis, so-called vape acne presents as persistent inflammatory breakouts around the chin area that may be linked to changes in the skin barrier, dehydration and irritation associated with vaping.

McHugh says she’s seeing similar patterns among younger patients.

‘Although this type of acne isn’t a formal medical diagnosis, it describes acne flare-ups that may be linked to inflammation, hormonal effects, dehydration and changes to the skin barrier associated with it,’ she said.

The hidden toll of partying

It will come as no shock, but regular heavy drinking, recreational drug use and sleep deprivation all interfere with the body’s natural repair processes.

Without enough rest, collagen production slows, inflammation increases and the skin quickly loses its brightness.

Alcohol creates another set of problems by dehydrating the body while contributing to puffiness, redness and broken capillaries over time. Recreational drugs can be even more damaging.

‘Cocaine is a powerful vasoconstrictor, meaning it narrows blood vessels throughout the body,’ McHugh explained.

Reduced blood flow means the skin receives less oxygen and fewer nutrients, which can slow healing, leave your complexion looking dull and dry, and make burst blood vessels on the skin’s surface more noticeable.

Linke added that contaminants often found in illegal drugs don’t help either.

‘It’s often accompanied by exposure to other harmful chemicals that the drugs may be contaminated with,’ she said.

There are, of course, many causes of dry skin and broken capillaries. But for those partial to a few ‘wines and lines’ on the weekend, these signs can be particularly telling.

Once collagen damage is done, it’s hard to reverse 

Behind many of these visible changes associated with partying is the skin’s collagen breakdown.

‘These habits activate enzymes that accelerate the breakdown of collagen, causing skin to become thinner, weaker and more prone to wrinkles,’ says McHugh.

‘That means blemishes linger longer, inflammation persists and even cosmetic treatments such as lasers, skin needling and facials may produce less impressive results because the skin simply isn’t functioning optimally.’

Can the damage be undone?

The good news is it’s not all a doomsday diagnosis, because the skin has an impressive capacity to recover once healthier habits are introduced.

Both experts agree that improvements in hydration, brightness, healing and overall radiance can often be seen within weeks or months of making positive lifestyle changes.

However, deeper wrinkles, long-term collagen loss and permanent blood vessel damage, especially around the nose, are much harder to reverse without professional intervention.

Medical-grade skincare containing vitamin C, retinoids, niacinamide, peptides and ceramides can all help improve skin health, while treatments such as microneedling, daily LED light therapy, collagen-stimulating procedures and fractional lasers may restore some of the damage.

But both McHugh and Linke stress there is no miracle treatment that can outperform a hard-partying lifestyle.

‘Healthy skin is built from both the inside and the outside, [and] cosmetic treatments should enhance healthy skin, not compensate for ongoing damage,’ Linke said.

When it comes to their top three recommendations for a more youthful-looking complexion, both experts offered the same advice to quit these habits without delay.

‘Prioritise seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night and wear your SPF 50+ every single day!’ McHugh urged.