Hangover vs. Beauty: instant tricks to look and feel better

 So your beauty detox diet took a night off...don't worry, you can get back 

on track to healthy eating, shift that hangover and get back to Ultra Beautiful 

in no time. Read below for the best hangover cures...

Splitting headache, nausea, bags under your eyes the size of a Samsonite luggage suite: yep, you overdid the booze last night. After swearing you'll never EVER drink alcohol again, you want to do something, anything, to help you look and feel better - especially if languishing in bed for the whole day is out of the question. 
Follow the steps below as soon as you wake up. They will help settle your tummy, shake off the vice around your skull, and put a rosy glow in your cheeks so that when you get to work you can innocently say, 'Out last night? Me?'

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1. DRINK THIS

Water and lemon

Lemon water is the first thing to get you back on the beauty detox diet,
and is an easy part of the healthy eating plan for glowing skin

H2O is a must. As you likely know from the frequent trips to the bathroom during a night of debauchery, alcohol is a diuretic and causes dehydration. This adds up to a grey, puffy complexion and a thumping headache as your blood literally thickens from the lack of moisture. A tall glass of water with a squeeze of lemon or dash of orange juice will replace that lost moisture in your skin, and the hit of vitamin C will perk up your complexion. Don't overdo it - drinking pints of water won't work any faster, and will shock your jaded stomach. Tempting though it is, skip the cappuccino calling your name - the caffeine will give you five minutes of energy, after which you'll be left with a trembly, anxious feeling, rather than the balanced composure we are aiming for. 

2. EAT THIS
After hydration, your skin needs nutrients to replenish those lost during the night, to reduce puffiness and restore peachy glow. 
Ever wondered why you feel sad, confused and depressed after a night on the booze? That's because alcohol leaches B vitamins from your body, ransacking stores of these vital nutrients leaving you deficient. 
The eight B vitamins work together to manage your mood, feelings and stress levels, so it's no wonder that a sudden drop results in those morning-after blues. 

The best thing to do is take a supplement, which will have super high potency for fast replacement - Solgar is my favourite but Berocca works too and both will turn your pee a pleasant orange colour. Even better, take one a day during the party season. 

Without a cupboard full of pills though, your best bet is to eat Marmite - a rich source of the vitamin B complex. As an added benefit, Marmite has a high sodium content which can help replace the salts lost through alcohol.

Eat bananas: Calm your stomach and get an energy boost

Bananas are a classic hangover food. They are packed with potassium and magnesium, two of the minerals often depleted in our bodies after a night on the fizz. A lack of potassium in the body can lead to nausea, weakness and tiredness, so stocking up on bananas can help reduce these classic hangover symptoms. As an added bonus, bananas are natural antacids so great for reducing stomach acid, and are good for providing a boost of energy if you have a busy day ahead.

What's with the shakes?

You feel shaky after drinking because your alcohol makes your blood sugar levels plunge so low that without food, your body has to release adrenaline into the blood stream to break down fats to provide energy. That adrenaline disturbs what little sleep you had tried to get, and makes you feel panicky and trembly when you awake. 

Solution: stodge

Slow release, carb-rich foods stop that shaky feeling by giving cells much-needed energy to function and work at clearing the toxins alcohol left behind. Porridge is the food of choice: rich in our pals the B vitamins, magnesium, calcium and iron; and on top of this, oats can help neutralise acidity levels in the body, cleanse the liver, absorb toxins and slowly raise blood sugar levels, making a bowl of porridge the perfect hangover breakfast. Otherwise, gluten free muesli with almond milk or a baked potato with beans are perfect. Don't worry about the time of day - just choose whatever you feel like best. Eating something warm and nutritious will make you feel immeasurably better. 

Other hangover busters are...

Eggs: Incredible, edible toxin destroyers, eggs pack heavy loads of cysteine, an amino acid that can break down toxins. Plus, eggs are high in B vitamins.

Coconut water: A low-sugar coconut water contains just as many electrolytes as Gatorade.

Soup: The salt and potassium help bring body levels back to normal. The sneaky benefit is that saltiness makes you thirst, meaning that you're forced to glug more water.

3. BEAUTIFY

Ok, so we've done the groundwork with the food, so you should already be starting to perk up. Looking in the mirror though, it may be clear that you still look like the sorry mess that you woke up as. It's time to turn that around, if only to avoid the sniggering 'Good night last night?' wink-wink comments that are bound to come your way when you venture out of the house. 

First, get into the shower, bathtub or whatever water based feature you can handle. Having greasy hair even on a good day makes me feel semi-homeless, so if you've got time, do a shampoo and condition. If not, or you don't have access to your usual products (we won't ask why), spray dry shampoo, shake a sprinkling of talcum powder or rub face powder into the roots - both act to absorb the oil.

Dry shampoo or talc can save hungover hair!

Getting dressed - choose kind colours like pink and cream which will reflect nice warming tones onto your skin, instead of pallid greens and black. 

Fill the sink with cold water, add as many ice cubes from the freezer as you've got - frozen peas will do too - and dunk your face into the freezing cold ice spa you've created. Hold as long as you can stop breathing for, lift out, and repeat five times. The coldness makes your red eyes appear whiter, the puffiness go down, and will put colour back into your cheeks.

After a thin layer of moisturiser, don't be tempted to put concealer under your eyes. It will turn into a crinkly, flaky mess. The same with mascara - less is more. Think of today as your chance to try the au naturel look. 

Last point, if you've done anything at a work party you're less than proud of: Get. Into. Work. Take a taxi, arrive late, do whatever it takes to get your bum on that desk chair. It is the number one thing you can do for damage control and limit the gossip, however excruciating it may seem. At the end of the day you can retreat home to the sofa, pile on a face pack and swear off booze...until next time..

Ahh the sofa.. grab some beauty detox diet snacks and relax...