For Jennifer Barton, 41, banishing booze led to a dramatic transformation in her skin
WORDS: JEN BARTON PACKER
Tucking into lunch with a friend, I looked up and noticed her peering at my face suspiciously from across the table. ‘What is it?’ I asked. It was September 2023 and, aged 41, I’d spent the last 20 years feeling self-conscious about my skin. It had always been my least favourite physical feature, thanks to years of battling blemishes and redness. My friend’s face broke into a wide smile. ‘It’s just your skin. Wow, you look like you’ve swallowed a light bulb,’ she said. ‘I’ve never seen you glow like this before.’ I clinked my water glass with hers and smiled back, relieved. ‘I’m not going to argue with you, my skin is making me really happy for once,’ I grinned.
It was true. For the first time in my adult life, my skin didn’t look sallow or inflamed, puffy or spotted with blemishes. My secret? Well, I hadn’t undergone any procedures or spent a fortune on new potions. In fact, I’d saved hundreds of pounds in the last few months. My secret was simple really, and my friend couldn’t believe it when I told her. ‘I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol for nearly three months,’ I revealed.
SEEING THE CHANGE
And now, after seeing such a transformation in my skin, I didn’t plan to ever drink again. ‘I can’t remember looking or feeling better in my life,’ I said.
I’d felt like my bad skin had made me look years older than I was, and it was such a boost to feel so confident. And my friend at lunch wasn’t the only one who had been noticing my skin lately.
A few weeks after my lunch, I sent my half-sister, Katrin, then 53, in Germany a photo of me wearing a waistcoat she bought me in the summer, and she texted back that my skin looked perfect and glowing. And this felt like even more of a compliment considering she’s a dermatologist who was always brutally honest about my skin issues, and once told me my skin was complicated to treat. Then another friend commented on one of my social media posts. ‘Why do you suddenly look 12?’ she joked.
HIDING AWAY
After years of caking myself in foundation, refusing to be photographed and even some days staying home to avoid people seeing my skin, I was loving all the positive attention. I was so used to feeling ashamed and self-conscious because of my blemishes, sallowness and rosacea, which covered my skin in pus-filled bumps and left t
