Majority of folks out there have endured that next- morning hangover, blinking blearily as you attempt to piece together your night through the haze of quasi- drunkenness that shrouds the mind after a crazy night (or a drunken farewell to that pesky ex of yours) etc. If you’re lucky, you wake up in your bed with all, or at best majority, of the crap you took out with you; if you’re not so lucky you might find yourself on a fishing boat in Canada without a dollar to your name (while some guy named Frances barks confusing orders at you in French) or embroiled in some equally ridiculous quagmire.

But alcohol has surprising benefits for one’s health, both externally and internally. Now, this is not a recommendation to start bringing box wine to work while telling your colleagues you’re simply “drinking to your health,” but rather encouragement to utilize alcohol in the healthiest ways possible. So, the following is a list of alcohol’s healthier uses:

The Beer Pedicure: Suffering from callouses and excess dry skin? Then, soak your feet in a bowl of warm beer. The yeast acts as a skin- softener and exfoliant while the alcohol acts as a natural anti- septic. So pour it up and soak them hush puppies!

Beer Shampoo: Combine beer with shampoo or scented oil (to make a natural hair conditioner) for a hair treatment that adds shine and volume to lackluster tresses via vitamins and proteins found in beer. Though this shouldn’t replace your typical hair regiment, you can consider it a kind of “weekly deep conditioner” sort of treatment.

Seltzer Water as Mixer: A lot of cocktail recipes call for sugary mixers that only add to alcohol’s effects. Try replacing and or diluting soda and sweet fruit drink mixers with seltzer water to decrease the amount of sugar and sodium in your cocktail.

Light Alcohol vs. Dark Alcohol: Light alcohol tends to be much easier on the hangover tip as it contains less congeners (toxic compounds formed during fermentation that worsen hangovers) than dark liquor.  (Sidenote: I knew tequila was the business!)

Size Matters: This concept is widely applicable in many aspects of life but in this case, we’re just referencing the size of your drink. An 8 oz. cocktail is recommended for one serving if you want to cut down the liquid calories.

@ZoyMB is Pynk’s Online Editor. Follow her on Twitter.