Does drinking Water Hydrate Your Skin? + 5 Best Hydrators

Does drinking water hydrate your skin? Here are all the answers you've been looking for and 5 best hydrators to fight dehydrated skin.

The human body is made up of 60% water, the cells, organs and tissues in the body need water to regulate temperature and other bodily functions making it the bodies major component and main source of energy.

Through breathing, sweating and digestion your body loses large amounts of water so it's important to stay hydrated because it plays a vital role in your overall health.

But does drinking water hydrate your skin? Keep reading to find out if it does!

What Is Dehydrated Skin?

Dehydrated skin is skin that lacks water so it's dry, itchy and dull looking, therefore, your complexion appears uneven and fine lines are more noticeable.

Fortunately, dehydrated skin is very easy to treat, starting from the inside out by replenishing and maintaining hydration throughout your body.

Dehydrated Skin vs. Dry Skin

It's important to understand the difference between dehydrated skin and dry skin.

Dehydrated skin is a skin condition where the skin lacks water and its caused by external elements, unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices.

While, dry skin is a skin type where the skin lacks natural oils and its inherited through genetics.

Signs Of Dehydrated Skin 

Signs of dehydrated skin:

• The skin feels itchy, looks dull and sensitivity increases.
• Eyes are sunken and under-eye circles are darker.
• “Shadows” around the face are more noticeable. 
• The appearance of fine lines and surface wrinkles increases. 

Signs Of Dry Skin

Signs of dry skin:

• The skin is scaly and feels tight and rough.
• The skin has white flakes, redness and irritation.

Hydration Vs Moisturization

"Hydration" is when skin cells are infused with water from moisture that has been absorbed from the air to improve the skin's ability to absorb moisture and nutrients.

“Moisturization” is when moisture is trapped and locked in the skin to build the skin's natural protective barrier.

The skin needs both, hydration and moisturization, because hydration adds water to the skin while moisturization locks water in the skin and repair the skin’s barrier.

If you hydrate your skin without moisturizing it after, the water that has just been added to your skin will evaporate.

This guide will let you in on everything you need to know about hydration vs moisturization and this one on what happens if you skip them.

Does Drinking Water Hydrate Your Skin?

The skin is made up of 3 layers, the epidermis, the dermis and hypodermis. The stratum corneum, which is the outermost layer of the 5 layers the epidermis, has cells that absorb water and aid in hydration.

Water plays an important role for our bodies to function properly and help nutrients through proper blood flow reach the skin, however, there's still not enough research or data that suggests that drinking water has an impact on skin hydration.

When you drink water, since it's needed all through the body it reaches all of the other organs first before it reaches the skin.

After it has been absorbed into the bloodstream and filtered by the kidneys, there's water that's leftover and that's the water that hydrates the skin cells.

So at the cellular level, drinking water is great because it flushes the system and hydrates our bodies overall.

Does Drinking Water Benefit Your Skin?

There isn't enough research or data to support the idea that drinking water helps hydrate your skin.

On the other hand, research has shown that in extreme cases of dehydration, the skin loses its elasticity. 

Fortunately, there are other ways to help you take care of your skin; with these 5 powerful tips, you can maintain healthy skin while with these 15+ tips you can get porcelain skin all year long.

How To Hydrate Your Skin?

The best way to hydrate your skin is by using topical hydrators and moisturizers because they have ingredients that work together to help bring water in and lock it.

5 Best Hydrators

Here are the 5 best hydrators to fight dehydrated skin:

If you're stuggling, this post will help you better understand the differences between hydrating vs moisturizing and will provide a more in depth list of the best hydrators and moisturizers.

How To Keep Your Skin Hydrated?

To be able to boost your complexion, since drinking water has very little impact when it comes to hydrating the skin, it's recommend that you incorporate some of the following steps to keep your skin hydrated:

• Use a gentle cleanser.
• Exfoliating the skin removes dead skin cells which allows better skin care product penetration.
• Avoid using skin care products that contain bad alcohols as it dries that skin.
• Avoid dry air by using a humidifier to combat environmental factors that cause dehydrated skin.
• Limit exposure to chlorinated water by avoiding long and hot showers and washing the dishes without gloves.
• After showering and washing your hands, make sure to moisturize.

How Much Water Should You Drink To Be Hydrated?

To be able to know how much water you actually need to drink to be hydrated, you divide your weight in half and drink that amount in ounces. This means that, if you weight 160 pounds, you'll have to drink 80 ounces of water each day.

The Institute of Medicine recommends 101 ounces or 13 cups of water for men and at least 74 ounces or 9 cups for women per day. These numbers refer to the overall fluid intake you ingest that contains water.

If you are not a fan or dislike drinking water, you can hydrate your skin eating water-rich foods.

What More Should You Be Doing to Stay Hydrated?

If you are unsure whether you're hydrated, the simplest way to know is to do a urine check.

When you are hydrated, your urine will be very light in color. However, if it's dark yellow or amber then you may be severely dehydrated.

In order to stay hydrated and have a healthy skin cell function, having a balance diet of antioxidants and omega-3 is key, as well as, avoiding processed foods that are high in saturated fat and sugars.

In addition to this, exercising, avoiding alcohol, not smoking, sleeping minimum 7 hours and having a proper skincare routine are also key factors.

When Should You Visit A Dermatologist?

Dehydrated skin isn’t a serious skin condition but if you experience any of the following symptoms, even after your hydration attempt, then you need to visit a dermatologist:

• Your skin is itchy, irritated and inflamed.
• Your skin has white flakes and red patches
• Dry patches on your skin continue to spread.

Bottom Line

There's no evidence that drinking water has direct benefits for the skin, however, it's important to maintain optimal hydration for body's your overall health; it can't hurt to drink water.

Frequently Asked Questions