Does drinking lots of water hydrate your skin?

A common misconception is that drinking lots of water will improve your skin's hydration.

But in reality, drinking large quantities of water is not going to improve the hydration of your skin. While drinking more water can benefit other organs like the kidneys, when it comes to the skin things are different, and if you think that drinking lots of water is the solution to your skin dehydration problem, you're going to have a hard time treating the problem.

How does skin hydration work?

Let's take a closer look at the principles of good cutaneous hydration to get a clearer picture. In the dermis, water is transported directly by the blood vessels, as the dermis is highly vascularized. The numerous hyaluronic acid molecules present in the dermis act like a sponge, attracting water in large quantities. The dermis is the skin's water reservoir, unlike the epidermis, which is not irrigated by blood vessels. The epidermis hydrates by drawing water from the dermis via a diffusion mechanism. The water then diffuses through the epidermis to the skin's surface, where it evaporates.

Three tips for moisturizing your skin.

Use humectants at the beginning of your skincare routine

The first is that it's important to use humectants at the start of your skincare routine to saturate your epidermis with humectants that will draw water from the dermis and skin surface into the epidermis. That's why I recommend using moisturizing lotions on slightly damp skin.

Seal in moisture by applying emollients

The second lesson is that saturating the epidermis with water, whether by showering or bathing too long, or by using moisturizing lotions rich in humectants, makes it more permeable. The epidermis is normally hydrophobic, but saturating it with water makes it permeable. So it's essential to seal in all that moisture with another cosmetic product containing richer ingredients. Oily skin can use a gel cream, and combination to dry skin a moisturizing cream. For daytime, a sun cream can do the trick. This is also why using a moisturizing lotion without moisturizer or sunscreen can lead to dehydration.

I would also remind you that the cleansing phase is essential to avoid damaging the skin barrier, and I advise you to use gentle cleansers.

Do not be dehydrated

The final point is that if you are indeed chronically dehydrated because you don't drink enough water on a daily basis, this will have repercussions on your dermis, which won't be able to draw enough water particles from your bloodstream. The conclusion is that if you have a normal water intake, drinking more won't increase your skin's hydration, but if you don't drink enough water, it can lead to skin dehydration.