How To Hydrate Skin Naturally At Home

Yep! You heard that right. how to hydrate your skin naturally at home without drinking water. I am sure you must have heard lots of “I drink a lot of water, that is why my skin is clear”. Don’t get me wrong, drinking water plays a crucial role in life. It helps with the normal functioning of biological systems such as metabolism, growth, movement, and signalling. Basically, water is life. However, drinking water is not enough to hydrate your skin. Even scientists don’t have the answer to drinking water to ensure proper skin hydration.

I get the question, “I drink lots of water, but my skin is still dry”. This statement is totally true. You can drink as much water as you want, drink the recommended daily intake and still have dehydrated skin. This is because the cells that prevent transepidermal water loss are not well hydrated.

Now let me break this down. As you age, water retention in the skin reduces which explains why the skin gets drier as aging progresses. This is natural and has nothing to do with how much water you take. Skin hydration depends on how much water your skin cells can retain water. Now let’s get to steps to hydrate your skin from the inside.

How To Hydrate Skin Naturally At Home

1. Eat Your Water, Don’t Drink It

Eat fruits and vegetables. Especially those that contain antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. These kinds of fruits have been proven to enhance SPF of sunscreens. Fruits such as passion fruit, eggplant, green bean and pomegranate are high in Delphinidin which protects the cell membrane lipids from oxidation and neutralizes anti-inflammatory enzymes thereby repairing damaged proteins.

These are the four main core types of water that should be added to your diet in order to know how to hydrate your skin naturally

• Multivitamins – Pomegranate juice, blueberries, goji berries, apples, apricots, cherries, grapes, mangoes, carrots, kiwis
• Fatty acids – Flaxseed oil, walnuts, almonds, canola oil, cashew nuts
• Lecithin – eggs, soy products, cauliflower, peanuts, oranges, potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes
• Glucosamine – best to get this in a supplement
• Vitamin B complex supplement that provides all eight essential B vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, cyanocobalamin and biotin

The water we consume when we eat fresh fruits and vegetables is not just any water. The water is rich in antioxidants and other key nutrients that promote cellular integrity. This is the kind of water you should drink to hydrate your skin naturally.

2. Reduce Your Salt Intake

If you are the kind that adds salt to basically every meal you make, you need to reduce it. Having too much salt will require extra water to reduce the salt concentration to an optimal level (remember homeostasis). This means you will get excess water retention throughout your body resulting in puffy eyes, premature aging, and destruction of collagen and elastin.

You can instead try other herbs such as basil, oregano and rosemary to your diet. These herbs have anti-inflammatory properties.

When you buy herbs, don’t buy them in bulk. The fresher the spice, the more flavorful they taste.

3. Clear Your Air

There are lots of toxins and pollutants in the air that dehydrate the skin. I am not talking about outside air that is filled with car exhaust fumes, smog, vapours, and oil spills in the ocean. I am referring to the silent and invisible pollutants right in your home. These include dust that builds up over time on surfaces, air conditioners, fumes from new furniture, toys, electronics and so on.

Poor air quality promotes free radicals and dehydrates the skin, therefore it is essential to invest in proper and good air quality for your home. This includes getting humidifiers, air purifiers, and planting plants that reduce toxins and add more oxygen to the air.

4. Get Proper Sleep

Getting proper sleep is, also called beauty sleep. Because magical things happen when you get that good quality sleep most especially, hydration. If you are not getting proper sleep, the cells in your body are affected. Sleep can dictate your lifestyle, how you eat, how you cope with stress, how fat you get and how you fight off infections. Not getting proper sleep steals all the precious water in your skin cells thereby affecting your skin.

Get tips on how to get good quality sleep by reading this blog post. “10 Tips To Get Good Quality Sleep At Night“.

5. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize

What is the point of hydrating your skin from the inside without taking care of the outside? There has to be a balance to prevent water loss. Moisturizers bring moisture to the skin and reinforce the skin barrier function. Water escapes the skin through evaporation. This is why applying moisturizers is really important because it infuses skin with water and seals the holes between cells to prevent transepidermal water loss.

A quality moisturizer is one of the most effective ways to lock in moisture and prevent your skin from drying out. Look for moisturizers containing hyaluronic acid, glycerin, or ceramides—ingredients known for their ability to draw moisture into the skin and create a protective barrier that keeps hydration locked in. Apply it morning and night to keep your skin plump and hydrated throughout the day.

Conclusion

Drinking water is great, don’t get me wrong. Water is essential to everyday normal functionality so don’t forget to take the recommended 8 glasses or 3 litres of water daily.

However, if the sole purpose of drinking water for you is to get clear skin, you might be in for a very long ride. The only water you need for clear skin is the one stated above. There are other ways to hydrate your skin without drinking water but these 5 are the core!