We believe it is deeply hydrating, yet this gesture that we all do does not have so many benefits for the skin. Explanation.
Popular beliefs are ingrained in us. It’s difficult to get rid of what our parents and grandparents constantly told us. When it comes to beauty, preconceived ideas are perhaps even more present and tenacious. However, many of them are false: no, putting toothpaste on a pimple does not make it dry, cutting the ends does not make hair grow faster and oily skin does indeed need a moisturizer. The list goes on and on…
Another gesture, long presented as moisturizing and essential for the beauty of the skin, would not be as beneficial as advertised and it is a scientist, an expert in cosmetic formulation, who says so. You’ve probably heard this phrase before: “You have dehydrated skin, you probably don’t drink enough water!“However, according to Dr Bozica, founder of the Dr Beautiology brand, the relationship between the quantity of water we ingest and the condition of the epidermis is more complicated than it seems.
Concretely, the skin has many layers. The outermost one is called the stratum corneum and controls the appearance and feeling of hydration. When the skin feels tight and seems dry, it’s what you need to take care of. “Imagine a brick wall. The cells are the bricks. The lipids between them are the mortar. A well-built wall keeps water inside; a damaged wall does not. Dryness often comes from a weakness in this structure, not what you drink“, explains Dr. Bozica in an article published on the Medium platform. Several clinical research shows that only very low water consumption can have a visible impact on the skin. In these cases, drinking more makes the epidermis a little more supple. “In one study, women who drank little saw slight improvements after adding two liters per day. But those who already consumed enough noticed almost nothing“, continues the professional. Clearly, if the body is not lacking water, drinking more will not change the appearance of the skin.
Please note, this does not mean that hydrating is useless. Water remains essential, but its action has limits. It mainly nourishes the deep layers of the skin and only a small part reaches the stratum corneum. The appearance of the skin surface therefore depends above all on its own resources: its lipids and its natural water content. As explained above, everything depends almost entirely on the state of the skin barrier, or “hydrolipidic film”, which determines the epidermis’ ability to retain moisture.
If you feel your face feeling tight, it is important to focus on restorative and nourishing treatments. Serums, creams, oils… It’s up to you!
