Why Hydration is Important for Your Skin
By S'wheat - March 7, 2023
We all know that staying hydrated has numerous health benefits and is one of the key components to keeping our bodies functioning well, but what role does it play exactly in regards to keeping our skin happy?
Staying hydrated flushes out any toxins lurking in the body, helps the skin recover quicker and resist bacteria and other irritants. It maintains elasticity in the skin, keeping it soft and vibrant.
So, how exactly can we keep our skin hydrated and prevent drying out?
Fruits and vegetables, fats and sugars
For those who aren’t so keen on filling up on water, try to eat hydrating foods to get your water intake up. Fruit and veg such as watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers, celery, and cauliflower are all high in water content and can help you stay hydrated without going hungry.
Foods with healthy fats help to build the skin’s natural barrier so it remains plumper and more youthful. Foods like avocado, sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds, tofu, and fish are all good sources of essential fatty acids.
Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it dehydrates the body and therefore affects the skin too, causing a lack of moisture. Processed sugars activate inflammation in the skin and break down collagen, which is what gives the skin structure. When either of these are consumed in excess, it can lead to the skin appearing dull and wrinkled, as well as triggering acne breakouts.
Natural skin treatments
To keep your skin hydrated, you can use creams or oils (emollients) like coconut oil, shea butter, or argan oil. These form a protective layer on your skin to trap in moisture.
There are also ingredients like glycerin, aloe vera, and hyaluronic acid (humectants) that absorb water and add moisture to the skin.
Lastly, there are balms and butters (occlusives) made from beeswax, soybean, and jojoba oil that create a barrier on your skin to prevent water loss.
Maintaining healthy skin
Using moisturisers and treatments containing natural ingredients such as oils, hyaluronic acid, and balms or butters can help your skin to maintain liveliness and elasticity, preventing premature ageing and dull, dry skin. Protecting your delicate skin from the harsh UV rays in sunlight prevents the risk of sunburn, uneven complexion, premature ageing, and skin cancers. So it’s important to wear SPF, even when it’s not particularly warm or sunny outside. Many sunscreens contain harmful chemicals that can be damaging to your skin and the environment, so it’s imperative that you choose wisely.
Sunscreens made with natural ingredients like Suntribe’s are perfect for looking after yourself and the planet! Their products are made with 100% natural, and reef-friendly ingredients and the sunscreens come in a biobased sugar cane tube, making it an environmentally-friendly choice. Suntribe is committed to creating worry-free sunscreens that are safe for you and the planet and they’re on the mission to change the sunscreen industry for good.
On the topic of warmth, extreme temperatures can also be a trigger for dry, irritated skin. Hot showers strip the skin of its natural oils, leading to dryness and irritation. Conversely, cold air and low humidity can have the same effect if not properly cared for.
Of course, the number one way to keep your skin hydrated is to drink plenty of water. Try to have around 2 litres of water each day depending on your lifestyle: take into consideration whether you exercise and sweat, or whether you are particularly dehydrated. If you struggle to remember to keep drinking water, the best way to stay on top of it is to use a reusable water bottle.
Stainless steel and plastic reusable bottles are highly energy intensive to manufacture and are rarely recycled, so plant-based reusable bottles are the way to go for sure. S’wheat is the world’s first reusable water bottle made from plants! Made from sustainably sourced wheat straw and bamboo, the S’wheat bottle is lightweight, durable, naturally insulated, and can you believe it uses just one sixteenth of the energy used to produce a stainless steel reusable bottle? It’s true!
Let’s stay hydrated!
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about the author
S’wheat’s core mission is to restore the natural environment. That’s why they created the S’wheat bottle, the world’s first reusable bottle made from plant-based materials. As a certified social enterprise, every S’wheat bottle funds the planting of a trackable native tree, planted where it is needed most in the world.
