“Drink more water.” This advice is everywhere—from celebrity beauty tips to esthetician recommendations. If you have dry skin or struggle with breakouts, chances are you’ve had someone suggest upping your water intake. But is this popular advice actually backed by science?

Hydration is critical for our overall health starting with each cell individual in the body, including those in the skin. In fact, hydration supports skin elasticity, aids in wound healing, prevents dryness, and helps maintain the skin’s barrier function. But there’s more to skin hydration than simply drinking lots of water. In this article, we’ll explore the complex anatomy and physiology of the skin as it relates to hydration - and the skin hydration benefits of drinking water, if any.

The science of Skin Hydration

Did you know that approximately 20% of the body’s water is stored in the skin? When we drink fluids or consume water-rich foods, that water then moves through our digestive tract where it’s absorbed and distributed to the rest of the body through blood and lymph. However, we also lose water through processes like sweating and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL)—when water evaporates from the skin’s surface.

Say you drink a cup of water. Here’s the path it takes to reach our skin (this will be important later):

1. Digestion and Absorption: After consumption, fluids travel through the digestive tract. Most water absorption happens in the large intestine, and from there, it’s filtered by the kidneys before entering the bloodstream.
2. Circulation to the Skin: Blood vessels carry water to various tissues including the dermis, the deeper layer of skin that contains blood vessels.
3. Diffusion to the Epidermis: The epidermis—the skin’s outer layer—doesn’t have its own blood supply. Water in the dermis diffuses upward to the epidermis.

Let’s dive further into how the skin stays hydrated. 

Water Transport. Diffusion refers to the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. In this case, we have water moving from the dermis upwards toward the upper skin layers where water is less abundant. That water could just as easily keep moving upwards and out of the skin entirely- which is where the skin barrier comes in. There’s also channel proteins called aquaporins that transport water throughout the skin.

The Skin Barrier. Check out prior blogs on the skin barrier as well as skin hydration and ceramides but the main thing to know is that the skin barrier has a tough job. It has to keep out everything bad in our environment while keeping the good things - like water - in. It has a “brick and mortar” structure to facilitate this and its own humectants within the skin cells to grab onto water. 

Water Storage. We can’t just rely on the skin barrier to keep water in and that also doesn’t help us keep water where it's needed. Luckily, only free water evaporates from the skin surface - the water that isn’t bound within the skin. Collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid are just a few substances that can bind water in the skin with most water storage occurring in the dermis.

Does Drinking Water Really Improve Skin Hydration?

The idea that drinking water alone will hydrate skin seems logical. After all, if your skin feels dry and tight, it must need more water, right? But while the research is sparse, what we do have indicates that drinking extra water mainly impacts skin hydration if you’re experiencing systemic dehydration. If you’re already drinking enough, simply adding more water is unlikely to make a significant difference.

Here’s what studies reveal:

• One study compared skin hydration among individuals with low and high water intake. Initial hydration levels showed little difference between the two groups. During the study, researchers found that applying moisturizer had a much greater impact on skin hydration than increasing water intake alone.
• A systematic review of the literature suggests that drinking more water may help those with very low fluid intake, but mostly it increases hydration in the deeper skin layers, not the upper epidermis where dehydration is most noticeable.

This means that unless you’re truly dehydrated, increasing your water intake isn’t a shortcut to hydrated skin. In fact, drinking more water is a very ineffective method of hydrating the skin due to the long route that water has to take - and because skin hydration is influenced more by the function of the skin barrier than the water we drink. Drinking enough water is going to be more for overall health.

Best Ways To Hydrate Skin

If drinking water isn’t the answer to skin hydration, what is? Luckily, skin dehydration is typically focused in the upper skin layers and this means skincare is the best way to directly address this issue. Because stress to the skin barrier can increase water loss, a two fold approach that moisturizes the skin and reduces environmental insults to the skin barrier is recommended.

Winter especially is challenging to the skin as wind and indoor heating impact barrier health and worsen dryness. Whenever possible, we want to limit this.

• Use mild cleansers and avoid soap.
• Don’t overuse exfoliants and retinoids.
• Consider a humidifier if the air is dry.
• Try to limit long, hot showers.

There’s a common misconception that moisturizers don’t hydrate yet with the right ingredients, they can both reduce water loss from the skin and hydrate the skin. Here’s what to look for:

If a moisturizer alone isn’t enough, try layering it with a hydrating toner or serum. Stratia Skin Aqua Factory Toner combines an array of humectants - including ones that mimic the Natural Moisturizing Factor like sodium PCA - allowing it to maximize hydration. Ingredients like panthenol can both hydrate and support the skin barrier while urea is a powerful ingredient for dry skin.

Key Takeaways 

While drinking water is important for other reasons, it’s not the answer to skin hydration. Here’s a quick recap:

• Drinking adequate water is important for overall health but won’t directly solve skin dryness unless you’re already dealing with systemic dehydration.
• Moisturizing skincare products, especially those with occlusives, emollients, and humectants, are the most effective way to increase skin hydration.
• Lifestyle and environmental factors like using a humidifier, choosing gentle skincare products, and reducing long, hot showers help maintain the skin barrier and reduce moisture loss.

So, drink enough water to support your overall health, but remember—keeping skin hydrated is best achieved through consistent skincare and barrier protection.

FAQ

Q: How much water should you drink?

While 4-6 cups of water is the general recommendation, many individual factors influence water intake. Men generally have higher requirements than women and activity level, sweating, and the amount of water in the foods you’re consuming will all influence how much water you need to drink. Generally, the color of your urine and how often you go can help you monitor hydration status but if you’re unsure, speak to your provider.

Q: Should I just drink as much water as possible?

Often, you’ll see beauty content recommending drinking a gallon or more of water for “glowing skin.” The concern is that you can drink too much water, resulting in an electrolyte imbalance. And if you’re sweating a lot, you’ll want to replenish with electrolytes rather than plain water.

Q: Will drinking water help with skin issues aside from dry skin?

Despite claims that drinking water will make your pores look smaller, decrease wrinkles, and cure acne… there’s no convincing science to support that.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/body-water
2. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.20700
3. https://med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Anatomy_and_Physiology/Anatomy_and_Physiology_(Boundless)/18%3A_Cardiovascular_System%3A_Blood_Vessels/18.7%3A_Blood_Flow_Through_the_Body/18.7E%3A_Blood_Flow_in_the_Skin
4. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.1932.0065
5. https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/5-1-layers-of-the-skin/

Mira is a skincare educator, blogger, and the content creator behind Skin Science by Mira and The Skincare Forum on Facebook. While skincare keeps her busy, she’s also pursuing her degree in Nursing and loves to spend her free time hiking.  As a content writer for Stratia Skin, Mira shares her evidence-based approach to skincare topics and a passion for making science accessible.