Once I turned forty, I started noticing that my skin was getting on the dry side. Dry skin tends to look more saggy, wrinkled, and lifeless – not good! I needed a solution for hydrated skin.
I knew that drinking enough filtered water was key to maintaining glowing, young looking skin. I was already following the advice to:
“drink half of your body weight in ounces per day.”
In other words, because I weigh 125 pounds, I tried to consistently drink 62.5 ounces of water per day. But, in my forties, this no longer seemed to work to keep my skin looking hydrated.
The Advice that Changed My Life
Well – maybe not my life, but this advice definitely changed my skin! I read in Lauren Hubele’s blog that to figure out if you’re dehydrated, you should sip on warm water every 10-15 minutes, all day long, for at least 2 days in a row. If you do this and your mouth becomes dry, like a desert, then you are definitely dehydrated.
Other Signs of Dehydration
- Do you consistently wake up with pillow lines on your face? This is a sign that you are losing elasticity and dehydrated.
- Can you pinch the skin on the back of your hand for a few seconds and have the skin stay pinched (not re-shape immediately)? If so, you’re dehydrated.
- Is your urine dark in color like apple juice? If so you’re dehydrated. Urine should be pale yellow.
- Does your tongue have ripples around the edges? This is caused by your teeth leaving indentations on your tongue because it is slightly swollen due to lack of hydration.
So if you do the 2 day sipping warm water test and find you are dehydrated, what should you do next? You should keep on sipping on warm water all day, every 15 minutes, for the next 2 weeks to re-hydrate your skin. Hopefully, after you do this for 2 weeks, it will become a habit that you want to continue indefinitely. That’s what happened for me. But regardless, after 2 weeks of doing re-hydration therapy you should see a noticeable difference in your skin.
After doing the test, it was clear that I was dehydrated which shocked me since I was drinking 62.5 ounces of water a day! How was that even possible?
Mistakes that Can Counteract Hydrated Skin
One mistake I was making was drinking my water too quickly. In order to meet my daily water quota, I would end up pounding 24 oz of water at once, at meal time, in order to get it over with. Chugging water can be good for detox (cleansing your liver and kidneys), but it isn’t the best for keeping skin hydrated.
Plus, as an aside – having water before, after, or with my meals was also bad for my digestion! I have now learned that, if possible, it is best to avoid drinking water during the window of time from a half hour before to a half hour after your meal. Drinking water before, after or during meals can dilute your gastric juices and enzymes. This interferes with good digestion and doesn’t allow you to properly absorb the nutrients from your food.
Another mistake I was making was drinking cold water. I live in Florida and the thought of drinking warm water on a hot Florida day was repulsive to me. However, once I researched the benefits of drinking hot water for your skin, I became motivated to do it.
Benefits of Drinking Hot Versus Cold Water
Here’s what I learned about drinking hot water:
- It breaks down food faster than cold water which aids in digestion.
- The heat stimulates your bowel which relieves constipation and helps you get rid of old waste/toxins trapped in your intestines.
- It gets rid of stagnation in the lymphatic system and helps it to drain toxins.
- Warmth expands your blood vessels and increases blood flow to your organs which improves circulation.
- It raises your body temperature which can help you sweat out toxins and activate your metabolism.
My Hydration Schedule
Following this schedule has completely transformed my skin and given me the skin I used to have in my thirties.
- As soon as I wake up, I chug some water (8oz, room temperature). I find this helps to get my bowels moving and reduce bloating. Also, if think about it – you haven’t had anything to drink in 6-8 hours so you need to start your day with some water.
- I limit myself to one caffeinated drink per day. There is debate about whether caffeine is dehydrating. All I can tell you is that my skin looks horrendous when I drink too much caffeine and my hormones get out of balance too! Whenever you have caffeine, try to immediately drink another 6-8 oz of water.
- A half hour before my first meal, I drink an apple cider vinegar and collagen drink made with warm water (8oz) and organic lemon juice.
- I drink an 8 oz glass of room temperature water to take my morning supplements.
- Throughout the day, I sip on at least 3 eight ounce glasses of warm water mixed with lemon essential oil.
- About an hour before I go to bed, I drink another 8oz glass of room temperature water in order to take my evening supplements.
Key Take Away for Hydrated Skin
I am still drinking half my body weight in water but I am now drinking it completely differently. I learned:
It’s not just the amount of water you drink that matters. How you drink the water is just as important. You need to drink water slow instead of fast and hot instead of cold.
After sipping warm water all day for about a month, people started complimenting my skin and asking me what I was doing differently. I no longer woke up with the dreaded pillow lines on my face. And if I pinch the skin on my hand it bounces back immediately!
If hot water is a deal breaker for you then try it with room temperature water. Do your best to avoid cold/ice water. Let me know if changing the way you drink your water helps you have hydrated skin like it did for me.
Resources to Help You Drink More Water
In order to detoxify the water I drink, I have a reverse osmosis water filtration system. However, that can be pretty pricey. For a cheaper alternative try this zero water glass pitcher. My mom has one so I have tried zero water at her house. Zero water claims to remove “virtually all (99.6%) detectable dissolved solids while leading brands remove up to 50%.”
To make it easier to count how many ounces of water you’re drinking, try this glass water bottle with the amount of ounces clearly marked. I like this one because the plastic cover has kept mine from breaking a million times.
If you heat your water up at home and then want to take it with you in the car, try this glass travel mug and stainless steel straw. This is the biggest glass travel mug I’ve been able to find (it’s 20oz) that still fits in my car’s cup holder. I also like the exterior plastic sleeve that protects it from breaking.
Resources for Drinking Hot Water
To boil water faster than you can on a stove, try this quick heating glass tea pot. This one is good for health conscious people because it has a glass spout and stainless steel filter (instead of plastic). No plastic touches the boiling water. Plus it comes in white/chrome which is rare as most electric teapots are black/chrome.
For hot water on the go, try this heated travel mug with a stainless steel interior. This is not the one I have because they don’t sell mine anymore. But this is the closest I could find. The important things are to make sure the interior is stainless steel (not plastic) and to make sure you don’t pay too much because the heating element burns out quickly and you will likely have to replace it every few years. Warning: it takes cold water quite a while to heat up (about a half hour). So I usually start with hot water in the mug and then just add a little cool water at a time throughout my trip. I only use this on long car trips. For shorter trips I just use an insulated stainless steel mug.
No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition. Please consult a qualified health care professional for medical advice.