By – Josephine Agbonkhese

Does your skin appear dull and feel dry or tight? Is it vulnerable to cracking and breaking?
This might be a sign of dehydration.

While stuffing on creams, serums, and other skincare products are important to maintain your skin’s health and keep it glowing, hydrating your skin from the inside out is key to keeping it nourished.
This is important for many reasons beyond helping you look healthy and well-rested; primarily, when the skin is properly hydrated, it’s able to carry out its innate function— which is to act as a natural barrier to any external and harsh elements. The most common ways skin becomes dehydrated is any way in which water is drawn out of the skin. Becoming mindful of the following can therefore help keep your skin constantly hydrated.

Drink Enough Water
The first step to hydrating your skin is hydrating your body. It is recommended that you drink at least eight glasses of water every day. Your body may require more, depending on your daily activities and weight.

Avoid Hot Showers And Baths
It may seem like taking hot showers and baths would help quash dehydrated skin, but the opposite is true. Hot showers and baths encourage water to flow out of your skin and evaporate into the shower, therefore dehydrating the skin. The best kinds of showers are therefore short, lukewarm showers, to ensure water stays within the skin.

Avoid Over-Cleansing
When you over-cleanse your skin, like washing more than twice daily, you’re repeatedly stripping it of both its natural microbiome and moisturising barrier agents. If you have to cleanse your skin more than twice a day, experts recommend applying a light moisturiser post-cleanse to replace any lost hydration.

Eat More Water- And Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Fruits and vegetables are not only hydrating but are beneficial for your skin in many other ways. Citrus-based fruits like oranges and lemons are packed with juice and are rich in Vitamin C, which is vital to maintain your skin’s texture. Foods rich in Vitamin A and B3 are also essential to improve your overall skin health.

Use Hydrating Skincare Products
Water-based creams and cleansing, toning and moisturising products that penetrate through your skin and deliver water are recommended in fighting dehydrated.
Particularly look out for items containing hydrating agents like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, urea, ceramides, panthenol, and ammonium lactate when buying skincare products.

Avoid Dehydrating Drinks And Foods
Alcohol, excessive coffee, and poor diet—foods and beverages high in sodium and sugars—all contribute to systemic dehydration, which may show up as skin that looks dull and non-plump. Limit your intake of processed foods, as well as excess amounts of caffeine and alcohol.