Stay hydrated and look beautiful and fit always.

Water and Skin Care: Top Tips

Which of your body’s part weighs between 6-8 pounds and is about 2 square meters in area? That’s right – the skin. Amazingly, skin is the largest organ in the human body, heavier than the lungs, the heart, the brain and even the intestines. Made up of water, fat, proteins and minerals, skin is constantly changing, regenerating itself every 27 days.

Skin performs a vast array of functions:  

• Protection from the external environment: Skin insulates and serves as a waterproof protection for the body from the external environment
• First-line of defence: Skin plays an important part in immunity, being part of our first-line of defence against harmful micro-organisms
• Formation of vitamin D: It’s in the skin that vitamin D (Cholecalciferol; D3) synthesis takes place
• Environment sensor: Packed with nerves, skin helps inform the brain about the surrounding environment

With so many benefits, it remains very important that we maintain and take care of this organ.

How can you care for skin?

Generally, speaking of ‘skin care’, we think of moisturizers, exfoliators, facials, steam treatment, cosmetics etc. But with skin care, what you put on your plate is almost as important as what you put on your skin.

Here are some ways you can take care of your skin:

Eat right: Certain foods like tomatoes, carrots, other yellow-orange vegetables and fruits, green leafy vegetables, beans, peas, nuts and salmon are good for your skin. Avoid processed foods, unhealthy fats and refined carbohydrates.

Wash well: Use a gentle cleanser for your face; avoid alcohol-containing skin care products.

Clean-up: Always remove your make-up before going to sleep

Moisturizer and sun-screen: Both of these are skin care essentials. Moisturize after you have a shower or a bath, to lock the moisture in. And contrary to popular belief, sunscreen is important – both in summer, and in winter.

Water and skin care

Skin has three layers: the outer epidermis layer, the dermis layer and fat tissue layer below it. When the outer layer does not have sufficient water, skin loses its bounce and will seem rough. In fact, one of the ways to test if a person is moderately/severely dehydrated, is to pinch the skin on the lower arm, back of the hand or abdomen. In a healthy person, the skin bounces back to shape immediately. But when a person is dehydrated, it takes longer for skin to appear normal.

If you are dehydrated, drinking sufficient levels of water will help to make your skin look less dry and less wrinkled. It also helps to flush out impurities, which has an indirect effect on improving your skin. Not to mention, the result can be more palpable if the water being sourced is coming from purifiers that have water filters – like Pureit. However, water is not a ‘miracle cure’ to remove fine lines or erase wrinkles!

Remember:

• When you are dehydrated, your skin will look dry with more wrinkles
• Make sure you have at least 8-10 glasses of water a day
• Always drink water from a reliable and trustworthy source