Seven Easy Tips Towards Perfect Skin Hydration

We’ve all been there, the winter season creeps upon us and all of a sudden our skin starts to look and feel less vibrant. The cold weather can take its toll on our skin, leaving it feeling dry and itchy and looking dull.

To fight the harsh effects of the elements, keeping your skin properly hydrated is vital. Hydrated skin contains an increased amount of water that helps to produce a smoother, more even skin tone. If your skin is starting to look duller, or feeling dry and itchy, it may be dehydrated.

Thankfully, there are simple lifestyle changes you can make to keep your skin looking healthy and well hydrated.

What steps can I take to improve my skin hydration?

First things thirst - drink more water

Increasing the amount of water you drink each day can impact how much hydration your skin receives.

Just as your body needs water to function properly, your skin is the same. When your body struggles to get rid of nasty toxins through your digestive system, they can, unfortunately, come out through your skin leading to a duller complexion.

It’s recommended that you try and drink at least 8 glasses of water each day, quench your skin’s thirst for a brighter more even skin tone.

Reduce your shower temperature

There’s nothing quite like a steamy hot shower or bath on a cold winter’s day to soothe the winter blues.

As relaxing as these hot soaks are, excessively hot water temperatures can remove natural oils in your skin that promote hydration, leaving your skin looking dry.

Try to reduce your time in the shower or bath alongside a slightly reduced water temperature to help keep those healthy oils in your skin, and add a moisturising shower gel for some extra skin TLC! 

Eat right, feel good, inside and out

As the temperature drops, the urge to dive straight into stodgy comfort foods can be strong.

Eating a healthy balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, oily fish and nuts that contain vitamins and fatty acids can aid your skin’s hydration.

Try to add citrus fruits that are rich in vitamin C into your diet as they can assist with fresher looking skin. Oily fish rich in omega-3 such as salmon and tuna are also skin-friendly as they provide essential fatty acids that combat skin dryness.

Make your next comfort meal guilt-free by adding some of these skin-healthy foods into your overall diet.

Reduce your alcohol intake

As the winter nights draw closer and Christmas festivities start to gather pace, you may see yourself drinking more alcohol than you would usually throughout the year.

Drinking too much alcohol can leave you dehydrated, it causes your kidneys to work on removing excess water from your body, causing a significant impact on the hydration of your skin.

To try and counter the dehydrating effects of alcohol on your skin, try your best to drink in moderation: drinking extra water in between boozy drinks can help in maintaining a healthy hydration level. 

Moisturising equals happy skin

To avoid your skin becoming dry and itchy, try to add moisturising into your daily skin routine.

Moisturise your skin with water-based products that contain hydration-rich ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin which can deliver hydration deep into your skin.

A key tip for most of us is to moisturise our hands after washing the dishes, helping to combat the damage caused by the hot water temperatures and dish soap.

High temperature, dry skin!

Like most of us, you may be guilty of turning up the thermostat, making your home as cosy as possible!

When you do start to turn up your heating, the air in your house begins to become drier and detrimental to your overall skin hydration.

To avoid skin dryness, try to set the heating at a slightly cooler setting, your skin will thank you!

Stamp out smoking

Alongside many of the other risk factors of smoking, it may also affect your overall skin hydration. Nicotine can reduce blood flow to your skin, depriving your skin of needed moisture.

If you are trying to quit smoking, you can browse our range of smoking aids here.