We’ve probably told you since you were a teenager: to have pretty skin, you need to drink a lot of water. To the point that the reflex has become automatic as soon as the face feels tight or the complexion lacks radiance. A large glass, then another, with the impression of offering your skin an express hydration treatment.
However, this gesture, presented as miraculous, would not be as effective as we think in really hydrating the surface of the skin. According to an expert in cosmetic formulation, the link between quantity of water drunk and skin comfort is much more nuanced than a simple rule of two liters per day. The key lies above all in the way the skin retains the water it already has.
Drinking water to hydrate the skin: an overrated reflex
The received idea is tenacious. Faced with dehydrated skin, many still hear this guilty little phrase: “You have dehydrated skin, you probably don’t drink enough water!” recalls Dr Bozica, founder of the Dr Beautiology brand, cited by Journal des Femmes. For her, this explanation oversimplifies what really happens in the epidermis.
The scientist recalls that several clinical studies have looked at the impact of drinking water on the appearance of the skin. According to her, only very low consumption would have a visible effect: “In a study, women who drank little saw slight improvements after adding two liters per day. But those who already consumed enough “saw almost nothing”, continues Dr Bozica. In other words, if the body is not in real water shortage, drinking water to hydrate the skin makes almost no difference to the touch or comfort.
Stratum corneum, hydrolipidic film: the skin barrier does all the work
To understand, you have to look closely at the structure of the skin. This has several layers, and the outermost, called stratum corneum, determines the smooth or wrinkled, supple or rough appearance of the face. When the skin feels tight, it is this thin layer that suffers. Dr. Bozica illustrates this with a telling image: “Imagine a brick wall. The cells are the bricks. The lipids between them are the mortar. A well-built wall keeps water inside; a damaged wall does not. Dryness often comes from a weakness in this structure, not from what you drink.”
In this pattern, the water circulating in the body mainly nourishes the deeper layers of the skin. Only a small part actually reaches the stratum corneum. The ability of the surface to remain flexible therefore depends above all on its own water and lipid resources, in other words on the state of the skin barrier, also called hydrolipidic film. When this barrier is impaired, water evaporates more quickly and the skin feels dry, even in someone who drinks properly.
Really moisturize the skin when you already drink enough: focus on the right care
If your face feels tight despite good internal hydration, the issue is less about adding yet another glass than about pampering this famous barrier. Facial treatments rich in moisturizing and nourishing active ingredients play a central role here. Certain masks, such as the Jet Lag Mask from the Summer Fridays brand, combine for example niacinamide, glycerin and hyaluronic acid, combined with a soothing mixture based on bisabolol, panthenol, Allantoin and cucumber extract, to smooth the skin’s texture, blur fine lines from dehydration and restore suppleness and radiance from the first application.
These formulas are based on several families of complementary ingredients:
- agents that attract and retain water in the skin, such as glycerin or hyaluronic acid, for a plumped and very hydrated effect
- lipids from, for example, vegetable oils, which strengthen the hydrolipidic film and limit evaporation
- soothing active ingredients, such as panthenol, allantoin or cucumber extract, which calm redness and discomfort
- molecules like niacinamide, which contribute to more uniform skin and the appearance of tightened pores
This cocktail helps the skin surface to better manage the water it already contains, where increasing the quantity drunk quickly reaches its limits.
The same reasoning applies to the skin of the body, often weakened after pregnancy or during hormonal variations. Presenter Tatiana Silva explained that she had adopted the Hydro Tonic body milk from the organic brand Estime et Sens to find comfort and firmness. On Instagram, she confided: “This house is great! This cream is great for me, because it has a scent, but discreet. It’s great because the texture nourishes my skin which needs hydration.” This type of treatment combines sunflower seed and apricot kernel oils, which nourish and protect the hydrolipidic film, with Alaria Esculenta algae extracts, chosen to support the tone of the skin. A reminder that for comfortable skin, the decisive action does not only take place in the glass, but above all on the epidermis itself.
