Whether you’re a dry skin person or just trying to find a healthier way to maintain the appearance of your skin, daily hydration is crucial for ensuring a smooth and healthy complexion.
Luckily, we can all do our part to keep our skin glowing by upping our liquid intake and adding a few key ingredients to our skincare routines. To learn more about how to keep your skin hydrated, here are some tips you should consider.
1. Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking plenty of water is one of the most important things you can do for your skin. It is also vital for maintaining your overall health.
It flushes out toxins, keeps you hydrated, lubricates your joints, and helps prevent constipation. It also helps keep your energy level high.
The amount of fluids you need is based on your body size, age, and activity levels. Your doctor can recommend the best way to stay hydrated.
Some medical conditions and medications can impede your ability to stay hydrated. For example, caffeine and alcohol can cause diuretic effects, which make it more difficult to hydrate your body.
Other factors that can increase your hydration requirements include environmental conditions, such as hot or humid weather, exercise, or traveling in very cold weather. You may also need more fluids if you have a fever or vomiting.
It is also important to check your urine for an indication of hydration. If your urine is dark yellow or has a strong smell, it could indicate that you are dehydrated.
2. Apply Moisturizer
A great way to keep your skin hydrated is by applying a moisturizer regularly. This is especially important if you’re dealing with dry, flaky, or irritated skin.
Moisturizers are creams, lotions, emulsions, or ointments that contain a variety of emollients, such as water, oil, and glycerin. They are lightweight and formulated to seal in moisture and help protect the skin from environmental irritants.
Moisturizing can be done any time of the day, but it’s most effective when used after washing your face. That’s because soap often removes natural moisturizing oils from your skin, which can leave it dehydrated and parched.
When choosing a moisturizer, make sure it is formulated for your specific skin type and contains ingredients that are gentle on the skin without stripping its natural oils. You may also want to check for humectants, which are chemicals that draw moisture from the air and lock it into your skin, helping reduce wrinkles and maintain a youthful appearance.
Most skincare professionals recommend moisturizing twice a day after you wash your face and before bed. You can do this by simply patting your skin dry and then applying a small amount of your favorite moisturizer, using upward strokes to apply it.
3. Apply Aloe Vera
Using aloe vera as an ingredient in your skincare routine can help you achieve glowing and supple skin. The gel found in the leaves of the aloe vera plant is a natural anti-inflammatory and helps relieve itching, swelling, and redness caused by sunburns and other types of skin damage.
It also reduces the healing time of burns, cuts, and other injuries. This is because the plant contains proteins and amino acids that boost cell reproduction and repair damaged tissue, explains Omaha, Nebraska-based board-certified dermatologist Joel Schlessinger, M.D.
You can purchase this natural ingredient in the form of a gel or other over-the-counter products, says Schlessinger. “It’s best to buy pure, unpreserved gel.”
In addition to its soothing, hydrating, and moisturizing benefits, it can help protect your skin from harmful UV rays. It can also reduce the appearance of sun spots, aging spots, freckles, and acne scars.
This ingredient can also be used as a natural treatment for scalp problems like dandruff. It can stimulate new hair growth and improve blood circulation to the scalp.
4. Apply Cucumber
The skin is a major organ of the body, and it requires adequate hydration to keep it looking healthy and glowing. The best way to ensure this is by consuming plenty of water, fruits, and veggies that are hydrating the skin.
Cucumber is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that nourish the skin and help fight signs of aging. It also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that soothe and rejuvenate the skin.
Applying cucumber on the face is a great way to hydrate your skin naturally. It helps reduce puffiness, tightens pores, and improves skin tone.
Another amazing benefit of applying cucumber on the skin is that it helps soothe and calm acne. It has anti-inflammatory and skin-repairing properties that can help treat acne at the deepest level.
You can use a homemade face mask prepared with fresh cucumber juice, Fuller’s earth, and tea tree oil. This face pack is effective for sensitive and oily skin.
It can also be used to get rid of sunburn and tan. Just apply cucumber slices to the affected area and leave it on for a few minutes before you wash it off. It also works as an excellent natural toner and is a great option for those who spend a lot of time in the sun.
5. Apply Avocado
Avocados are packed with skin-loving nutrients like fatty acids, vitamin E, and antioxidants that can help keep your skin smooth and soft. They also contain the lipid lecithin that works as a natural emollient and helps moisturize and seal in moisture, locking in that much-needed hydration.
This makes it the perfect ingredient for a facial mask. Mix mashed avocado with olive oil and apply it on your dry skin for a deep hydrating treatment.
Another easy remedy for dry skin is to massage brown sugar into it. The finely ground sugar particles exfoliate the skin by removing dead cells, and this nourishes the skin too.
To make it more effective, add milk cream to the mixture for an extra boost of hydration. The milk cream is rich in minerals and lactic acid that provide an extra moisture boost.
Yogurt is a great ingredient to add to the mix as it has protein, vitamins, and nourishing fats that make it an excellent water-binding agent. This hydrates the skin, and the lactic acid in yogurt helps to gently cleanse and tone.
6. Apply Milk or Buttermilk
Milk is a powerful humectant and also contains fats that help keep your skin hydrated. In addition to this, milk also contains lactic acid that helps exfoliate your skin.
The lactic acid in milk is known to reduce blemishes and even out your complexion. It also acts as an astringent and can shrink pores.
Buttermilk is another great option that can hydrate and soothe your skin. It contains lactic acid and alpha hydroxy acids that can help exfoliate your skin, remove dead skin cells, and boost circulation.
This ingredient in buttermilk can also lighten the appearance of acne scars, making them less visible. In addition, it is also known to make sunburns less noticeable and promote the healing of damaged skin.
Dairy milk is popular as a skincare product because it contains lactic acid, which is an alpha hydroxy acid that can help exfoliate and brighten your skin. This is one of the reasons that many DIY recipes recommend using cow’s milk in everything from face masks to body washes.
7. Apply Coconut Oil
It’s no secret that coconut oil has become a cult favorite in the skincare world and with good reason. It’s a hydrating plant oil that makes your skin feel baby-soft, and it’s loaded with beneficial fatty acids that nourish and soothe.
According to dermatologists, about 65% of the fat in coconut oil is medium-chain fatty acids like lauric acid and linoleic acid. These acids are able to penetrate deep into the skin and boost hydration levels while simultaneously decreasing transepidermal water loss, which can be triggered by conditions such as eczema or dermatitis.
The fatty acids in coconut oil are also antimicrobial, which means that it kills bacteria on your skin and reduces inflammation. It also contains high levels of linoleic acid, which is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid that can be used as an emollient and skin soothe.
However, while it is a wonderful natural moisturizer, you should use it sparingly and only as a last resort after applying other skin-care products to your face and body. Coconut oil can irritate your skin if it’s used too often, and it’s best to avoid it on sensitive areas such as the face and neck since it may clog pores.
