Drinking more water is not a magic skin cure-all, despite TikTok trends: experts recommend 3 tips to get clear skin and reduce wrinkles naturally, from moisturising more to reducing caffeine
- Plenty of skincare influencers swear that drinking lots of water is the most simple and easy-to-achieve beauty hack and it’s what keeps their skin glowing – but not according to 1 dermatologist
- Dr. Cameron Rokhsar recently claimed that this trick is a ‘myth’ and that there are much better ways to improve skin clarity, from swapping certain beverages out to moisturisation
But what if we told you it wasn’t as simple as that?
Recently, a dermatologist debunked the myth, emphasising the importance of moisturising instead. He also noted that swapping soda or caffeine with water could be why your skin improves.
One clear-faced influencer will claim it’s their biggest skincare secret, and the top comments complain about the same trick not working for them. Some of Reddit’s most popular skincare posts will feature before-and-after photos evidencing the wonders of drinking more H2O, while its top memes and tweet screenshots mock this advice.
On one hand, it’s the most affordable skincare advice out there: water is easily accessible for most people, and drinking enough of it is already crucial to good health. Plus, it feels right, like you’re flushing out all the impurities that could clog up your pores. But will drinking more of it really make acne go away and smooth away your wrinkles?
“I’m one of those guys who thinks it’s a myth,” Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, a board-certified dermatologist and associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital, said.
1. Your body is designed to tell you how much water you need
“Our body’s thirst mechanism is pretty robust,” Rokhsar said, noting that it’s unlikely someone who has access to clean water would ignore their body telling them they’re thirsty.
As for drinking more than the recommended eight glasses of water a day: Rokhsar said it won’t give you much, other than more frequent trips to the bathroom. “Our kidneys are pretty good at figuring out the concentration of our urine,” he said, noting how lighter urine just means there’s more water in your urine. “If you drink too much water, you’re gonna pee all that out anyway” – without any added benefits.
Plus, there are risks to drinking too much water. Your kidneys won’t be able to process all that fluid, which can lead to life-threatening conditions like hyponatremia. As long as your urine is pale yellow, you should already be getting enough water.
