Give your skin a drink
The hydration your skin receives is fundamental in keeping it healthy, and allows the proper care to give your skin the glow and the softness it so badly needs at this time of year.
Why is it so important for the skin to be hydrated?
A very large proportion of the human body is composed mainly of water. So it makes sense that we need to have the right level of water in our system to carry out many of our body’s everyday functions.
As to the question of why water is so important for the skin, we can essentially put it down to the following reasons:
1.It transports nutrients: essential substances for skin regeneration are predominantly delivered by the blood after they are absorbed. Without proper hydration, our blood flow would be more concentrated and less fluid. Poor hydration directly affects both the transportation and absorption of nutrients.
2.Hydrated skin always looks healthier and brighter because it receives the nutrients it needs: this translates into complete cellular cycles. Deeper layers of the skin (the basal layer) will be fully able to carry out processes of regeneration, and cycles of ageing will be kept at bay.Therefore, it has a direct influence in reducing the oxidation of the skin. Firstly, this is because the skin receives the correct supply of nutrition, and secondly because it is able to detoxify properly. A more hydrated environment is more fluid and provides faster paths for transportation.
3.It improves the skin’s structure: keeping your skin hydrated will give it a better texture. Although it may seem like a contradiction, because water is a liquid, it helps with texture by promoting cellular cohesion.
The water in the extracellular matrix causes the amalgamation of collagen and elastin fibres, giving them a firmer structure.
Therefore, we will see that well hydrated skin is visually smoother and firmer and is able to protect itself against the damage that takes place over time, such as expression lines and wrinkles.
4.It has a role in skin functioning and physiology: the water our skin receives is necessary for thousands of exchanges between cells. It is the medium through which the majority of skin cell functions take place.
If the skin loses part of its deep hydration, it is unable to properly defend itself and becomes oxidised, increasing its vulnerability to ageing and to contact with external agents affecting its composition. This is the reason for the appearance of genomic modifications affecting pigmentation, such as blemishes, lesions or dermatosis.
Do we lose hydration?
Despite following a suitable routine and using moisturising products, we lose water every day, almost every minute.
The natural evaporation of water from our body by sweating causes us to lose between 100 ml and a litre of water a day. Although the exact amount is variable, it is directly influenced by the amount of water we ingest, how much we sweat and how effective our renal function is.
Our recommendations...
- Drink plenty of water: particularly at this time of year, when temperatures are higher and the body tends to regulate its temperature by losing more water than usual.
- Protect yourself: use products with solar protection; these make your skin will suffer less, favouring water retention.
- Deep hydration:give your skin a drink with a mixture of products containing proteoglycans, vitamins, hyaluronic acid and collagen, essential substances for healthy, cared-for skin.
