It's amazing the dramatic impact that drinking enough water can have on your skin and overall health. Your skin is made up of 64% water, so it makes perfect sense that the amount of water you consume has a direct effect on the feel and appearance of your skin.

How Does Drinking Water Affect Your Skin?

By making sure that you're drinking enough water, you can not only make your skin more plump and elastic, but you can help your body flush out toxins from your blood, allowing your skin to really look its best. On the other hand, dehydrated skin can not only look dull and flaky but also feel itchy, dry and tight.

Drinking enough water each day can also help your skin fight off breakouts, which is great news for those that struggle with blemishes.

Increasing your water intake can actually decrease the concentration of oil on your skin’s surface. Too much oil can end up causing clogged pores, which often result in annoying (and embarrassing) blemishes.^{†The information provided is not an endorsement of any product, and is intended for educational purposes only. NaturesPlus does not provide medical advice and does not offer diagnosis of any conditions. Current research on this topic is not conclusive and further research may be needed in order to prove the benefits described. The conditions and symptoms described may be indicative of serious health problems, and therefore should be brought to the attention of a qualified healthcare practitioner.}

How Much Water Should You Drink a Day?

Even though everyone agrees that drinking water is important for your health, the amount of water you should drink per day is up for debate. Most people stick to the old rule of drinking eight to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water per day.

Other medical professionals suggest that you base your water consumption on your weight. Using this method, you divide your weight in half to determine the number of ounces you need to consume daily. You can then use that number to figure out how many 8-, 12- or 16-ounce glasses you need to drink each day.

These methods can be helpful guides if you struggle to remember to put down the coffee and pick up a glass of water, but they don't work for everyone. Some manual laborers and athletes may need to drink more water than that to rehydrate after intense activities that result in a lot of water loss.

Keep in mind that you shouldn't just be chugging 70 ounces of water at one time. Instead, you should spread your water consumption throughout the day to ensure that your body is able to absorb and use it.

It's also worth noting that there is such a thing as drinking too much water. If you consume too much water, it can actually cause imbalances in your body's electrolyte and sodium levels.

Realistically, the best way to stay hydrated is to listen to your body and just drink when you feel parched.

And remember, just because you're drinking your weight in water does not mean you can skip your skin routine.

Make sure that you're still using hydrating moisturizers and skincare products to lock that hydration in. Moisturize right after a shower or bath, which allows your skin to absorb those products with ease.

Other Benefits of Drinking Water

Aside from the many benefits for your skin, staying hydrated provides a number of advantages to your overall health:^{†The information provided is not an endorsement of any product, and is intended for educational purposes only. NaturesPlus does not provide medical advice and does not offer diagnosis of any conditions. Current research on this topic is not conclusive and further research may be needed in order to prove the benefits described. The conditions and symptoms described may be indicative of serious health problems, and therefore should be brought to the attention of a qualified healthcare practitioner.}

• It assists in a number of bodily processes, such as nutrient transport and temperature regulation.
• It helps with weight loss. That’s especially true if you drink water right before you eat because it tends to reduce your appetite.
• It can help ease headaches caused by fluid loss or dehydration.
• It can help reduce your risk of developing kidney stones.
• It can help increase the regularity of your bowel movements.

If you're looking to increase the health and appearance of your skin, drinking enough water is one of the best and easiest things you can do.

†The information provided is not an endorsement of any product, and is intended for educational purposes only. NaturesPlus does not provide medical advice and does not offer diagnosis of any conditions. Current research on this topic is not conclusive and further research may be needed in order to prove the benefits described. The conditions and symptoms described may be indicative of serious health problems, and therefore should be brought to the attention of a qualified healthcare practitioner.The information provided is not an endorsement of any product, and is intended for educational purposes only. NaturesPlus does not provide medical advice and does not offer diagnosis of any conditions. Current research on this topic is not conclusive and further research may be needed in order to prove the benefits described.

The conditions and symptoms described may be indicative of serious health problems, and therefore should be brought to the attention of a qualified healthcare practitioner.