Does Water help clear acne? This was a question I was asking myself a few weeks ago when for some reason I started getting more breakouts even after doing no changes in my acne treatment, read the whole story below and my conclusion.
Background
I have been pretty good at keeping up with an acne treatment that has been working for me for the past 8 years, now I still get the occasional pimples if I don’t wash every day (yes, for some of us, acne is a permanent issues).
In the past few weeks I started noticing my skin was breaking out more and of course I was worrying because I was thinking that perhaps my acne treatment products stopped working for me, so I started analyzing what I was doing different.
I cut down on dairy many months ago (read Do Dairy Products Cause Acne?). So I started checking on my dairy intake, nothing has changed in that regard, still barely consuming dairy.
I figured it had to be one of my dietary factors and not the acne products, so I continued trying to study why I was getting breakouts again. After some soul-searching (I took a nap) and thinking what I was doing differently, I realized something else started to lack on my life as I was becoming busier… water.
Research
Because I have nothing to do on a Saturday night I started investigating this little conclusion. I always carry a plastic bottle with me and drink water throughout the day at work and at home. What I noticed is that I went from drinking 100 oz a day to barely 20 oz.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says the recommended water intake should be for women around 2.7 liters (91 ounces) and men around 3.7 liters (125 ounces) of total water from all beverages and foods daily. As you can see I was doing none of that.
Now that I knew I was certainly not drinking enough water, I wanted to find out if it also had anything to do with my recent breakouts.
On this study, this group was trying to prove the positive effects of water on our skin by dividing 49 people into two different groups, one consuming less than 3.2 liters and the other adding 2 liters to their daily intake.
In the end the study was able to conclude that there was a difference between the groups and the group that drank more water saw a positive change in their skin thus showing that there could be a relation with the two.
Now this is just a small study and I did find conflicting opinions on how much does water really help with acne. Some claim it doesn’t do anything, but when you start looking at the bigger picture you realize:
Our body is mostly water (around 75%) we lose it through urination and sweat, makes sense to keep feeding it more water.
It also keeps your body at a normal temperature (this is done through sweat and if you’re active hydration is even more important).
It helps carry vitamins and helps get rid of toxins in your body by keeping the liver going.
Lubricates and cushions your joints.
People with oily skin come from descendants of hot temperature countries, it is a natural way for the body to cool due to lack of water, keeping your body hydrated will decrease the oil production.
Experiment
So after feeling terrible for my body and how badly I treat it, I started drinking a lot more water to at least get closer to the recommended number. So every day I’ve been drinking 120 oz (3.5 liters) of water a day and within that same week I noticed a decreased on my pimples and the existing ones were drying out faster.
The following week was very similar, my skin felt less oily and there was no pimples, so ever since I have been drinking a lot more water and seeing great results on my skin and body.
I will say this though, prepare to be going to bathroom every 2 hours, what goes in will come back out, so you will be peeing a lot, side effect for having a healthier skin, life is not perfect.
While it may not be necessary for you to consume all this water a good way to check if you’re hydrated is to check the color of your pee, the clearer it is the more hydrated you are. If your urine is too yellow, it is a good indication that you need to consume more liquids.
Final Thoughts
Seems like my research and experiment payed off. Not only did I realized how little water I was actually consuming, I also realized how important it was to my biggest and prettiest organ. This is something that is working for me and I would love for you to try it, while this may not be a solution or affect greatly your issue it is a simple experiment to try.
Ask yourself if you’re drinking enough water and also remember that fruits and other liquids also contain water, so you really do not have an excuse to not drink more.
There are only benefits from drinking more water and the more active you are the more you will need. Do this as favor to your body and drink more water.
Of course if you want more information, tips and tricks for dealing with acne, you can always check out the rest of the website, but a good place to start is the Acne page.
We have many reviews of great products to help you with acne, scars and even dry skin, time to stop looking at the mirror and start doing something about it.
If you have any questions and thoughts, please don’t hesitate to comment, I would love to hear your experience with increasing water intake and if it worked for you or not.
All information and help you seek is here to take you on your path to a Beautiful Clear Skin.