Happy Hydration, Happy Skin

Understanding the Link Between Hydration and Skin Health

Staying well-hydrated is essential for healthy skin. Water helps maintain moisture levels, supports skin elasticity, and ensures your skin is functioning at its best. Proper hydration supports skin barrier function, protecting it from environmental stressors like pollutants, UV radiation, and harsh weather.

How This Can Present on Skin

• Barrier Function: A well-hydrated skin barrier retains moisture and protects against irritants and pollutants, helping to minimise dermatitis (eczema), allergies, and flare-ups.

• Dryness and Tightness: Lack of hydration can lead to tight, dry, and flaky skin, making it more vulnerable to irritation and environmental damage.

• Fine Lines: Dehydrated skin can appear less firm, causing fine lines, or making existing ones more noticeable. The lack of moisture can create the appearance of reduced elasticity such as sagging.

• Sensitive Skin: Insufficient hydration can make the skin more prone to redness, irritation, and sensitivity.

• Healing: Dehydrated skin may take longer to repair damage or wounds.

• Oil Balance: Dehydrated skin can lead to overproduction of sebum, causing breakouts or clogged pores

Need a few practical tips?

You’ll find matching flashcards for this topic in the Happy Skin Collection — digital resources designed to support your skin one day at a time.
Browse them in the shop at Skin at Home™ on the main website.

Need help?

Staying hydrated is about building good habits. If you’re unsure how to start, try keeping a water tracker or researching hydration tips online for inspiration.

Is There Public National Guidance on the Effect of Hydration on Skin Health?

Not really. While some NHS-affiliated sources—like Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Somerset—acknowledge that drinking enough water can help maintain skin elasticity and softness, this message isn’t part of official NHS guidance.

It appears in scattered leaflets, but it’s not included in national campaigns or broader public advice.

So what about the rest of us?

Right now, there’s no consistent public-facing guidance linking hydration—through drinking water or topical skincare—with skin health as a recognised benefit. The evidence is there. But it hasn’t yet reached everyday messaging.

The Skin Well® project highlights this gap —Because when skin is left out of hydration conversations, the public is left without the full picture.

Trusted Sources (Not a Complete Catalogue)

Here are a few official UK resources on hydration - some include references to skin health, particularly in local or affiliated NHS materials:

• NHS – Water, Drinks and Nutrition
  https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/water-drinks-nutrition/
  Explains the importance of staying hydrated for overall health, but does not currently highlight benefits for skin.

• British Dietetic Association – Skin Health
  https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/skin-health.html
  Clearly states that healthy skin needs good hydration and advises drinking enough fluid as part of skin care.

• British Nutrition Foundation
  https://www.nutrition.org.uk
  Focuses on hydration’s role in key body functions such as cognition and temperature regulation, without referencing skin health.

• Healthy Hydration – Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
  Hydration-leaflet.pdf
  An NHS-affiliated resource that specifically mentions water’s role in keeping skin soft and elastic.