12 replies to this topic

[bug]

my skin always looks like HELL after a drinking binge (and my urine is dark yellow/orange). it never occured to me that dehydration would be a factor; i just assumed it was toxins leaving my skin. anyway, 2 days ago i was bored, and i wondered if there was a correlation between the dark urine (more specifically, dehydration) and acne. so i did a yahoo search "dehydration acne".

http://www.joseibi.com/store/view_article.asp?idArticle=55

in short, this article says that dehydration is the cause of *adult* acne. it said that's why adults keep getting acne, even though they use meds/topicals. hey, sounds just like me!
that was me paraphrasing. but if you're interested, read the full thing!

says it also affects the overall redness, that makes you look irritated. makes sense. dry skin...exposure to the elements...fast skin cell turnover...

[disfigured]

I have read this before also. My skin feels oily yet is flakey and scabby. So I thought maybe dehydration was indeed contributing to my acne. You are suppose to drink half your body weight in water. Which is 80 fl oz for me. I know I do not drink that much. I also know they tell Hollywood stars to drink a ton of water for great skin. Thats why you always see them carrying bottles of water around.

I will try and make a conscious effort to drink 80 oz of water a day and see if I improve.

[chococat123]

I believe drinking water is more beneficial for your skin, because you're releasing all the toxins. Besides, water keeps your skin looking fresh, supple and hydrated.

I drink about a liter of water a day. It just becomes a habit. I've stopped drinking soda and have stuck to water and less sugary drinks. My skin thanks me for that.

[justwant2bcute]

i have been drinking a TON of water for the past week and i can already tell that my skins overall appearance looks better. i just recently cut out alcohol completely ( i drank about 3 nights a week, 5-7 drinks a night) im replacing everything that i drink with water. no more coffee, soda, milk, alcohol or juice......just water. even if that doesn't cure my acne, i'll be healthier because of it. its one of the few things u can try that will NOT have any negative effects to ur body. ive actually been trying to go the health nut route.....cutting out alcohol and replacing with water is going to help the whole picture..

[iludmik]

drinking water doesnt do shit for me.. i use to drink 10 bottles a day, wasnt because of my skin i just like drinking water... it didnt do anything.

[bug]

my main issue is that i walk around a lot (student), so i'm exposed to the elements. plus i use all those dam topicalz for my skin. basically, my skin looks horribly irritated everywhere except around the eyes. there's one bathroom in particular at one of the buildings i have a class at. it's that lighting that makes you wanna rip your face off and die. i guage my skin by that one frickin location of lighting. in that lighting i look like a red raccoon from hell.
so i've been just chuggin water for the past week, and sure enough, that overall redness has subsided a bit. just a tad though. it's slow beanz, but i'm pretty sure i aint trippin.
oh ya. and no drinkin alcohol for me. i don't know about you guyz, but alchohol single handedly ruined my face. if it weren't for alcohol, i'd be outside right now, playin volleyball w/ honeyz

[zxcv]

i think the whole drinking water thing is kinda of BS in terms of helping with acne. it can't be bad to drink a lot of water (unless you are drinking insane amounts) but i've found that when i make a conscious effort to only drink water it makes no real difference. i havent had any sodas or sugary drinks in over 2 months and my skin is still the same.

[BarryAllen]

I think drinking water and not being dehydrated can usually help your skin by flushing out toxins and helping your body fight infection. It's usually recommended at least 2-3 liters a day per person.

[HolisticJane]

Being dehydrated can only add to your problems. Make you look tired, dry and haggard but clear acne? No. Will it help? Yes.

We need water to repair ourselves from damage from sickness, pollution and toxins. It's reasonable to say that if your liver and kidneys are overtaxed that it will show on your skin. I drink tons of water and green tea. I do notice that if I don't drink enough I look dry and tired. But it has no effect on my acne whatsoever.

Typically we need 64-80 oz of water a day. We can also get water from fresh fruits and vegetables. Water helps our organs work better, more efficiently therefore it shows on our skin and in our eyes. Alcohol is taxing on the liver, also dehydrating. So that's why after a night of drinking we don't look or feel very good.

[Mitzie]

No, it's BS. I do WW and part of my plan is that I must drink 8 glasses of water a day. It has no effect on my skin.

I think the drinking water thing is good advice only for adults whose acne is cause by being unhealthy people, ie people who eat poorly or have the ugly american addictions (coffee, nicotine, Doritos...). It's a good first step to cutting out the bad and putting in the good.

[clou]

I have come to the conclusion that bad diet and/or hormonal imbalance is the cause of adult acne. Bad diet can attribute to hormonal imbalance so I guess it really comes down to diet. Check the ingredients in everything you eat. Just about everything has corn syrup in it... Bread, ketchup and anything processed.

[stillclearingup]

I just want to add that drinking more water to help w/ acne is NOT BS. Maybe it doesn't help for some people, but then dehydration wasn't the cause of your acne.

Personally, I had two main causes. Hormonal imbalance and constant dehydration. I went on the pill which helped a ton, but I kept getting breakouts until it occurred to me that I don't drink enough water. I'm a healthy enough eater, I stay away from fast food and junk food and soda, but I used to barely drink anything during the day. After my latest breakout, I started drinking a lot of water throughout the day and within a couple of days the breakout had significantly improved. I've been sticking with it and no problems so far!

I read that dehydrated skin cells are more prone to irritation, and also that when you're dehydrated your skin produces more oil. More oil + easily irritated skin = acne. Just to drive home my point, it's been really hot and humid where I am, which normally causes me to be constantly oily and summer is often my worst season for acne. My skin isn't even overly oily anymore now that I'm drinking more water. It's not BS, it's working for me.

[bunchesofsunflowers]

Yeah, I hate to be a naysayer, but if drinking water was the cure then I sure as heck wouldn't have acne. I drink about 2 liters a day, and while it does make a different in the tone of my skin, it's never done a thing for acne.