Can you be dehydrated and not know it. Hydration Essentials: Calculate Your Daily Water Intake for Optimal Health
How much water should you drink daily. What factors influence your hydration needs. Why is staying properly hydrated so important for your health. How can you tell if you’re dehydrated.
Understanding Your Daily Water Requirements
Proper hydration is crucial for overall health and wellbeing, but determining exactly how much water you need can be complex. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommend approximately 2.7 liters (11 cups) of total fluid intake for women and 3.7 liters (16 cups) for men daily. However, these are general guidelines, and individual needs can vary significantly based on several factors.
Do all fluids count towards your daily intake? While plain water is ideal, other beverages like tea, coffee, sparkling water, and even nutrient-rich foods contribute to your fluid intake. Alcohol, on the other hand, has a dehydrating effect and should not be counted. Soda, while it does provide fluid, is not a healthy choice due to its high sugar content.
What counts towards your daily fluid intake?
- Water
- Tea
- Coffee
- Sparkling water
- Kombucha
- Coconut water
- Water-rich foods (fruits, vegetables, soups)
Factors Influencing Your Hydration Needs
Your individual hydration requirements depend on various factors, making it essential to understand what influences your body’s fluid needs.
Biological Sex
Does biological sex affect hydration needs? Indeed, it does. Generally, individuals born male require more fluid than those born female. This difference is primarily due to their typically larger body mass, lower average body fat percentage, and higher daily calorie expenditure.
Body Weight
How does body weight impact fluid requirements? As body weight increases, so do hydration needs. This relationship is influenced by factors such as body surface area, metabolic rate, and overall body mass. Consequently, larger individuals typically require more fluid to maintain proper hydration levels.
Life Stage
Are hydration needs different during pregnancy and breastfeeding? Absolutely. Pregnant individuals need additional fluids to maintain amniotic fluid levels and support fetal growth. Similarly, nursing mothers require increased fluid intake to produce sufficient breast milk for their growing infants.
Diet Quality
Can your diet affect how much water you need to drink? Yes, the foods you consume play a significant role in your overall hydration status. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, which have high water content, can contribute substantially to your daily fluid intake. This means you may not need to drink as much water if you’re consuming plenty of these hydrating foods.
Activity Level
How does exercise impact hydration needs? Physical activity, especially in hot conditions, increases fluid loss through sweat. The intensity and duration of exercise, along with individual factors like genetics and climate acclimatization, all influence how much you sweat and, consequently, how much fluid you need to replace.
The Vital Importance of Staying Hydrated
Why is proper hydration so crucial for your health? Maintaining adequate hydration levels is essential for numerous bodily functions. It helps lubricate joints, regulate body temperature, aid in digestion, and support overall cellular function. Moreover, good hydration can improve sleep quality, cognitive function, and even mood.
Are there unexpected benefits to staying well-hydrated? Research suggests that proper hydration may have far-reaching effects beyond basic physiological functions. It can potentially enhance physical performance, prevent headaches, aid in weight management, and improve skin health.
Recognizing the Signs of Dehydration
How can you tell if you’re dehydrated? While thirst is an obvious indicator, there are several other signs that your body may need more fluids:
- Dark urine color
- Dry mouth and lips
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Reduced urine output
Are there any unusual signs of dehydration? Some less common indicators of dehydration include:
- Bad breath
- Food cravings, particularly for sweets
- Fever
- Muscle cramps
- Skin that’s less elastic
- Chills
Strategies for Optimal Hydration
How can you ensure you’re getting enough fluids throughout the day? Here are some effective strategies to maintain proper hydration:
- Carry a reusable water bottle with you
- Set reminders on your phone to drink water regularly
- Eat water-rich fruits and vegetables
- Flavor your water with fresh fruit or herbs for variety
- Drink a glass of water before each meal
- Replace sugary drinks with water or unsweetened beverages
Is it possible to drink too much water? While uncommon, it is possible to overhydrate. This condition, known as hyponatremia, occurs when the body’s electrolyte balance is disrupted due to excessive water intake. It’s important to spread your fluid intake throughout the day rather than consuming large amounts at once.
Hydration for Special Populations
Do certain groups have unique hydration needs? Yes, some populations require special consideration when it comes to fluid intake:
Athletes
How should athletes approach hydration? Athletes, especially those engaging in intense or prolonged exercise, need to pay extra attention to their fluid intake. They should hydrate before, during, and after exercise, possibly including electrolyte-rich sports drinks for longer sessions.
Older Adults
Why is hydration particularly important for older adults? As we age, our sense of thirst may diminish, and our bodies retain less water. This makes older adults more susceptible to dehydration, necessitating conscious efforts to maintain adequate fluid intake.
Children
How much water do children need? Children’s hydration needs vary based on age, size, and activity level. Generally, they should be encouraged to drink water regularly throughout the day and increase intake during physical activity or hot weather.
Hydration and Climate Considerations
Does climate affect hydration needs? Absolutely. Hot and humid environments increase fluid loss through sweat, necessitating higher fluid intake. Similarly, high altitudes can increase fluid needs due to increased respiratory water loss and urine output.
How should you adjust your hydration in different climates?
- In hot climates: Increase water intake and consider electrolyte-rich beverages for prolonged exposure
- In cold climates: Don’t neglect hydration, as cold air can be very dry and indoor heating can be dehydrating
- At high altitudes: Increase fluid intake to combat the effects of altitude on hydration
The Role of Hydration in Disease Prevention
Can proper hydration help prevent certain health issues? While not a cure-all, maintaining good hydration may help reduce the risk of several health problems:
- Urinary tract infections
- Kidney stones
- Constipation
- Exercise-induced asthma
- Hypertension
How does hydration support overall health? Adequate hydration is crucial for many bodily functions, including:
- Regulating body temperature
- Transporting nutrients and oxygen to cells
- Removing waste products
- Cushioning joints
- Maintaining proper blood volume
Hydration Myths Debunked
Are there common misconceptions about hydration? Several myths persist about proper hydration. Let’s address some of these:
Myth 1: You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day
Is the “8×8 rule” (8 glasses of 8 ounces each) accurate? While this guideline is easy to remember, it’s not based on scientific evidence. Individual needs vary widely, and fluid intake from food is often overlooked in this rule.
Myth 2: If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated
Does thirst always indicate dehydration? Not necessarily. While thirst is a signal that your body needs fluids, it doesn’t always mean you’re clinically dehydrated. It’s your body’s natural mechanism to maintain fluid balance.
Myth 3: Clear urine means you’re well-hydrated
Is clear urine always a sign of good hydration? While urine color can be an indicator of hydration status, completely clear urine might mean you’re drinking more water than necessary. Pale yellow urine is typically a sign of good hydration.
Myth 4: Coffee and tea are dehydrating
Do caffeinated beverages contribute to dehydration? Contrary to popular belief, moderate consumption of caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea can contribute to daily fluid intake. While caffeine has a mild diuretic effect, the fluid in these beverages more than compensates for any losses.
By understanding these factors and debunking common myths, you can better tailor your hydration strategy to your individual needs. Remember, while water is crucial for health, it’s just one part of a balanced approach to wellness that includes a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and adequate sleep.
Hydration Calculator: How Much Water Do You Need to Drink a Day?
Good hydration can improve your mood, sleep, and overall health and wellness. Find out if your water intake is adequate by using this simple tool.
By Kelly Kennedy, RDNMedically Reviewed by Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES
Reviewed:
Medically Reviewed
It’s important to drink enough water every day, but fluid from water-rich foods will help you hit your hydration goal.Valentina Barreto /Stocksy
Calculating the amount of water you need to drink daily is more complicated than you may think. That’s because hydration needs are far from one-size-fits-all.
In general, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggest that each day women get a total of about 2.7 liters (L), or 11 cups, of fluid and men get about 3.7 L (16 cups). Not all of that fluid has to be water intake. Whole, nutrient-rich foods and beverages, including the following, also count toward your fluid intake:
- Tea
- Coffee
- Sparkling water
- Kombucha
- Coconut water
On the other hand, alcohol is dehydrating and does not count as fluid.
Soda counts but is not a healthy choice.
RELATED: 13 Genius Hacks That Will Help You Stay Hydrated
Find Out How Much Water You Need to Drink per Day
To give yourself a better sense of how much water you need to drink each day, use this hydration calculator.
What Factors Affect Fluid Needs?
Various factors can increase or decrease the amount of fluid your body needs to function at its best.
Birth Sex
Compared with people born female, those born male generally need more fluid to support their increased body mass, lower average body fat, and increased calorie burn each day.
Body Weight
Hydration needs are influenced by the surface area of the body, metabolic rate, and body weight, per a paper published in the July 2016 Annals of Family Medicine. As a result, as body weight increases, fluid needs increase as well, notes the University of Missouri System.
Life Stage
Similarly, when someone is pregnant, they require additional fluids to maintain amniotic fluid levels and keep the baby growing steadily, as PennState discusses. If you’re nursing a growing baby, you’ll need to drink more fluids so that your body can make enough milk, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Diet Quality
As the Mayo Clinic points out, the foods you eat will also affect your hydration and the amount of fluid you’ll need to drink. For example, if you get ample fruits and veggies each day (both of which are packed with hydrating fluid), you won’t need to gulp down as much water.
Soup is another food that is fluid-rich and can help you meet your target water intake.
If you eat a lot of these foods each day, you won’t need to drink quite as much. But if your fruit and vegetable intake is low on any given day, a few extra glasses of water will compensate for the fluid you’ll miss.
Activity Level
When you sweat during exercise or on a hot summer day, you’ll need to replace the fluids you’ve lost by drinking more H2O. As the American College of Sports Medicine points out, the intensity and duration of exercise affects how much you sweat and your subsequent fluid needs. According to a study published in Sports Medicine in March 2017, genetics and how accustomed you are to a given climate can also influence sweat volume.
Unfortunately, calculating exact hydration losses from physical activity is complicated, because people sweat at drastically different rates, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. In other words, even in the exact same conditions, two people of the same gender, weight, and with similar diets will sweat differently — and thus need different amounts of fluid.
RELATED: 6 Unusual Signs of Dehydration
The Importance of Staying Hydrated
While water intake needs vary, one thing is for sure: Meeting your personal hydration needs each day will have a tremendous benefit to your health.
Indeed, as the Harvard School of Public Health points out, good hydration keeps the body functioning properly, lubricates joints, and regulates body temperature. The university also notes that good hydration helps you sleep better, think more clearly, and even puts you in a better mood!
One Last Thing: Don’t Flood Your System All at Once
Drinking water gradually throughout the day is important. Too much water at one time may increase the risk of a condition called hyponatremia, which occurs when the electrolytes in the body become depleted. As the Mayo Clinic states, hyponatremia may be life-threatening.
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Even if you’ve let your hydration habits slip (or you never glugged a ton of water in the first place), it’s never too late to get back on track and set yourself up to reap the health benefits of staying hydrated.
It’s a worthwhile personal challenge. “Our bodies are roughly 60 percent water, so even the slightest bit of dehydration can negatively affect how we function, from energy levels to digestion and even immunity,” says Lisa Moskovitz, RDN, founder of the New York Nutrition Group in New York City. Staying hydrated will also improve your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, as well as keep your digestive system regular, Moskovitz adds. Adequate water is important for healthy gastrointestinal functioning, as it helps you stay regular by breaking down food and keeping stool soft, notes Mayo Clinic.
If you’re not drinking enough, it pays to sip more.
For instance, a review published in August 2018 in Skin Research and Technology suggests that increasing water intake has been shown to improve hydration of the stratum corneum, which is the outer layer of skin. Also consider the mental boost: Even mild dehydration is linked to more fatigue, less alertness, and a lower mood, per a 2015 report. What’s more, studies show that upping h3O intake may help adults with obesity, reduce body fat, and lose weight, per a review published in January 2019 in Nutrients.
It’s clear that most adults generally don’t get enough water — on average, between 2015 and 2018, those in the United States drank about 44 ounces (oz) per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For healthy adults, the ideal amount varies based on factors including birth sex, weight, and activity level, though typically should be higher — about 91 oz for women and 125 oz for men, according to suggestions from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, though some of this can come from water-rich foods and other beverages.
Moskovitz tells her clients to divide their weight in pounds by two — the result is the number, in ounces, she suggests drinking in water per day. For an adult woman who weighs 130 pounds, for example, the target amount of water would be 65 oz per day. (You can also use a hydration calculator for a personalized recommendation.)
Some of your water intake will come from food, some from fluids like coffee and tea, but most should be water. Know that, while rare, it is possible to drink too much water, Moskovitz says, and that can deplete sodium levels in the body, which are a necessary electrolyte for heart and muscle function.
If you’re vowing to drink more h3O, you’re in good company. It’s a personal challenge that Jennifer Ashton, MD, chief medical correspondent of ABC News, took on, writing about her experience in her book The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter — One Month at a Time. She decided to drink only water and (unsweetened) seltzer for one month to see if it could make a measurable difference in how she felt and looked, and if she could develop the habit for the long haul.
“Simply put, water is the most effective way to hydrate your body,” Dr. Ashton notes. She adds that, unlike water, soda and sweetened beverages like juice drinks contain added sugar and calories that offer little nutritional value.
Ready to up your beverage game? One word of advice before you start: Know your baseline hydration level before you adjust your water intake. “Challenge yourself to keep track of water intake for just a few days to get an idea of what your normal intake is like,” says Moskovitz — you might be surprised at just how much water you’re really drinking. Use an app (check out the recommendations below), or try a water bottle that paces your water intake by time of day, like a Hydromate water bottle ($29.95, HydroMate). That will give you a baseline (even if that reality check is, “I never refilled my bottle!”) and help you calculate how much water you need to add to your routine.
Here are six smart ways to drink more water — and make it tasty, too:
1.
Hydrate When You Wake Up and Before Meals
If you put a water bottle in front of you, it’s easy to get lost in the day’s tasks and forget to take sips, but prioritizing hydration morning, afternoon, and evening is important. “Try to have about two glasses of water first thing in the morning and then one glass of water before every meal and snack,” says Moskovitz. There’s a double benefit to pairing food and water: “Drinking h3O also helps you slow down during meal time. If you start a meal with a very empty tummy, it’s easy to eat much faster and forget to thoroughly chew, which impacts how well food is digested,” she says.
What’s more, it also may help you eat less. In a past systematic review, researchers found that increasing water intake helped dieters lose weight, but the habit did not help reduce weight in those who were not looking to shed pounds. Drinking more h3O may help dieters because it might suppress hunger, thus helping people eat less at that meal. Nonetheless, the researchers emphasize that the findings only suggest a link between hydration and weight loss.
To prove that no other factors were responsible for the weight loss, more studies are needed. “The evidence for this association is still low, mostly because of the lack of good-quality studies,” they write.
2. Wrap Up Your Day With Another Bottle of Water
We just encouraged you to drink water once you wake up, but an additional strategy to consider is to bookend your day with another beverage. Meaning: Make sure to have a bottle of water within two hours of waking. Then, two hours before bed, finish another. People who did so (drinking 550 milliliters, or about 18 oz, each time) were able to increase their h30 intake from 44 to 68 oz per day, according to a small study on healthy adults published in Nutrients in April 2020. Participants also benefited from a decrease in blood pressure, as water supported kidney function, allowing the organ to better remove excess sodium from the body. The additional water also aided in proper body temperature regulation, likely due to a boost in circulation.
Make sure to time your intake so that you finish drinking around two hours before bed, otherwise you may have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. This is one before-bed habit that will definitely boost your health (unlike scrolling through TikTok).
3. Eat Your Water by Following a Produce-Heavy Diet
Fruits and vegetables have a high water content that will help you meet your daily quota, says Libby Mills, RDN, a Philadelphia-based spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Fruits like cantaloupe, strawberries, and watermelon, and vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, celery, spinach, and cooked squash are about 90 percent water,” she says. Dairy products, including milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese, are also good sources of water.
4. Experiment With How You Drink Water to Maximize Enjoyment
For Ashton, she had to want to drink more. If you’re the type of person who thinks plain water is, well, too plain, experiment with different temperatures and tastes.
“I knew that if I made hydration as palatable as possible, I’d be able to keep it up more easily,” she says. So she tried water with ice, without ice, at room temperature, and flavored with slices of fruit. Her preference ended up being plain cold water with no ice, but that doesn’t have to be yours. Try out different flavors by adding fresh fruit (like the discarded strawberry tops from breakfast), vegetables (cucumber slices), or herbs (fresh basil or ginger).
5. Keep Track of Hydration With a Smartphone App
Make your water bottle your smartphone’s new companion. “Just like you keep your phone right next to you at all times, you should keep a BPA-free water bottle [within reach],” says Moskovitz. Make your phone work for you by using a well-rated, popular hydration-tracking app, like Water Reminder (free on Google Play), Water Tracker Waterllama (free on the App Store), or Water Drink Reminder (free on Google Play), which allow you to keep track of what you’re consuming.
They will also remind you during the day to start swigging. If you don’t want to download an app, set a timer on your phone to go off every hour to remind you to pause for a few sips.
6. Let Your Water Bottle Do the Work
Smart water bottles are the newest way to nudge you to drink. For instance, the HidrateSpark TAP ($19.99, HidrateSpark) will track the amount of hydration you need, adjust based on your activity, and then glow when it’s time to drink. For an even more high-tech approach, opt for the HidrateSpark PRO ($69.99, HidrateSpark), which uses Bluetooth to keep track of how much you drink each day and can send push notifications to your phone to remind you to keep your hydration goals on track. (Plus, research published in the journal Scientific Reports in March 2022 finds that it’s accurate at gauging your sips.) Neat, huh?
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What is the difference between dehydrated skin and dry skin and how to restore its health and beauty
October 20, 2017
Health
Dry and dehydrated skin are completely different concepts. If you have dry skin, you should not worry, but you need to treat dehydration.
Dry skin
Dry skin is nothing to worry about, it’s natural. It’s like oily or combination, only dry. Such skin is thin, matte, more prone to peeling and sometimes looks dull. All this is because the skin contains little fat.
How to fight
Once and for all, you won’t be able to get rid of dry skin: you were born with it, you can’t change anything. But to make it look healthy is simple: you need to use moisturizing creams and masks, apply lotion after a shower and apply those cosmetics that are right for your type (read the labels carefully!).
Dry skin can often be confused with dehydrated skin, but the latter is characterized by severe wrinkles and visible blood vessels. Dehydrated skin is a completely different matter.
Dehydrated skin
Any skin can become dehydrated, and this is no longer a type, but a temporary condition. Why is the skin like this? First, because of the lack of water. Insufficient fluid intake affects not only the general condition of the body, but also the appearance. Rare care also plays a role: moisturizing is a must, especially in the autumn-winter period. Seasonal factors for skin dehydration include hypothermia, dry air, and excessive exposure to natural tanning and solariums.
In addition, lack of moisture can cause frequent drinking, smoking, stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition and natural aging.
And if you don’t get away from age, then the diet should be changed, and bad habits should be abandoned. Dehydration needs to be treated, because because of this, the skin loses its elasticity, fine wrinkles, redness, a general feeling of discomfort and even itching appear.
How to fight
First of all, dehydration is a lack of water. Therefore, it is worth starting with the establishment of a drinking regimen. Then connect a healthy diet and sound sleep. All this will help your body absorb moisture.
Internal humidification in case of dehydration will not be enough, you need to add external moisture. Proper care includes moisturizing creams, thermal water and masks for dehydrated skin. And no soap! It will dry out the skin even more, leading to peeling and tightness. Instead, you should use milk for washing. It is also worth temporarily abandoning cleansing scrubs, they only injure the skin more.
How to choose the right cream for dehydrated skin
Must contain:
- hyaluronic acid or glycerin – they have a softening effect, remove peeling;
- wax, vegetable oils, fatty acids – retain moisture;
- vitamins C, E, B — have a tonic effect;
- magnesium and calcium – soothe, relieve inflammation;
- elastin and collagen – restore elasticity;
- sun filters – protect against ultraviolet radiation.
Follow these simple rules and your body will look healthy and fresh. Any skin, regardless of type, requires care, do not forget about it!
Cry of the soul or how to understand what type of skin you have – 4fresh blog
Yulia Nekhaychik
The author of the article. Chief Cosmetics Consultant Sativa
Let’s start with the fact that the concept of “skin type” is obsolete. Now cosmetologists and dermatologists talk about “skin condition”, meaning that “type” is forever, and “condition” can change. However, most cosmetic brands use this word in their product classification because consumers are used to skin “types” and understand it that way.
There are four main skin conditions – normal, combination, oily, dry. These words usually describe the amount of sebum on the skin. There are also two terms that can be added to any of these four types – “problematic” and “sensitive”. Under the “problem” skin means the presence of inflammation, pimples (aka acne) and comedones (aka “clogged pores”).
“Sensitive” skin describes an abnormal rapid reaction – redness and tingling to ordinary things (water, cold wind and frost, cosmetics and banal touches).
Everything is simple, but very often you can hear the following phrase from girls: “I don’t understand what kind of skin I have! She seems to be oily, but at the same time there is a constant feeling of dryness! What’s wrong with her? Is it oily or dry?
Another common skin condition is dehydrated. But from a friend or from a neighbor you will not hear this term. You will be told “I have dry skin.” This is the problem with the Russian language. In daily use, the word “dry” skin refers to two different conditions – “fat-free” and “dehydrated”. And if “fat-free” skin is also “dehydrated” at the same time, then “dehydrated” skin can be “oily” or “combination” at the same time.
Did you understand anything? No? Then read below and admire the pictures.
- Dehydrated skin
- Sensitive skin
- Oily skin
- Normal and combination skin
- Skimmed leather
- Problem skin
Let’s start with the most elusive condition – with “dehydrated” skin
We have the upper stratum corneum of the skin, and there is a very specific mixture of fats or, as they say in the specialized literature, lipids, which impregnates this stratum corneum.
They have their own name – lipid barrier of the skin, protective lipid barrier, hydrolipidic barrier, barrier layer of the skin – you can come across different names, but they all mean the same thing – a thin layer of skin with a very important role. The main task of this lipid layer is to retain water in our skin.
The lipids that make up the skin layer have the ability to repel water. Thanks to them, we can swim in the water and not gain extra pounds. And this layer delays the evaporation of water from the inner layers of the skin. We drink water, it enters the skin through the circulatory system, part goes into the lymph and is excreted through the kidneys, and part evaporates through the skin.
While we are doing well with protective lipids, they pass a small amount of water. But if they are damaged, then very strong evaporation begins and the skin constantly dries up.
There is a constant feeling of dryness and tightness. I want to apply moisturizer to my skin.
Outwardly, this skin condition may appear as a fine wrinkled mesh even at a young age, or maybe not. It all depends on the fat content and thickness of the skin, so will be the best reference here is this “constant desire to moisturize the skin.”
Familiar? Then you need to urgently deal with the restoration of this layer of skin.
What to do with dehydrated skin
1. Stop washing the skin with strong surfactants and wash out the unfortunate lipids from the skin. We, on the other hand, love to wash the skin “to a squeak”, which means that we have washed off all the sebum from the skin and got to the fats in the lipid layers. Use milk and cream cleansers instead of gels!
2. Stop scrubbing and peeling your skin every day. Exfoliation is everything, of course, but if you completely exfoliate the stratum corneum, then there is simply nothing for barrier lipids to soak through. The lipid layer will become very thin and begin to let water through.
3. Stop using a single oil for a very long time. As amazing as it is, this is a very cut down diet for the skin. “Thanks” to it, your skin cannot build a normal lipid barrier – it lacks building materials. The layer becomes either very thin, or lipids are formed in an irregular shape. In any case, it starts to leak water.
4. Start using cosmetics to restore the barrier layer. These can be nourishing creams with oils that contain a lot of Omega-3. Of these, the skin builds lipids for the barrier layer. Or look for serums and creams with physiological lipids – phospholipids and ceramides. In such cosmetic products, these same lipids have already been made for the skin, and it remains only to put them in place.
5. Look closely at your diet and add Omega-3s. Cosmetics, of course, are good, but you need to properly nourish the skin from the inside too 🙂
“Sensitive” skin means you have the same problems with the lipid barrier
The second task of the lipid barrier is to keep various allergens and irritants out of the skin.
And if you somehow violated the integrity and strength of this barrier, then these stimuli very quickly begin to penetrate inside and reach various nerve endings too quickly and in large numbers. The skin immediately lets you know about it by hyperreaction to heat and cold, to wind and touch.
Rarely, but sometimes there is an innate sensitivity. The owners of such skin are lucky to have 10 times more nerve endings than the average person. And they, as a rule, can use only gels. All emulsion cosmetics are too active for them.
What to do with sensitive skin?
But, if your skin has become sensitive, then we return to the list above and begin to restore the lipid barrier. And remember that sensitive skin is more likely to be dehydrated.
Can your skin be dehydrated and oily at the same time? Maybe! This means that the bad behavior of the sebaceous gland has been added to the problems with the lipid barrier.
Where does oily skin come from?
Determining oily skin is easy.
You can see everything on it – it shines! But there is too much glitter.
The easiest oil test is a regular paper napkin. They opened it, pressed it to the face for 5 seconds, pressed the cheekbones, chin, T-zone, then removed it from the face and looked. If there are dark greasy spots on the entire napkin, then the skin is definitely oily, if only in the T-zone, then it is combination.
Normally, healthy normal skin also has a slight sheen in the T-zone area, but on the napkin you will see only a barely noticeable trace of sebum – the napkin will turn slightly gray, and not soak through. After dry (in the sense of “fat-free”) skin, the napkin will remain snow-white.
We return to our sebaceous gland and its behavior. How can the amount of fat on the skin be reduced and is it possible? Yes, read the list below!
What to do with oily skin?
1. Stop heavily degreasing the skin and wash it “to a squeak”.
Very often oily skin is the work of our hands.
When we completely wash off sebum from the skin, the sebaceous gland receives a signal that it has disappeared somewhere and that it is necessary to restore its amount as soon as possible.
After all, it’s not just on the skin. Sebum is an integral part of the hydrolipid mantle of the skin – the very first protective barrier. Therefore, as soon as we washed off the sebum from the skin, the sebaceous gland immediately begins to synthesize it. We wash, she works, we wash, she works even harder – what if it’s not enough again. And so on until the skin shines, and we run for a remedy for oily skin.
2. Accept if your age is between 12 and 18 years old.
You now have a lot of testosterone wandering in the body, and the sebaceous gland feels it very well. For her, testosterone is the command to turn ON. Therefore, by the way, men’s skin is much fatter than women’s. At this age, the most important thing is to keep yourself in control and not “get hooked” on strong degreasing care, because you will be 19-20 years old, the hormones will calm down, but the sebaceous gland will not.
Therefore, see paragraph above.
3. Blood test for sex hormones, if you are over 20 years old.
The sebaceous gland does not think to calm down, but at the same time, you swear by your mother that you do not use alcohol lotions, matting wipes, do you prefer to wash your skin with cosmetic milk, cream, cream (yes, yes, this happens) or oil? This is an occasion to check if everything is in order with the hormones.
4. Look closely at your diet, if the previous points are followed.
The fact is that food with a high glycemic and insulin index causes the active formation of sebum. Such foods cause insulin surges, insulin increases the sensitivity of the sebaceous gland to testosterone, you just ate cake or lean on protein sports shakes, and the sebaceous gland decided that puberty had begun again.
5. Look for household allergen.
The sebaceous gland is a capricious lady and does not like small volatile molecules.
Allergens can be different, but, as a rule, she reacts to something with strong odors – household chemicals, washing powders and rinses, cosmetics with strong fragrances, or perfumes.
6. Look at creams for oily skin.
They can help if intense sebum secretion is tied to testosterone. Such cosmetics contain oils and extracts that reduce the sensitivity of the sebaceous gland to testosterone.
A few words about normal and combination skin
The fact is that true combination skin with an oily T-zone and dry areas on the cheekbones or along the lower jaw is not so common, especially in youth. But, somewhere around 70% of our beautiful ladies believe that they have combination skin. The reason for this is gloss, photoshop, which elevated the dullness of the skin to the canon of beauty.
Remember, normal healthy skin always has a slight sheen in the T-zone because there are more sebaceous glands than on the rest of the face!
Often, young girls, seeing this shine, consider themselves to be owners of combination or even oily skin and begin to fight it.
Which leads to either even more shine, or sensitivity and dehydration, or both at the same time.
Usually such skin is described by the words: “The forehead and sometimes the nose shines, but the rest seems to be normal.” If this is your case, then do not worry too much, everything will pass. With age, the sebaceous gland gets tired of working and begins to secrete less and less sebum.
The combination of “intensely oily T-zone with an excited sebaceous gland and overdried areas on the cheekbones and chin” means that a whole range of problems has been collected here.
Dry areas on the skin show that in these places something is wrong either with the sebaceous gland (there are a meager amount of them), or in these places the protective lipid barrier begins to break down and you need to carefully look at your care and your nutrition. A too oily T-zone signals that something is too strong for the sebaceous gland.
What to do with such skin?
We look at the points above, to the previous skin type.
About dry, fat-free skin to finally close the topic of the sebaceous gland
For Slavic and Asian skin, a dry state is not typical at all. They balance between combination and normal skin conditions for a very long time. But if the skin becomes dry and dull, the sebaceous gland almost stops producing sebum, this is an occasion to think about your health and pay attention to the following points:
1. Review the diet. Very often this is a clear sign of lack of Omega-3, vitamin D or even a whole complex of vitamins and microelements.
If you follow any diet and your skin has become dry over time, then this is an occasion to go first to take a blood test for trace element composition and vitamin D content, and then go talk to a nutritionist. Let’s take a closer look at what’s wrong. This is perfectly corrected by nutrition and creams with oils containing Omega-3.
2. Get tested for female sex hormones and thyroid hormones.
This may be one of the symptoms of a malfunction in the endocrine system. You need a visit to an endocrinologist. Especially if you are over 35 years old. Here, cosmetics can only alleviate the symptoms, but will not be able to solve the issue completely and irrevocably. Your choice is the most oily creams and cosmetics with hyaluronic acid, as watering of the skin is disturbed.
3. If your skin is like this from birth or you have atopic dermatitis.
This means that your skin cannot itself produce some lipids to build a lipid barrier and the activity of the sebaceous gland is also inhibited. Your choice is fatty creams and cosmetics with physiological lipids. Let’s work for your skin.
Hit of the season – problem skin
Inflammation and clogged pores, pimples and comedones, acne and more acne. These are the most frequent queries in search engines on the topic of cosmetics, cosmetologists and skin. They are associated with two areas in the skin – our sebaceous gland and our skin microflora.
Acne and comedones can occur together on the same skin, or they can poison the life of their mistress separately.
Where do acne come from and what can you do about it? The sebaceous gland works a lot and works well, because of this, the acidity of the hydrolipid mantle changes. Instead of pH 5.5, it becomes pH 6-7. Because of this, propion-acne bacteria begin to actively multiply, which, in fact, constantly live on the skin and eat our sebum. As a result, we see a spasmodic explosion of their population and pimples on the face. Sometimes another symbiont bacterium may be responsible for pimples, but the meaning is the same – acidity has changed – the balance of microflora has been disturbed.
What to do with such skin and inflammation on the face?
1. Read the section on oily skin and ways to calm the raging sebaceous gland.
There will be no excess fat, the acidity of the skin will be in order, the mycoflora will restore itself.
2. Use acidifying tonics.
Until we find out what is happening with the sebaceous gland, time will pass, but we need to live right now, so … We lower the acidity of the skin ourselves with our own hands.
3. Use gels and creams with strong antioxidants and strong anti-inflammatory extracts to relieve skin inflammation.
4. Spot (!) use alcohol solutions of calendula, propolis, salicylic acid and acne sticks to remove inflammation.
Once again – pointwise, with a cotton swab, apply to the pimple itself, and do not wipe the whole face!
Where do comedones come from and how to escape in this situation?
Comedones are thick sebum that clogged the duct of the sebaceous gland and formed a plug. Sometimes they are on their own, and if propionobacterium acne is inside such a duct, then we will get a pimple, because in addition to sebum and high acidity, these bacteria are very fond of an oxygen-free environment.
Such sebaceous plugs can form for two reasons:
- The acidity of the skin has changed – the exfoliation process has been disturbed.
- Too thick sebum is synthesized.
It works like clockwork at a normal pH of 5.5. But if the acidity rises, then the work of enzymes is disrupted, which open the latches between the scales of the stratum corneum and allow them to crumble from the skin like dry leaves. Some of the latches do not open and the scale stubbornly continues to cling to its neighbors. If this occurs on the surface of the skin, then we see a gray dull color, peeling and thickening. And if this happens inside the duct, through which sebum flows to the surface, then a congestion occurs and a plug forms.
The sebaceous gland lacks some substances from your diet, most often Omega-3 again. Because of this, it makes sebum, which is very low in squalene.
Squalene is a very strong antioxidant that prevents sebum from oxidizing and hardening.
As a result, hard sebaceous plugs begin to form in the ducts of the sebaceous glands. And the most offensive, such oxidized sebum makes the sebaceous gland work even more intensively.
How can we help the skin in this situation
1. Regulate the acidity of the skin with acidifying tonics and help it normalize exfoliation.
2. We add strong antioxidants to the skin in various gels and creams to slow down the rate of sebum oxidation.
3. We are looking for an irritant for the sebaceous gland.
Often, the formation of comedones can be provoked by some ingredient in cosmetics or household chemicals, to which your sebaceous gland is highly sensitive. It cannot be said that this or that substance is comedogenic in general and in general – forget about comedogenicity tables, this information is already outdated and does not correspond to reality. Rather, it should be said that it is your sebaceous gland that reacts to something with high comedogenicity.