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In the pursuit of beauty, I have done strange and extreme things (think freezing my love-handle fat and tattooing on eyeliner) but there is a significantly less arduous action I haven’t tried. Drinking litres of water daily.
I think my resistance stems from the fact we didn’t carry water bottles with us in the 1970s and I don’t recall the general populace looking like walking husks then. Plus, when I started my career, a dermatologist told me that by the time dehydration showed on your face, you’d be dead.
So even as H2O became a ‘beauty elixir’, I refused to succumb and still drank mainly tea, with water mostly reserved for mealtimes. (This proved useful career-wise, because in my Devil Wears Prada-assistant era I needed minimal bathroom breaks, giving me an edge.)
But lately I’ve been starting to feel the pressure from the water-gluggers. People I respect tell me it’s a good idea. And I suspect having pee the colour of creosote is my body’s way of saying more hydration would be good. So I started a two-week experiment of drinking two litres a day – and meanwhile quizzed dermatologist Dr Stefanie Williams, medical director of London clinic Eudelo, on whether it’s worth it from a beauty perspective.
First I ask if mild dehydration (I’m not talking extremes here) will show up on my skin? ‘It’s a myth that drinking more water will fix dehydrated or dull skin,’ she says. ‘That’s about creating or maintaining a strong skin barrier.’
Nutritionist Emma Bardwell, author of The 30g Plan Cookbook (Ebury, £20) agrees. ‘Skin is not a particularly sensitive marker of mild dehydration, and science doesn’t back up the claim that we need to drink litres and litres of water to look radiant,’ she says.
Experts say that being well hydrated helps support blood flow to skin, which in turn delivers nutrients and removes waste products
‘In fact, a water-drinking study (Myth or Reality by Wolf et al) showed no difference in the complexion of those taking part after four weeks of increased water intake. So water isn’t a cure-all that suddenly gives you glass skin.’
However, she caveats this by saying: ‘It’s important to note that being well hydrated helps support blood flow to skin, which in turn delivers nutrients and removes waste products, and this arguably might make skin look better.
‘Every cell in the body relies on fluid for normal functioning. Good hydration supports circulation, digestion, temperature regulation, cognition and bowel health, all of which indirectly influence how we look and feel. The issue is that wellness culture sometimes oversimplifies it to “drink more water and all your problems disappear”.’
Noted. I buy some bougie water bottles to incentivise myself because my teenage daughter seems to garner so much joy from hers (she calls it her ‘emotional support Stanley’). And I can confirm there’s a dopamine hit that comes from swigging water from my one-litre Frank Green bottle (it can even be monogrammed for extra delight) and Beau bottle (elicits envy in the office).
Two weeks later the results are in. My pee is now straw-coloured and I’m less snacky. I think getting sufficient water means I’m not mistaking my thirst signals for hunger ones. My skin looks significantly more radiant, but then I have just had the skin booster Belotero Revive (an injectable hydrator).
Still, I’m going to keep it up, just being mindful about how much I’ve had – downing a glass of water first thing helps to up my daily consumption. I tell my go-to cosmetic doctor Dr Vicky Dondos about it.
She thinks it’s a good idea but says to be wary of too much straw-sucking – she has seen an increase in barcode lines around the lips in women who constantly use them.
More validation for sticking to old-school sipping.
Don’t bother adding these!
I’m often advised to put electrolytes into my water, but nutritionist Emma Bardwell thinks most people doing normal day-to-day activities probably don’t need them. ‘They’ve become a huge marketing scam in my opinion,’ she says. ‘They can absolutely be useful in certain situations: endurance exercise, heavy sweating, illness involving vomiting or diarrhoea, hot climates or during menopause when hot flushes and night sweats are significant. But for the average person, water plus a balanced diet usually covers electrolyte needs perfectly well.’
Need to know
Our thirst signal becomes weaker with age. Bardwell says this might ‘partly explain why older adults are at higher risk of dehydration, becoming less responsive to thirst cues, even when the body needs fluid. That’s why relying on thirst isn’t always the best strategy as we age, especially during hot weather.’
£10 beauty buy
IsoSkin Hypochlorous Cleansing Solution (£10 for 100ml, hollandandbarrett.com) is excellent for breakout-prone skin, as it’s antimicrobial. It also fights acne-causing bacteria, calms insect bites and sunburn, so is perfect for holidays.
Sunkissed in seconds
Self Glow by James Read Golden Days Milky Tan Toner (£39 for 80ml, jamesreadglow.com) delivers a super-fine mist that distributes glow evenly. I was sceptical about using self-tan in a spray, but this has won me over.
Mane attraction
Larry King Ride or Die Texture Spray (£25, larrykinghair.com) is worth buying for the packaging alone. Luckily, the formulation delivers, too – adding volume, conditioning and creating an effortless, tousled look à la Kate Moss.
