We all know the facts, or do we? Water is the most necessary element that our bodies need in order to function, period. How much is not a debate. All health practitioners know the importance of water and what to advise. We have all experienced thirst and we have probably even experienced what we know as dehydration. But there is so much more to this that many of us are not aware of. Dehydration shows itself in very subtle ways, especially on the skin and often this is the first way that we see what our bodies are dealing with. It’s up to us to develop the awareness to notice.

Water makes up 60-75% of human body weight. It is an important structural component of skin cartilage, tissues and organs. For human beings, every part of the body is dependent on water; the brain consists of 85% water, blood is 90%, muscles are 75%, kidneys are 82% and bones are 22% water. The functions of our glands and organs will eventually deteriorate if they are not nourished with good, clean water. Does this make you want to reach for a glass?

At the age of 18 I studied to become a beauty therapist. I was to go into nursing, as the anatomy and physiology of the human body (had and still does) always interested me. However, there was the matter of my creativity and what to do with it. I wanted to make people feel good, but I wasn’t sure that blood and needles and bed pans were the full extent of what I could do with my artistic skills, and so beauty therapy snuck into the equation of my working life and then makeup artistry took a stronger foothold and off I went. Through the early years working as a therapist for both a small business I owned and also for the skincare company Clarins, I learnt so much about the skin and it’s performance over the various muscles, sinew and skeleton it covers. My job enabled me to see and feel with my eyes and hands, the movements of muscles in the face, elasticity of the skin over it, side effects of various lifestyle choices and environmental impact on it. As I transitioned into doing makeup full time, there were countless conversations with people, that gave me all the fodder I needed to stockpile a catalogue of skin ailments. What did and didn’t work, how they had suffered and what could they do.

The most outstanding ailment of all has always been dehydration. Working as a makeup artist for 30 years has brought to my attention, the differences of people’s views on what a healthy lifestyle may look like and more importantly how their skin behaves as a result. Water intake so seemingly insignificant in the scheme of our daily lives, is one of the most critical factors in the health and well being of the physical body overall and the most overlooked. A loss of just 4% of total body water leads to dehydration, and a loss of 15% can be fatal. This crucial dependence on water broadly governs all life forms. When we feel thirsty, we don’t always reach for a glass of water, we may have something else instead.

Most people may be dehydrated and don’t even know. When I’m applying makeup to people I often see cracked and dry lips and this may be a result of dehydration. The next thing will be the overall appearance of the skin. Often large pores, very small weathered like lines/crepey appearance on the skins surface (more apparent when the skin is pushed upwards), loss of colour, too much colour or even loss of firmness, which can all be results of dehydration; and that’s just the skin. There is a whole other assault happening to the body as a result of this lack. Continuous water loss over time will speed up ageing as well as increase risks of disease.

This may be another incentive for you to seriously consider how much water you drink. If your body is not sufficiently hydrated, the cells will draw water from your bloodstream, which will make your heart work harder. At the same time, the kidneys cannot purify blood effectively. When this happens, some of the kidney’s workload is passed on to the liver and other organs, which may cause them to be severely stressed. Additionally, you may develop a number of minor health conditions such as constipation, dry and itchy skin, acne, nose bleeds, urinary tract infection, coughs, sneezing, sinus pressure and headaches. Mild but frequent dizziness can also be a problem for some and low blood pressure.

So how much? The minimum amount of water you need depends on your body weight. The equation for this can be hard to work out. But a healthy intake is 2 litres per day for a woman and about 2.5 litres per day for a man. Water carries nutrients to all cells in our body and oxygen to our brain. I often hear stories of lethargy, fatigue, cramping and dizziness, as well as complaints about skin texture and health and many of these symptoms are a result of dehydration. Water allows the body to absorb and assimilate minerals, vitamins, amino acids, glucose and other substances, which help in the overall functioning of every cell and organ of the body. Water flushes out toxins and waste, and as the skin is the biggest living organ of the body, it’s no wonder that if it’s full of toxins, it’s visible. Water helps to regulate body temperature also and acts as a lubricant for joints and muscles.

Makeup can enhance the skin’s overall appearance, but it can’t change everything. So loving the skin you’re in has to start with looking after you. Water provides the best prevention and treatment to your whole person, than anything else you can do for it, and in no way should be taken for granted. The human body cannot store water and every day we are losing it through breathing, sweating and the release of urine and faeces. So ensuring that lost fluids are replenished across the whole day and that our bodies are correctly hydrated, is essential for good health and for the body to operate.

Water should be your best friend because it is your bodies best friend. It can help clear the mind, improve eyesight, give you high amounts of energy due to the fact that it carries oxygen through your body, and it will smooth out that crepey skin in no time, if you make it a daily ritual. If you find it hard to remember while you’re at home, then fill up a 2 litre jug each day, drink consistently, and by the end of the day you’ll you know how much you’ve had. I find it easy if I have a drink bottle that I can transport around with me, I can re-fill it and it’s a good way to measure it. Before you know it, you will have ingrained it into your daily routine and you will notice your thirst as soon as you can’t have a sip at will. Many will say that it makes them go to the toilet all the time, this does sort itself out, but is it such a big deal to go to the toilet?, your body does need to flush daily too.

By the time you have read this article, I guarantee you will be thirsty… I encourage you to go and have a glass now.

Through acts of self-care and kindness like this, we begin to realise how much control we have over our capacity to live fully; making conscious decisions and not habitual ones. Beginning with the simple and profound awareness of what we put into our bodies, is a great start.