In addition to using water to keep their skin clean, people with
acne are advised to drink at least half their body weight in ounces
of water each day. This means a one-hundred-pound individual
should drink fifty ounces, or about seven glasses, of water a day.
Water carries waste material out of the body. This includes harmful
chemicals, fats, and excess hormones. Without adequate water,
the kidneys cannot produce enough urine to flush out wastes.
Therefore, impurities that cannot be eliminated through urination
are eliminated through the skin. This can cause toxins to build up
in the pores, worsening acne outbreaks.
In addition, without adequate
water the liver, whose job it is to clear excess hormones out
of the body, cannot function properly. As a result, excess hormones
remain inside the body, where they stimulate the production of sebum
and worsen acne. According to author and skin care expert
Jennifer Thoden:
Water . . . is quite possibly the single most important contributor
to healing and preventing acne flare-ups. . . . If not enough
water is consumed, toxins can build up causing breakouts. Water
flushes these toxins out. . . . By drinking at least 8 glasses of
water a day, you are flushing out the toxins that would normally
escape through the pores of your skin . . . thus preventing acne
breakouts.
