How to Hydrate Skin from the Inside Out: 3-Day Guide
If you have dry, dehydrated skin, consider following this holistic regimen. At the end of it, your skin should be noticeably more hydrated, but it’s important to maintain the routine for maximum benefits.
If you have dry, red, scaly, or irritated skin, your moisture barrier may need some good old-fashioned TLC.
But moisture barrier damage isn’t permanent. The right lifestyle changes may help reverse the damage and restore proper hydration to your skin. And the best part is that you might only need a few days.
Sleeping schedule
If you want to jumpstart healing your skin’s moisture barrier, try to get enough sleep.
Your sleeping hours are when your skin repairs itself and restores its barrier, and getting more (and better quality) sleep goes a long way toward helping your skin repair its moisture barrier.
Aim for 7 to 9 hours of quality shut-eye to help encourage your skin’s healing process.
You might not be able to change when you have to wake up the next day, but changing when you go to bed — even if it’s earlier than you’re used to — may help you get enough shut-eye for your skin to repair itself during the night.
What to drink
When it comes to repairing your moisture barrier, many people focus on products, but what you put into your body is just as important as what you put on your body.
If you want to repair your moisture barrier and replenish skin hydration, you need to give your body what it needs to stay hydrated: water.
The outermost layer of your skin is 30% water, and focusing on staying hydrated may help offset water loss and increase skin barrier function.
What to do
- Consider your pillowcase: To protect your skin, consider swapping out your cotton pillowcase for a softer, less absorbent and abrasive fabric, such as silk, bamboo, or satin. Silk fabric may absorb less moisture than cotton, though there’s no scientific evidence to back this up.
- Check your cleanser’s labeling: It’s important to wash your face every day, but the wrong cleanser could strip your skin of its protective oils and do more harm to your moisture barrier than good. You might need to ditch foaming or antibacterial cleansers, exfoliating washes, or scented products, at least temporarily. Instead, opt for “gentle” cleansers.
Sleeping schedule
Again, aim to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep to give your skin enough time to properly heal.
What to eat
- Healthy fats: Salmon and tuna are high in healthy fats, which may help strengthen your skin’s moisture barrier. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you can still get these nutrients from plant-based sources, like flax seed, which is rich in omega-3s, or pumpkin seeds, which are rich in omega-6s.
- Zinc: To maximize the moisture barrier-repairing benefits of your meals, increase your zinc intake. Zinc may boost collagen production in the skin and speed up the repair process. Foods high in zinc include shellfish, beans, meats, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
- Collagen: Daily consumption of collagenTrusted Source may benefit joints and skin, though there isn’t enough clinical evidence yet to confirm this.
What to do today
Stock up on the right products
Yesterday, you ditched the cleansers that suck the moisture out of your skin. Today, it’s time to stock up on skin care products with the ingredients that are going to replenish that moisture.
Important ingredients to look for are:
- ceramides to help repair skin and prevent transepidermal water loss
- hyaluronic acid (HA), a humectant that binds moisture and helps slow down the rate at which water evaporates from the skin (HA can bind up to 1,000 times its weight in water!)
- lipids and fatty acids to make up the moisture barrier and hold moisture in — and which you’ll need to replenish if you want to repair it
Oil up your skin
Even if you don’t think you have the right products on hand, you may have just what you need to repair your moisture barrier in your pantry.
Try applying coconut oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil on top of a heavy moisturizer. These kitchen ingredients are also known for their moisturizing properties.
If turning to your pantry isn’t up your alley, try vitamin E oil instead. This nutrient is also highly moisturizing (and helps give the oils above their moisturizing properties).
Hydrate overnight
If you want to help speed up the moisture barrier repair process, try to hydrate around the clock. And a good way to do that is with a hydrating sleeping mask.
For a DIY option, mix half a cucumber in a blender with a few tablespoons of aloe vera gel until it reaches a smooth consistency, then spread a thin layer over your face.
Aloe vera is known for its hydrating potential, while cucumber may help soothe dryness or irritation.
Sleeping schedule
Still aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep if your schedule allows.
What to eat
For a meal that a) tastes delicious and b) seriously repairs your moisture barrier, slice up a sweet potato, toss it in olive oil, and roast it in the oven. Pair it with baked salmon and roasted or steamed broccoli and asparagus.
Or try our recipe for sweet potato avocado toast!
Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C, which may boost collagen production, while olive oil is full of the essential fatty acids you need to boost your moisture barrier.
What to do today
- Try slugging: Slugging uses an occlusive, like petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or Aquaphor, to seal in moisture. It forms a barrier over your skin and may help prevent transepidermal water loss. Apply an occlusive over clean, damp skin and leave it on overnight or for a few hours before washing it off.
- Check on your stress levels: Stress may impairTrusted Source your skin barrier function and delay the repair process. Try to find ways to keep your stress at a minimum. What this looks like will vary for everyone.
Think of this 3-day fix as a jump-start to an improved moisture barrier.
While you’ll likely see some results by the end of day 3, you’ll need to try to keep up the good habits if you want lasting improvement to the skin.
Hydrate your skin internally
Focus on hydrating foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and drinks, namely water.
Though it hasn’t been scientifically proven that eating a varied, nutritious diet moisturizes the skin from the inside, there are plenty of other reasons to do so.
Hydrate your skin externally
Consider following these additional tips to help your skin retain moisture:
- Limit contact with hot water: Hot water may rob your skin of its moisturizing oils. Lukewarm water is best if you want to preserve your skin barrier. If you want to bathe, consider an oatmeal bath. Oatmeal has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may soothe dry, irritated skin.
- Carefully consider your skin care products: “Gentle” is the keyword for severely dry skin. Skim ingredient lists for alcohol or denatured alcohol, perfume, fragrance, or dyes. Instead, stock up on products that contain hydrating ingredients.
- Use a humidifier: The air around you can dry out your skin, especially during the colder months when the air lacks humidity. A humidifier helps add moisture back into the air, which your skin may benefit from.
- Always remember sunscreen: A broad spectrum SPF (aim for at least 30) should be part of your daily skin care routine. Sunscreen protects your skin from sun damage and can help prevent stress on your skin’s moisture barrier.
- Use a moisturizing mask: To maintain and replenish your skin’s moisture throughout the week, you can try a DIY face mask. You can also try a store-bought mask, but remember to read the ingredients closely.
There’s no overnight fix for healthier, more hydrated skin. You may see temporary relief with a moisturizing product, but this may only replace your moisture barrier instead of healing it.
With these tips and this three-day schedule, we can help you restore your skin’s moisture barrier. But if you want lasting results, you’ll need to maintain a consistent, gentle, and hydrating skin care routine for more than three days.
Consider introducing one or two new habits at a time, creating a weekly meal plan full of skin-healthy ingredients, and drinking more water to help hydrate from the inside out.
References
- Al-Khafaji Z, et al. (2022). Zinc and zinc transporters in dermatology.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9785331/ - Bravo B, et al. (2022). Benefits of topical hyaluronic acid for skin quality and signs of skin aging: From literature review to clinical evidence.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10078143/ - de Oliveira Pinto CAS, et al. (2021). Vitamin E in human skin: Functionality and topical products.
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/77087 - DePhillipo NN, et al. (2018). Efficacy of vitamin C supplementation on collagen synthesis and oxidative stress after musculoskeletal injuries: A systematic review.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6204628/ - Lupu M-A, et al. (2020). Beneficial effects of food supplements based on hydrolyzed collagen for skin care (Review).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7271718/ - Lyu F, et al. (2023). Stress and its impairment of skin barrier function.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijd.16598 - Parke MA, et al. (2021). Diet and skin barrier: The role of dietary interventions on skin barrier function.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7875671/ - Seol JE, et al. (2024). Effect of amount of daily water intake and use of moisturizer on skin barrier function in healthy female participants.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11148315/ - Smith TJ, et al. (2018). Impact of sleep restriction on local immune response and skin barrier restoration with and without “multinutrient” nutrition intervention.
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00547.2017?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org - Sunscreen FAQs. (2025).
https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/sun-protection/sunscreen-patients/sunscreen-faqs
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