As a java junkie of the tallest order, I’ve often wondered if my frankly frightening fixation had any fall-out effect on my face. Time for some investigative shenanigans!
Let’s examine the “brewing” body of evidence, shall we. For starters, what’s undisputed is the fact that most caffeinated drinks are mildly diuretic; that is, they make you pee more than usual. Coffee also constricts your blood vessels, meaning less fluid gets funnelled to your skin.
Translation? If your daily liquid intake comes from nothing other than coffee or other caffeinated beverages, “it’s time to start worrying about skin dehydration,” cautions Joshua Wong, senior patient care pharmacist at Guardian Health & Beauty Singapore.
What’s the deal with dehydration? Lab-coated folks, for one, have long fingered the condition as a key factor in the formation of Shar Pei-like folds on your skin. To wit, Dr Adam Geyer, Kiehl’s consulting dermatologist, says that dehydration occurs when the levels of water in the skin drops below 10 percent.
Even worse, Dr Geyer warns that “this imbalance can lead to dull, tired, rough looking skin, more visible fine lines, skin that is more susceptible to aging and an appearance that is older than it actually is.” Bummer.
Should we really, really eschew our espressos? Coffee fiends holding out for respite, fret not. As it turns out, it’s unlikely that moderate caffeine consumption will cause lasting damage to our dermis. “It’s generally accepted that 400 mg of caffeine – approximately three to four cups of coffee – for an average person is safe, while pregnant women should limit their daily caffeine intake to less than 200mg,” Joshua Wong says.
Spooked into switching to decaf? There’s no need to ditch your coffee and Danish just yet. The trick is in getting enough H20 into your system; some researchers recommend downing a glass of plain ol’ water for every mug of coffee you imbibe.
Oh, and for all this talk of oral rehydration, be sure to take care of things on the topical front as well. To that end, I’m seriously loving Kiehl’s new superheroine serum, the impressively monickered Hydro-Plumping Re-Texturizing Serum Concentrate.
This satiny salve from the American heritage beauty brand comes chock-full of thirst-quenching ingredients like glycerin and shiso leaf extract, both of which work to wick water into the deepest layers of your skin.
Near-instant gratification guaranteed as well: The Serum Concentrate promises to plump up fine lines for surpassingly soft skin after just one week of use. And because this is Kiehl’s we’re talking about, this go-getter has also been clinically proven to bump up the potency of your follow-up moisturisers by up to two times. Neat, yes.
So, some key takeaways: Mocha in moderation, and moisturise, moisturise, moisturise. I’ll sip to that!
Kiehl’s Hydro-Plumping Re-Texturizing Serum Concentrate, $80 for 50 ml, is available at all Kiehl’s stores. For more information, visit www.kiehlstimes.com and follow Kiehl’s Singapore on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.