I Tried Drinking More Water Like Tessa Thompson & It Completely Saved My Skin
You've been there before: You're scrolling through your Instagram feed when you see your favorite celeb post about their favorite new product — a face serum, vitamins that will make your skin brighter, or a specialty food service. You can't help but want to be like the stars, but are the products worth it? In Elite Daily's new series, I Tried, we put it all to the test. We're trying those products as well as celebrities' health and wellness tips, recipes, and life hacks. We'll do the leg work and tell you what living like your fave star is really like.
I don't want to make a big deal out of it or anything, but I've gotten my health sh*t together. In 2018, I got my yoga teacher certification, lost 15 pounds, picked up meditation, got way, way into crystals, and decided hundreds of dollars sounded reasonable to spend on skincare. That said, I simultaneously picked up some not so awesome habits. All of the extra hours of productivity call for more coffee. And, because of my extra hard work, I've earned more glasses of wine throughout the week. So, for January, I tried drinking more water like Tessa Thompson as a New Year's resolution.
Let me tell you — water is a cool drug, guys. I highly recommend.
In general, I run dry and always, always feel thirsty. I can't fall asleep if I forget to put water next to my bed. I also have allergies and eczema, which means my eyes are always dry, my skin is always cracked, and my base setting is "parched." So, when the New Year rolled around and I was patting myself on the back for all the positive changes I just made in 2018, I was eager to keep the good vibes rolling. I did some research and came across this New Year's resolution from Thompson: "Drink more water, because you can never drink enough."
This isn't anything revolutionary. Basically, from the time we can understand language we're told to drink eight glasses of water a day. Why is that so hard? *She wonders, as she pounds her third cup of coffee.* For me, it's just a matter of making it muscle memory. I don't care about soda and usually don't stock up on sugary juices. In my case (and I suspect many other millennials' cases) it's this simple: Daytime is for coffee. Nighttime is for wine or tea.
Coffee is a necessity for me. It's as vital as air. Asking me to give up coffee is like asking me to stop human-ing. And while I don't drink wine every night (humble brag), I do prefer it with my nighttime Great British Baking Show episodes over a glass of water.
So it was settled. January 2019 was the month of H20. First, I bought myself a gallon of water and pounded it easily throughout the workday. Yes, I peed a lot, but it never felt like "too much" the way I heard others describe it. It also didn't feel particularly effortful. I sat the gallon by my work desk and just went to town. Monday through Friday, it was kind of NBD.
Then, the first weekend hit.
Living in New York, it's super, super common to leave your house in the morning and not return home until you're physically unable to stay conscious. Not because I was partying or anything, it's just that commute, man! It doesn't make any sense to return home if I have somewhere else to be later that day! And carrying around a gallon of water was less than ideal. For starters, it was heavy AF in the morning. Secondly, it didn't fit neatly into my backpack or bag, which meant I had to carry it by the handle all day. (Not sexy and kind of weird to roll into happy hour with.) So, it was on me to just remember to drink water whenever I could. Fortunately, almost everywhere offers free tap water. If not, it's easy enough to track down a water fountain. And so, my routine was set. During the work week I'd drink as much as I could and on weekends or nights out I just vowed to do my best.
Wouldn't you freaking know it? I started to feel great.
For one thing, my stomach was too full in the mornings to keep dumping liquid after liquid into it, which naturally brought my coffee intake down from three cups to two. If I was drinking booze, I tried the ol' "one glass of water for every glass of wine" trick and found it not only stopped me from getting sloppy but it saved my wallet a little bit, too! Turns out it takes just as much time to drink two glasses of wine and one glass of water as it does to drink three glasses of wine. Who knew?
The benefits showed up in one other place the most — my skin, baby. I went for a little before-and-after action and genuinely saw results. Look:
Yes, obviously I'm wearing loads of mascara and eyeliner in the "after" and I objectively hadn't showered for at least 48 hours in the "before." But, still. Check out the dry, puffy skin around my eyes and general splotchiness of my face. It's a small difference, but it's there.
Actually, I even got a microdermabrasion facial my mom gifted to me via Groupon for Christmas (thanks, mom) and had a professional tell me — and I quote — "You are hydrated."
Yes, bish! Say it again!
Having had chronic acne as a kid, my literal dream is to have a skincare expert use me as a "goals" example. Thank you baby-faced Jesus.
To be super transparent, this is a slow-and-steady kind of life change. You probably won't see or notice the benefits of more water in your bloodstream until further down the road. Based on the internet and I guess science, over time you should notice tons of benefits like more even energy levels, easier digestion, deeper sleep, and yes, nice skin. But, I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know.
The easiest way to work more water into your day is to simply work more water into your day. Anytime you go to sip something, ask yourself, "Wait a second, is this water or is this a 5-Hour Energy shot/Gatorade/Diet Coke/sweet tea/Jägerbomb/latte/frozen daiquiri/hot chocolate?" You guys get the picture. If the answer is yes to anything other than water, don't drink it. Or, if you must, have a glass of water after it, too.
Listen, it's worth it. Take care of you, boo. And if you don't take it from me, take it from Tessa Thompson. She's a movie star and looks like this:
