Does drinking a lot of water really help against dry skin and wrinkles?
Drinking extra water barely helps against dry skin and demonstrably does not help against wrinkles. Collagen peptides at 1000 mg per day for 12 weeks have the best supporting evidence, although much of that evidence comes from manufacturer-funded research.
Drinking more water helps a little against dry skin, but the effect is small. A systematic review of six studies found a slight increase in the moisture content of the upper skin layer, especially in people who had previously been drinking little1,2. Exactly how this works is unknown. Whether it also works in older people is unclear. The evidence is sparse and of limited quality.
Drinking more water demonstrably does not help against wrinkles. There is simply no evidence for that link. The same systematic review explicitly calls for more research into this, which says enough.
Structurally drinking too little is a different matter. A large 2024 review study links chronically insufficient fluid intake, measured via blood and urine values, to a higher risk of accelerated ageing and chronic disease3. This is a statistical association, not yet a proven cause-and-effect relationship. Intervention studies are still ongoing. The lesson: prolonged insufficient fluid intake may be broadly harmful in the long run, not just for your skin.
If you genuinely want to do something about skin hydration and wrinkles, collagen peptides currently have the strongest supporting evidence. Two placebo-controlled RCTs showed that 1000 mg of collagen peptides daily for 12 weeks significantly improved skin hydration, elasticity and wrinkle depth4,5. A third study also observed improvement in the deeper skin layers, after as little as four weeks6. No side effects were reported. One note of caution: several of these studies were (partly) funded by the manufacturer, which may have influenced the results.
Co-enzyme Q10 showed fewer wrinkles and smoother skin in one small RCT with 33 participants at 50 to 150 mg per day over 12 weeks, but had no effect on skin hydration7. The study is too small for strong conclusions. Confirmation by larger studies is still lacking.
Based on one systematic review of 6 studies (PMID 29392767, 30609670), one large epidemiological review study (PMID 38409366), three placebo-controlled RCTs on collagen peptides (PMID 29949889, 31627309, 26362110) and one small RCT on co-enzyme Q10 (PMID 27548886). Two collagen studies disclose (partial) funding by the manufacturer.