As we step into 2025, prioritizing skin health is more important than ever. One often-overlooked factor that can impact your skin’s appearance is your diet—specifically, dehydrating foods. These foods can rob your skin of essential moisture, leading to dryness, dullness, and even premature aging. By avoiding certain dehydrating culprits, you can help maintain a radiant, youthful complexion all year round.
We checked in with Dr. Simran Sethi, MD, founder of RenewMD and skin by Dr. Simran Sethi; Robyn Newmark, skincare expert and founder and CEO of Newmark Beauty; and Dr. Nadir Qazi, DO, board-certified physician and cosmetic dermatology surgeon, to discover four of the worst “dehydrating” foods that can cause skin issues and lead to wrinkle formation. According to them, potato chips, margarine, white bread, and onion rings are the ones to steer clear of. Read on to learn more.
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1. Potato Chips
Proper hydration and moisturization are essential for maintaining a healthy complexion and aging gracefully. However, potato chips, with their extremely high salt content, can hinder skin hydration. Consuming them daily or in excess can lead to dryness, cracking, wrinkles, and even peeling, says Sethi.
"Due to osmotic pressure, salt draws water out of cells, including skin cells, leading to dry skin," Sethi explains. "Potato chips are notoriously high in salt and also contain a sizable amount of sugar," she adds.
When there is an excess of salt and glucose in the body, Sethi continues, it cross-links with collagen and elastin, "proteins that give our skin its firmness and elasticity."
2. Margarine
Newmark emphasizes that "margarine is one food you should avoid if you want to prevent wrinkles and dry skin." Margarine has a hefty amount of sodium content, and she warns that it is "frequently made with partially hydrogenated oils, one of the most prevalent trans fats." While trans fats "contribute to heart disease," she also warns that they may also accelerate the skin's aging process.
"Trans-fatty acids make the skin more susceptible to ultraviolet radiation, which can cause damage to the elastin and collagen in the skin," she goes on. Furthermore, she notes that "margarine can cause chronic inflammation, speeding up the formation of wrinkles."
3. White Bread
Refined carbs are commonly found in popular foods like white bread, pasta, and pastries, making it easy to consume them without realizing it. Qazi says that eating these foods can increase “sebum production.”
Sebum is the "oily, waxy substance your skin naturally produces to moisturize and protect your skin," he notes. Too much sebum can "cause the skin to look oily, make your pores look more prominent, and even trap dead skin inside your pores, leading to acne and blackheads," he explains.
4. Onion Rings
Similar to the foods that were mentioned before, onion rings are also a deep-fried appetizer that can "harden skin proteins, making your skin weaker, thinner, and less hydrated," Sethi says. When consumed in excess, the skin dehydration will eventually lead to faster wrinkling, fine lines, and a dull look.
