Sure, keeping your skin hydrated with topical products is helpful, but using a humidifier can make an even bigger [better] difference.
By Brittany Leitner
There's no escaping it: Skin care takes effort. First, you have to decode your skin type and specific skin concerns, then you have to find products to suit your needs, and then — perhaps most difficult of all — you have to stick to the routine to see real results.
But there's an underrated tool that can basically do some of the work for you — at least when it comes to hydration: a humidifier. Turning one on before you go to bed or placing one on your desk can actually help you improve your skin in your sleep or while you work. Here's the DL.
The Benefits of Using a Humidifier for Skin
"Everyone can benefit from a humidifier if they're in a sub-optimal humid environment," says New York-based dermatologist Dendy Engelman, M.D., F.A.A.D, FACMS. The optimal level of humidity to keep your skin hydrated is 40 to 60 percent, she adds. The easiest way to measure the humidity in your home is with an inexpensive hygrometer, such as ThermoPro TP50 Digital Hygrometer (Buy It, $13, amazon.com), or with an indoor air quality monitor, such as Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor (Buy It, $149, amazon.com).
Why does humidity matter for your skin, you ask? Spending time in a low-humidity environment can cause your skin to lose moisture. "Think of your skin barrier like a brick wall, where the skin cells are bricks, and ceramides, lipids, and cholesterol are the mortar that holds the bricks together," says Dr. Engelman. That brick wall helps keep moisture in and harmful pathogens out, she explains. When your skin has low levels of that "mortar" — that is to say, when your skin is dry — moisture can more easily escape.
"When humidity is low and the air becomes dry, it can lead to dehydrated skin," echoes Ryan Turner, M.D., dermatologist and founder of Turner Dermatology. "Dehydrated skin lacks water and may feel dull, rough, and tight. Using a humidifier can help by adding moisture to the air. This may help reduce dry or cracked skin especially overnight when skin cell regrowth and repairs are at their peak." Using a humidifier may also help reduce dryness, flaking, redness, and breakouts, adds Dr. Engelman. (Related: The Best Hydrating Face Masks for Dry, Thirsty Skin)
How to Use a Humidifier for Skin Benefits
If you really want to make the most of your humidifier's skin-care benefits, you should be using it every night while you sleep. That's when your body's hydration rebalances, says Dr. Engelman. (When you're sleeping, the outermost layer of skin, that "brick wall" is more permeable. That means it's more prone to moisture loss or gain.) Using a humidifier nightly can prevent excessive moisture loss throughout this phase, says Dr. Engelman. Running a humidifier for eight hours or however long you sleep is ideal, and you should start receiving benefits within 30 minutes of turning on the device, she adds.
That said, you can still benefit from using a humidifier during the day if that's more to your liking. In addition to all the skin perks, keeping a humidifier on during the day can also help ease allergy symptoms; dry air can cause irritated sinus passages, and the added moisture a humidifier provides can also help break up mucus. You can run the humidifier for a few hours or all day long — the important thing is to make sure the room's humidity level doesn't exceed 60 percent humidity while using it. That can allow harmful bacteria, dust mites, and mold to grow, according to The Mayo Clinic.
Regardless of when you want to use a humidifier, you've got plenty of options. Some are portable and are meant to be placed right next to you, others are designed to hydrate an entire room or even multiple rooms. Typically, brands and models will specify the maximum square footage a humidifier can work in for best results.
You also have the choice between two types of humidifiers: evaporative or ultrasonic. Ultrasonic humidifiers use vibrations to release water droplets into the air while evaporative humidifiers use a fan to release water vapor into the air. Since they emit water droplets, ultrasonic humidifiers can push whatever is in your water (including metals) into the air. For this reason, Dr. Engelman recommends going with an evaporative option. "Evaporative humidifiers add moisture to the environment, but [won't] force metal or particles into the environment (or your face if you're near the humidifier)," she says.
