Effect of Amount of Daily Water Intake and Use of Moisturizer on Skin Barrier Function in Healthy Female Participants

method additional water intake (H1, L1), moisturizer (H2, L2), both (H3, L3), and control (H4, L4). Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and stratum corneum hydration (SCH) were measured at baseline during the 2nd and 4th week. A total of 50 participants were enrolled (H: 24, L: 26) and 43 participants completed the study (H: 22, L: 21). At baseline, group H1–4 showed tendency of higher SCH value in the forehead, left cheek, and left forearm compared to group L1–4. TEWL of group H1 was significantly lower than that of group H4 at the 4th week ( p  = 0.012). SCH of group L2 was higher than those of group L1 ( p  = 0.014) and group L4 ( p  = 0.000), from the 2nd week. The results suggest that the degree of water intake and moisturizer application may be related to improved skin barrier function. Also, in the short duration of time, the application of additional moisturizers had more favorable impact on skin hydration as compared to additional water intake.