It gets thirsty. Poor hydration is a skin enemy.
Your skin is your largest organ and has a HUGE job. It helps protect your body and get rid of toxins. Proper hydration helps your skin to stay healthy. Because of this, the underlying connective tissue (fascia) glides and slides properly. When the skin and fascia don't move well, muscles may not work optimally.
How do I help my skin? Drink at least half your body weight in ounces of WATER per day*. Caffeinated beverages and alcoholic beverages work against good hydration. Adding citrus fruit to water can improve the taste and help with hydration. I don't want my insides to feel like the dehydrated lemon in the picture!
The Mayo Clinic has great resources on hydration here:
It plays a huge role in movement.
Your skin's movement (or lack thereof) provides vital information to your brain about how to move you. Motor control is driven by sensory information. For example, Bob has a knee replacement with a large scar on his knee. Bob's knee hurts after surgery. Often, the patient is hesitant to move their knee due to pain and swelling. This is a form of self-protection.
Over time, Bob's brain may not use his hip, thigh or calf muscles the same way as before the surgery because of the skin trauma. Scar tissue physically restricts proper skin movement as well. Dehydration can restrict connective tissue movement.
Learn more about motor control here:
Working on the scar and reactivating the right muscles can be a game-changer for function! I go into more detail about how scars can cause pain here:
To see a live example of a shin scar affecting ankle muscle function, check out this video. Let me know what you think in the comments.