Dry vs Dehydrated Skin

What’s the difference?

Dry skin is a skin type you are naturally born with. Having a dry skin type means your skin doesn’t produce enough sebum or oil. This applies to more than just your face! On the body, you will most likely notice it on your scalp, hands and legs. It’s not uncommon to have redness, cracking or flakiness. Skin can also look “scaly” which can also be seen in psoriasis and eczema.

Dehydrated Skin is a skin condition not a skin type. It can actually happen to any skin type but is usually temporary given the proper hydration. Healthy skin should contain around 30% water to be resilient, strong, and maintain structure. Lack of water in the skin can actually lead to breakouts, dry patches, irritation and increased sensitivity.

Signs of Dehydrated Skin:

1. Itchy Skin: In East Idaho, we have such a dry climate and our winters can be so dry and harsh on our skin! When the wind attacks our face we can sometimes feel a desire to scratch our face. This is because external elements such as drastic temperature changes and wind can dehydrate your skin!
2. Increased Sensitivity: Probably the biggest benefit of our skins moisture barrier is the protection it offers. When you take away that barrier, your skin becomes susceptible to more bacteria and pollution, worsening skin issues.
3. Dull Skin: Do you feel like your skin looks dull and tired? It could be due to dehydration. When our skin is dehydrated, the cell turnover rate goes down, so your skin can’t shed the dead skin cells as frequently. This contributes to clogged pores, congestion and lackluster appearance. 
4. Fine Lines and Wrinkles: Dehydrated skin can often accelerate signs of aging. These usually appear as tiny, triangular lines instead of crows feet or smile lines.

Fixing Dehydrated Skin:

1. Avoid caffeine and alcohol: This duo is terrible for your skin’s hydration because it depletes your skin’s water content. Alcohol takes it one step further by hindering the production of vasopressin, an essential hormone for rehydration.
2. Choose products best suited for dehydrated skin. See below for some of our favs!
3. Buy a humidifier: Sometimes you need to add moisture to the air and turn off your A/C. Humidifiers are usually very quiet and can work well to add moisture in the air which can help your skin rehydrate!
4. Adapt a skincare routine for dehydrated skin, like the one below!

Skincare Routine for Dehydrated Skin

1. Wash with a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water. It’s important to check your skincare products for any harmful chemicals that can dry out your skin further. 
2. Don’t skip the Essence: an essence is essential to your skincare routine- especially for dehydrated skin. This staple maximizes hydration, replenishes moisture, and protects skin against the drying effects of the environment. 
3. Hyaluronic Acid Serum: If you’re looking for something that is super effective in replenishing dehydrated skin, look to Hyaluronic Acid! It’s literally like a magnet for moisture, which is exactly what your skin needs!
4. Use a Gentle Exfoliant: While we want to avoid harsh facial scrubs that contain beads or sugar, we can totally opt for a more gentle exfoliant to gently buff away the dead skin that collects. Look for more natural ingredients such as strawberry to help naturally cleanse and remove impurities!
5. Protect your Skin’s Outer Layer: But what does this mean? Basically, you want to prevent the water from leaving your skin. You do this by keeping your skin’s moisture barrier intact. Consider looking into an ingredient like jojoba oil to lock in moisture and help prevent transepidermal water loss.

Skincare Routine for Dry Skin

1. Shower with Lukewarm Water. We understand how tempting it is to hop in the nice hot shower after a long day of work. In reality, hot water isn’t good for your skin because it strips the skin of essential oils it needs! If you must take a hot shower, limit it to 10 minutes or less to help protect your skin.
2. Gently Cleanse your skin with a gentle, yet hydrating cleanser with ingredients such as sunflower oil and jojoba oil. These are both amazing for moisturization, giving your skin a good cleanse but also keeping it hydrated.
3. Exfoliate weekly to take care of any flakiness that might pop up! Using a gentle exfoliant that contains lactic acid, rice, and chickpea flour to gently remove impurities and brighten the skin’s appearance is an amazing option!
4. Toners are something you definitely don’t want to overlook. They’re so important because they help balance out your skin’s pH levels after cleansing. 
5. Treat: When choosing a product, reach for one that is rich in both fatty acids and anti-inflammatory ingredients. Moisturize with a generous amount of an oil-rich cream that replenishes moisture and repairs your skin’s lipid barrier. Shea butter is amazing for the skin because it’s high in triglycerides and fatty acids which restores and retains moisture.

Contact us today to receive our amazing skin care services and hear how we can help you!