Dry skin and dehydrated skin: Aren’t they the same thing?

The words ‘dry’ and ‘dehydrated’ have commonly been used interchangeably but did you know these are two very different skin conditions?

Dry skin is a skin type, much like oily skin types or combination skin types, and is characterized by persistent underproduction of sebum or oil, leading to itching and / or tightness in the skin. The severity of these symptoms is affected by external factors such as the weather, particularly if one is experiencing a harsh winter.

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Dehydrated skin on the other hand is due to the lack of water in the skin. In order for you to enjoy healthy skin, it should be able to hold round 30% of water, necessary for maintaining the skin’s structure, strength and resilience. Once skin starts to lose too much water, this is when it becomes dehydrated and skin will look and feel rough, without as much elasticity as before.

In short, dry skin is a skin type while dehydrated skin can affect anyone, and while these are two separate conditions, it is possible for someone to experience both dry and dehydrated skin. In fact, dry skin types are more likely to experience dehydrated skin as you will require the skin’s natural oils to help retain water and minimize water loss in the skin.

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How to care for dry skin?

For those with dry skin, you will need products that help to rebalance the lack of natural oil that your body is producing. In other words, because your skin is not producing enough lipids to retain moisture, you’ll need to find products that can do this for you. Oil-based skin care products would be excellent options for dry skin types.

To try:

Luminizing II Replenishing & Moisturising Cream – A sublime moisturizer to quench parched, dry skin without clogging the skin or leaving a greasy trail behind.

How to care for dehydrated skin?

When dealing with dehydrated skin, you will need to find products with ingredients that serve to replenish the skin’s water content.

The best ingredient and also one that is easily found is hyaluronic acid, which delivers a boost of hydration to the skin thanks to its ability to hold 1000 times its weight in water.

Hyaluronic acid is also known as a humectant, meaning it’s able to draw moisture from the air to the skin, to help plump and rehydrate the skin. Even better, find one that’s in a serum form for quick and easy absorption into the skin.

To try:

Pure Gold Youth Reset Serum – An antiaging serum rich in hyaluronic acid and powered with gold extracts and pure Vitamin E to regenerate dehydrated, aging skin for a healthier looking complexion.