Dry Vs Dehydrated Skin – What Are The Differences?

We often interchange and use the terms dry and dehydrated skin, but they differ. While dry skin is a type of skin, on the other hand, dehydrated skin is a condition. So, one can have oilily dehydrated or dry parched skin. We'll learn more about these terms in this blog.

What is dry skin?

Skin types are mainly dependent on genetics, and sometimes it also depends on your lifestyle and the skincare products you use. For example, if you have oily skin and you exfoliate it daily, you may end up drying out your skin.

There is not enough sebum production in dry skin and hence, the lipids do not get enough moisture. Lipids are natural fats that strengthen the skin barrier. The skin barrier is necessary to protect our skin from all the harsh conditions of the environment and bacteria. So, if the lipids aren't healthy enough, it indirectly exposes the skin to impurities.

Dry Skin Indications

Pinch your skin, if it's tight or feels itchy, that's a clear sign of dry skin. You may also do a blotting test, just 30 minutes after cleansing your face pat it with tissue paper. Hold the tissue paper up to the sunlight, if there's no oil visible, that's a clear indication of having dry skin.

Below mentioned are a few repercussions of dry skin.

Dullness: Dry skin tends to feel dry due to the lack of natural oils and hence appears flat.

Bad Texture: The skin may feel rough at times and due to its flakiness might even be uneven.

Redness: As we discussed above, lack of sebum indirectly means a weaker skin barrier. This means harmful substances are easier to enter your skin causing irritation and redness. In fewer cases, cracking of the skin is possible too.

What is dehydrated skin?

Dehydration simply means a lack of hydration in the body. A simple way to tackle this is to drink enough water at regular intervals of time. Commonly, skin tends to dehydrate more during the summer, so proper attention must be paid to water intake.

As we mentioned earlier, dehydrated skin is a condition and not a skin type. Here, due to the lack of hydration, the body produces more sebum to compensate for the hydration required. Dehydration is mainly due to one's lifestyle and is not permanent.

Dehydrated Skin Indication

Once again, pinch your skin, if it doesn't feel elastic and you notice lines on the skin, it's dehydrated. If your skin is prone to acne, that's again a clear indication of dehydrated skin and a result of sebaceous glands.

Usually, it becomes easier to handle oily skin if it's moisturized regularly. This is because the body gets enough hydration that it needs and hence, it does not overproduce oils.

Difference Between Hydration and Moisturisation

The goal of both hydrators and moisturizers is the same, as they work towards maintaining enough water in the skin. Hydration refers to the amount of water present in the skin. If there's an adequate amount of water remaining in the skin, it looks plumpy and radiant.

Moisturisation refers to preventing the water present in the skin from escaping. A moisturizer locks in moisture and helps the skin look plumpy and radiant.

Maintaining dry skin

1. Exfoliate regularly

You might think, dry skin means you don't need to exfoliate, but that's not the case. Dead skin cells may pile up on your skin making it look dull. Exfoliating regularly can work wonders for your skin as the skin starts looking fresh. It is recommended to exfoliate your skin no more than twice a week.

2. Add Gentle Cleansers

Choose gentle cleansers to add to your skincare products list, as harsh cleansers tend to roughen dry skin. Choosing cleansers may be tricky, so look out for the one that contains Hemp seed oil and hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a great hydrant and Hemp seed oil is good for nourishment.

3. Look For Face Oil

Face oils are one of the most efficient ways to strengthen the skin barrier by trapping moisture. Argan, squalane and jojoba oils can be great choices, as they have smaller molecular sizes.

Treating Dehydrated Skin

1. Drink Ample Water

The best and most suggested way to increase water content in the body is by drinking water. Make sure you drink 3 litres of water a day, you may need to increase this depending on the climate.

2. Use A Serum

Serums are lightweight products and a great source of getting that extra hydration in your skincare routine. Serums contain substances like hyaluronic acid which is a great hydrant that helps increase hydration in the skin.

3. Moisturize

You may use a lot of hydrating products and yet have dehydrated skin. The reason is that all the hydration is lost, due to many reasons. So, a great way to overcome this is to use moisturizers. Moisturizers lock in the hydration in the skin thus, not letting it escape. Hence, the skin looks radiant all day.