CAROL NYAZIKA
Most people don’t realise there is a difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin, although both conditions may feel and look the same.
The condition may be due to dry skin or dehydrated skin. There is a big difference and a big misconception of the two. How you improve the two is different. Knowing the difference will help.
Dehydrated skin lacks WATER. Dry skin lacks OIL.
How to Tell the Difference Between Dry and Dehydrated Skin?
Dehydrated Skin
Dehydration is most often caused by the weather/environment, pollution, diet, product usage, medications, and over-cleansing (or over-exfoliating).
The weather and environment are big ones. The sun causes water to evaporate from skin. Pollutants, such as vehicular exhaust, also dehydrate skin.
Dehydrated skin is a skin condition, which means it can change at any time. (You can improve it.)
Dehydration affects all skin types. Even oily skin can be dehydrated.
Oily skin may look and feel oily but still lack water. This is actually quite common on people who overcleanse, over-exfoliate, or use harsh cleansers.
Dehydrated skin has very light, thin, web-like, or crepe-y lines on the surface. These lines become more visible if skin is pinched.
They’re different from fine lines or deep wrinkle lines, which have deeper depressions in the skin.
Signs of dehydration are very common on the forehead near the scalp line, outer cheeks, and around the eyes.
Dry Skin
While dehydration is very common, most of us do NOT have naturally dry skin. Naturally dry skin (called alipoid skin) is due to a naturally low production of oil. This means you simply don’t produce much oil (or none at all).
Unlike dehydrated skin which is a skin condition, dry skin is a skin type, which is genetically determined. If you see shine on any part of your face, you do not have dry skin.
Shine on your skin means there is oil (sebum) on the skin, and you must be producing oil.
The key thing to remember is, not having enough water is totally separate from not having enough oil.
What are the best routine tips for dry and dehydrated skin?
Just think: Dehydrated needs moisture, and Dry needs oils.
With dehydrated skin, we suggest looking for skincare with ingredients that are high in humectants. Humectants draw moisture into the skin and retain it, which will really help with hydrating your skin. A humectant attracts and retains the moisture in the air nearby via absorption, drawing the water vapor into and/or beneath the skin.
Our skin is not created to take in water from the outside. Limited amounts of water are able to penetrate the epidermis from the outside.
Therefore, skin care products do not add water to skin (this is a very common misconception), they lock the water in.
The role of humectants is to help skin attract and hold onto water, which keeps skin moist longer. Most moisturizer, and eye cream contain some humectants. Many toners too (the non-drying ones).
For dry skin, go for skincare products that are rich in natural oils – these will help balance up your skin’s oil levels. We’d even go as far to say to look for anhydrous products: these don’t contain any aqua and will have the highest quantity of oils possible hitting your skin.
Ndanaka Radiance Face Oil is perfect for this.
We are in a hot season now, therefore increasing your water intake will help tremendously on the overall look of your skin. Avoid fizzy drinks, coffee and alcohol.
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