Most of us plan our skincare journey without understanding the basic difference between two common skin deficiencies; Dryness and Dehydration. If you want to do a skincare routine rightly, you have to understand your skin necessities before buying any product or following any routine. If you understand the elementary rules of skincare, you would never use the same products all over the year. Let’s take the example of your wardrobe. The way you change your clothing line as the season changes, your skin also requires different products depending on weather conditions but most importantly knowing whether your skin is dry or dehydrated is important as it changes many decisions you make when following a beauty routine.
Skin is a beautiful thing, wear it well
Skin is made up of 70% water out of which 25% of that is found in the top layer of skin (Epidermis). This layer act as a shield. Your diet, lifestyle, using harsh chemicals, environment, excessive scrubbing strips moisture away from your skin.
Let’s see the difference between Dry skin and Dehydrated skin
What is Dry skin?
Dry skin doesn’t have enough moisture and oil in it to keep it soft and supple. People with dry skin conditions have rough feeling patches that flake off or look scaly. It might cause irritation as well. Severe dry skin might crack and bleed too. Sometimes you naturally have dry skin and other times your oily skin turns out dry with time. Any part of the body can have dry skin. Dry weather conditions, hot water, certain chemicals can cause your skin to dry out. Dry skin can also be a reason for any hidden medical condition. Moisturizers are all you need to treat dryness. Following are signs of dry skin:
1) Scaly skin
2) White flakes
3) Irritation
4) Redness
What is Dehydrated skin?
Dehydrated skin is a type of skin that lacks water. It is dry and itchy. A dull look is also very common. Overall tone and complexion may appear uneven. Wrinkles are more visible. Dehydrated skin is easy to treat with the right lifestyle changes. Following are signs of dehydrated skin.
1) Dark under-eye circles
2) Dullness
3) Wrinkles
4) Itchiness
Severe dehydration can go beyond your skin and cause symptoms such as: Dizziness, Dry mouth, Faintness, Weakness, Less and darker urine.
You can do the following pinch test to know if your skin is dehydrated or not:
1) Pinch a small amount of skin on your cheek or any part of your body
2) Hold the skin for a few seconds
3) If it takes a few seconds to bounce back, you’re likely dehydrated
4) You can perform this test on different parts of the body
Dry skin vs Dehydrated skin
Dry skin is a skin condition that is common due to genetics but other factors like hormonal disruptions and underactive thyroid can be a reason as well. Less oil makes your skin scaly and sensitive. While talking about dehydrated skin, it is a skin condition, which is temporary and is easily curable. The body produces excess oils to compensate for moisture in the skin. In both cases, skin gets sensitive, rough, patchy, and tight.
How to treat dry skin?
Here are some tips and tricks that are proven helpful for dry and sensitive skin
1) Use warm water rather than hot water baths
Hot water baths are likely to damage cells and tissues in the top layer of skin (epidermis) causing burns and redness. The high temperature of water extracts the moisture out of the skin making it sensitive and dry. This condition leads to skin problems like itching, flakiness, and over-sensitive skin.
2) Use mild face washes
Cleaning impurities from your skin is an essential part of your daily routine. Face wash gives a fresh and glowing look and prevents pigmentation. Looking for the best face wash for dry skin in Pakistan? We can help you stop your search. Jenpharm’s Maxdif brightening face wash is the best face wash for dry skin. It removes dark spots, evens skin tone, and gives you a healthy glow.
3) Moisturize your skin right after washing
Always apply moisturizer on damp skin (slightly wet) for best results as they seal the moisture in. Use moisturizers with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and oils. DermiVe oily moisturizer is a unique blend of all 3 mentioned ingredients making it perfect for dry skin.
Note: You can use DermiVe urea on extremely dry patches of skin. 4) Stay warm without spending time near any heat source
Heat reduces moisture in the air that eventually causes the skin to dry. Heaters, fireplaces, and wood-burning stoves contribute to heat. Instead of using any heat source, it is preferred to wear warm clothes. Winter weather is the worst enemy of skin. Due to low temperature and humidity levels, skin is already at the risk of drying out.
5) Add moisture to air
Plug in a humidifier to prevent dry air that causes dry and itchy skin in many parts of the body. Humidifiers are really effective in treating dryness. They can also ease symptoms of flu or the common cold.
How to treat dehydrated skin?
Following are the tips for dehydrated skin.
1) Avoid caffeine
Caffeine compromises the skin’s health by depleting the water content. The high acidity in coffee interferes with your hormones and dairy increase the risk of developing acne. Dehydration from coffee also causes skin redness and inflammation. This doesn’t mean that you have to completely cut dairy from your diet. Just limiting your caffeine intake would be enough.
2) Skip harsh face scrubs
Dry skin leads to sensitivity and flakiness. Over-exfoliating and usage of harsh scrubs will only irritate and dry out your skin more.
3) Drink more water
When your body is dehydrated, it tends to pull water from other areas of the body so it can continue with important processes. That is how drinking less water affects your skin. It is suggested to drink at least 8-14 glasses of water for healthy glowing skin.
4) Eat fruits and vegetables
Eating more fruits and vegetables can be really beneficial as it has more fibers and water content is relatively high. Loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, fruits or vegetables help in fighting inflammation, acne, saggy skin and they also increase hydration in the skin making it naturally beautiful.
We hope that by reading this blog, you can now clearly differentiate between dry skin and dehydrated skin. By following mentioned tips, you can easily deal with your skin concern. It is recommended to visit a dermatologist if your skin is excessively dehydrated or dry.
