The Great Debate: Dry Skin vs. Dehydrated Skin
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What is the difference and how do treat them?
Keep reading below to discover the differences between them & what you need to do to bring balance back to your skin!IT'S CONFUSING RIGHT…IS MY SKIN DRY OR DEHYDRATED???
DRY Skin is a Skin TYPE whereas,
Dehydrated Skin is a SYMPTOM from a lack of water.
So how do you know if you have DRY SKIN or DEHYDRATED SKIN??
keep reading!! It can be confusing when the symptoms for these can look so similar…so I am going to give you those differences so you know exactly what is going on with your skin!
DRY SKIN: As I mentioned is a SKIN TYPE, meaning that it is a condition that doesn't come up every once in a while, but rather a condition that you deal with ALL the time. It can feel worse during the winter months where the weather is more intense and dry!
+ WHAT would your skin feel like IF you have DRY skin?? Well, you might notice the obvious when you think dry: flakiness right!! But your skin would also feel tight and even itchy!
+ So WHAT is going on in the skin to make it dry??
This is the important difference between the two!
DRY skin occurs because there is a lack of oil (sebum) production in the skin. This is happening naturally, often due to genetics. However, external factors can increase the dryness such as: extreme WEATHER (hot and cold), HARSH SKINCARE products that can strip the skin and
therefore the oil levels, LIFESTYLE, MEDICATIONS, HORMONES and the
NATURAL AGING PROCESS can all lead to increased Dryness!
+ WHY do you want to treat the DRY skin??
Dry skin can be uncomfortable with the flakiness, tightness so those two reasons alone should
be a reason to treat the Dry skin…but what if I told you that DRY skin
gives the skin the appearance of AGING SKIN?
With the lack of OIL in the skin, it exposes the wrinkles in our skin giving the
appearance of older looking skin.
+ SO Lastly, HOW do you change your DRY SKIN?
Well genetically you can't change your SKIN TYPE,
but you can help by giving your skin what it needs: MOISTURE!
When Shopping for Products to treat your DRY skin I recommend that you look for Creams rather than Lotions. Creams are for dry skin whereas Lotions are more for normal to oily skin. Creams will bring the moisture you need and occlusive protection (a protective barrier to your skin to help prevent moisture loss and protect your out layer to the skin.)
Important ingredients you need in your routine include:
Hyaluronic Acid, Glycerin, Peptides and natural oils.
DEHYDRATED SKIN: The Symptom reveals itself due to a lack of water in the diet along with extreme weather conditions (hot and cold that will pull the water from the skin) AND a compromised Lipid Barrier (the outer most layer of your skin). Both of these can contribute to your skin becoming dehydrated.
+ WHAT does your skin feel (and look) like when your skin is DEHYDRATED??
You will notice that you look like you have lost elasticity to your skin, an increase in the fine lines and wrinkles, and you might even notice that your skin might appear to sag. Think of a deflated water balloon…what happens when it looses water??? It begins to sag right??
+ WHY do you want to treat your DEHYDRATED SKIN??
This should be obvious right? No one wants the increased appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, sagging skin and dullness. BUT, the other Importance is that our cells do not function properly without the proper amount of water levels in them which can prevent the vital nutrients being transported keeping them nice and healthy.
+ HOW do we treat the Dehydration in our skin?
Consuming more water is the obvious answer! TIP: If you didn't know Caffeine is a diuretic, which means that you need to offset that favorite coffee drink oz for oz and that simply cancels out the caffeine..from there you start back at 0 with your water level. If you aren't sure how much water you need to drink in a day, it has been said that that you should drink about half an ounce to 1 ounce PER pound of weight. i.e. for a 150 pd person
you should consume between 75 and 150 ounces of water.
Now, if you are active, or during the summer where you are sweating and losing water,
then err on the side of the 150 ounces of water per day!
When shopping for ingredients this POWERHOUSE product is a must: Hyaluronic Acid (already found naturally in the skin) attracts and holds moisture in the skin! It Hold up to 1,000 TIMES its molecular weight in water!!!! If that wasn't enough of a reason to add this to your arsenal of skincare products, it also penetrates the skin binding water to your skin cells bringing the much needed hydration to your skin cells plumping them back up smoothing out your skin from those fine lines and wrinkles! It will bring healing to dry chapped skin and even skin conditions like dermatitis. AND AMAZINGLY enough, Hyaluronic Acid can also help with other things like bringing healing to wounds, and joint pain in those with osteoarthritis!
