Signs Your Skin Is Not Oily, Just Dehydrated, And What To Do With It
Sometimes it seems like no matter what you do to your skin, it never gets better, but instead increasingly worse. However, what’s most likely happening here is that you’re incorrectly evaluating your skin as just “oily” or “dry” when potentially it could also be “dehydrated”. Being able to figure out these signs is the key to unlocking skin heaven.
What is Dehydrated Skin?
Another common misconception is that dehydrated skin simply means dry skin, in which most people who have oily instantly respond to as, “No! That’s not me in the slightest!”
Before I get into dehydrated skin, it’s important to note that most people are classified under three big umbrella permanent skin types; oily, normal and dry. An easy way to put is, dry skin has too few essential oils and oily skin has too much! Everyone’s circumstances vary, and over time, due to various factors, your skin may become (here’s the magic word), “dehydrated”.
When you’re thirsty, what happens to you? You get dehydrated of water, but in the case of skin, this isn’t the water you’re thinking about. No matter how much water you drink, it won’t be the type of water your skin needs. In more scientific terms, what dehydrated skin is lacking is hyaluronic acid.
Now, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that unlike dry skin and oily skin, having dehydrated skin is only temporary and you can actually fix it unlike the prior two which are more or less permanent. The bad news is that you can have a combination of both dehydrated skin and your usual skin type, which all need to be solved differently and it’s up to you to figure that out. Don’t worry, you don’t need to start freaking out yet cos I’m here to give you some tips to figuring out your skin type and what to do with it.
How Do You Check If You Have Dehydrated Skin?
Dehydrated skin feels rather tight after cleansing, or even after a shower! It often appears duller in colour no matter your efforts to appear brighter. This dull effect makes your eye bags appear much more prominent. Sadly, that often makes you think that the expensive eye cream you bought seems to have no effect. Dehydrated skin often comes from a varying source of reasons and comes and goes as your life changes but there are ways to make it go faster and keep your skin looking nourished.
What To Do If You Do Have Dehydrated Skin
Moisturize
It can sometimes sound harder than it seems. Especially when it comes to people with oily skin who feel like their skin is glimmering enough without added moisture. However, the key is to understanding that just because your skin is overproducing oil, it doesn’t mean its producing other key skin necessities. Especially when you’re not moisturizing, your skin will start to freak out and go into overproducing mode which results in you getting oilier. If you’re a dry skin type, it’s even harder for your skin to absorb what it needs so you really need to pack it on.
There are two types of moisturizers; lotions and creams. Lotions being a lot thinner are more suited towards oilier skin as its a lot lighter and comfortable to wear. It is definitely preferable for oily types during the summer. For the dryer skin types, I’d recommend creams as they’re a thicker texture that locks in moisture.
Serums
Moving towards the colder months, you definitely need to switch up your skin routine accordingly. By sticking to the same routine all year round, your skin will get used to it and it would stop being as effective.
There are plenty of serums on the market but they are all the same in that they provide the best nutrients to be absorbed right into your skin. However, remember serums aren’t a replacement for moisturizers! Using them together will double the work to make wonders. It may seem like a lot extra but moisturizers act to lock in the serum from external dust and debris of the outside world.
Hyaluronic Acid
If you are moisturizing correctly and your skin is still out of control from dehydration, something new to try in your routine is hyaluronic acid. It sounds scary but it’s more like a gentle water that soaks instantly into the skin with no leftover residue or stickiness that an oil might have. Your dehydrated skin would drink this up like a baby!
Hyaluronic acid is insanely gentle on the skin, and you feel softer instantly! Over time, with continued use, your skin will glow more by the weeks!
