It goes without saying that hydrating your skin is essential for maintaining a healthy and radiant complexion. But what many don’t know is that slathering on a moisturizer once a day isn’t enough to provide your skin with the level of hydration it really needs. The result? You end up with dull skin that feels dry and tight. These are signs of dehydration.
Quite often, people use dehydration and dryness interchangeably even though dehydrated skin and dry skin are two distinct issues. While dry skin is a skin type, dehydrated skin is a condition that is caused by external factors, such as pollution and seasonal changes, certain lifestyle choices, and an unhealthy diet. Additionally, there are also some common skincare mistakes that can contribute to this condition, including skipping sunscreen, washing your face too often, using the wrong cleanser, using the wrong moisturizer, taking long, hot showers, and so on.
Signs Your Skin Is Dehydrated
Are you confused if your skin is dehydrated or dry? Here are a few tell-tale signs that you have dehydrated skin:
1. Itchiness
External elements such as wind and extreme temperatures can often remove moisture from the upper layer of your skin, leading to an itchy sensation. So, if you have ever come home from a tropical vacation or a day out in the snow and feel a relentless need to scratch, chances are your skin is severely dehydrated.
2. Dullness
Does your skin look dull and tired at all times? It could be due to dehydration as it hampers your skin’s cell turnover abilities. A lack of proper hydration keeps your skin from shedding the dead cells, which then leads to clogged pores and a lackluster complexion.
3. Signs of aging
Signs of aging, especially fine lines, wrinkles, and dark undereye circles, are also some of the most common signs of dehydration. Dehydrated skin ages prematurely and displays accelerated signs of aging.
Importance Of Skin Hydration
When tasked with hydrating their skin, many people might wonder what makes this so important. Well, hydrating your skin rejuvenates it and makes it look bright and healthy. It also lends your skin a smooth and soft feel. Maintaining a healthy and radiant complexion requires no mention that keeping your skin hydrated is essential. Moreover, hydrated skin is less sensitive to common irritants that can pass through the lipid barrier.
Here are a few more reasons why you should hydrate your skin:
1. Reduce the appearance of wrinkles
Improved skin hydration is the key to staving off signs of aging, such as wrinkles and fine lines.
2. Improve skin elasticity
Loss of skin elasticity makes your skin look saggy and crinkled. Hydrating it restores your skin’s ability to stretch and bounce back.
3. Keep oiliness at bay
While it might seem counterintuitive, preventing dehydration also helps prevent oiliness. A lack of moisture in your skin causes the sebaceous glands to overproduce oils. Increasing hydration can keep the oil levels in check.
4. Keep skin protected against free radicals
Hydration also helps prevent free radical damage by enhancing your skin’s ability to fight back against environmental aggressors.
5. Alleviate stretch marks during pregnancy
Stretch marks are a common concern for almost all pregnant women. But maintaining the skin’s hydration levels can help prevent stretch marks. There are cocoa butter formulas for stretch marks that work by replenishing your skin’s hydration.
Best Ways To Keep Skin Hydrated
While our body has natural mechanisms that keep our skin moisturized and hydrated, certain environmental factors, as well as lifestyle choices, can diminish their efficacy. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to hydrate your skin and keep it looking healthy and fresh. Here are a few of them:
1. Drink plenty of water
This is, arguably, the most important way to keep your skin hydrated. Your skin loses water when you sweat, which needs to be recharged. Staying hydrated from the inside has a positive effect on your skin physiology.
2. Use a gentle cleanser
While it is essential to remove dirt and excess oil from the skin, some cleansers can be too harsh. You should choose a gentle cleanser that cleans your skin without stripping off the natural moisture.
3. Moisturize
No matter your skin type, you should have a moisturizer, such as a cocoa butter moisturizer, in your skincare routine. Apply it while your skin is still damp to lock in as much hydration as possible.
4. Use hydrating skincare products
When choosing your skincare products, look for hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Water-based creams and lotions are also recommended.
5. Exfoliate regularly
Exfoliation also plays a pivotal role in keeping your skin hydrated by removing dead skin cells and dry patches. Make sure, however, that you don’t exfoliate more than once or twice a week as it might disrupt the natural skin barrier, leading to moisture loss.
Dehydration is a common skin concern that plagues millions of people. But with the necessary dietary and lifestyle changes and incorporating the right products into your skincare routine, you can keep your skin hydrated and make it more resilient over time.