Skin type varies from person to person, but whether you have oily, combination, or dry skin, your skin can also be dehydrated. It's a changing condition, and all of us will probably experience skin dehydration at some point. Therefore, it is important to know how and when it occurs. We’ll go over the causes of dehydration, tips for spotting the signs of dehydrated skin, and how to prevent it from ever happening again.
WHY DOES DEHYDRATION OCCUR?
Dehydration occurs due to disruption of the balance of the skin’s hydrolipidic barrier,, i.e. due to transepidermal water loss (TEWL). The role of the epidermis, in addition to protecting the body from external harmful factors, is also to prevent the loss of water and electrolytes from the body. Small amounts of water still get lost through evaporation from the skin's surface, which is called transepidermal water loss. TEWL’s value should be as low as possible because higher TEWL values indicate an increased loss of water from the skin and a damaged hydrolipidic barrier.
TEWL is a direct result of dried-out skin, caused either by improper cleansing and the use of products with drying ingredients or by too frequent exfoliation, which leads to the evaporation of moisture from the deeper layers, which ultimately leaves you with dehydrated skin.
HOW DOES DEHYDRATION MANIFEST AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEHYDRATED AND DRY SKIN?
Dehydrated skin is recognizable by its surface tightness and flaking, along with the appearance of dehydration lines and wrinkles. It is a condition that occurs on all skin types, even oily skin. Due to the damaged hydrolipidic barrier, the skin is not able to maintain an adequate level of moisture and, in an attempt to compensate for moisture, oily dehydrated skin produces more sebum, which leads to our attempt to get rid of it and increases dehydration.
On the other hand, dry skin is a type of skin that does not independently produce an adequate amount of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, it is deeply dried out, tight, and prone of flaking. It is often accompanied by itching and redness. Dry skin needs moisturizers and occlusive emollients.
HOW TO HELP DEHYDRATED SKIN?
Although the skin can be dry and dehydrated at the same time, dehydration more often occurs in oily and combination skin, due to the usage of inadequate products. Combination to oily skin, which is also dehydrated, needs to be supplied with moisture. This prevents transepidermal moisture loss and helps with restoring the balance of the hydrolipidic barrier. It is necessary to avoid heavy and occlusive products. Instead, introduce non-comedogenic emollients and lightweight moisturizers into the routine.
WHAT ARE HUMECTANTS, AND HOW DO THEY WORK?
Moisturizers or humectants, such as glycerol, panthenol, ectoin, hyaluronic acid, and urea, are ingredients that restore lost moisture to the skin by attracting and binding water to skin cells. They maintain optimal skin moisture and slow the process of moisture evaporation, resulting in a balanced hydrolipidic barrier.
SUGGESTED ROUTINE FOR DEHYDRATED SKIN:
After gently cleansing the skin using Amphibian gel, which will cleanse the skin of impurities, but reduce skin drying-out to a minimum due to the skin compatible pH (5.5), gentle surfactants and moisturizers, it is necessary to compensate for the lost moisture by applying Nectar moisturizing essence, which also has a balanced pH (5,5) and and abundance of humectants. Nectar goes perfectly with Hydra B serum emulsion, which deeply moisturizes the skin and strengthens its hydrolipidic barrier. Its star ingredient is hyaluronic acid, which binds perfectly to the moisture from Nectar. With extremely dehydrated skin, after Hydra B, you can apply Naro oil booster which will prevent moisture from escaping the skin. In addition to Hydra B, an ideal ally for dehydrated skin is CICA-CERA cream, which, in addition to the CICA complex, also contains ceramides and moisturizers that prevent transepidermal water loss and intensively moisturize the skin.
Literature:
- Draelos, Zoe. (2009). Proper Skin Hydration and Barrier Function. Nutritional Cosmetics. 355-363.
- Kasolang, Salmiah et al. (2020). Common skin disorders: A review. Jurnal tribologi. 59-82.
