We have often used the words dry and dehydrated for our skin but do they mean the same thing? Experts say, it does not. “Dry skin is more of a skin type, while ‘dehydration’ is a skin condition. One may have oily skin but it can still be dehydrated. To make it easy, dehydration means that your skin cells lack moisture, which makes your skin parched. A lack of moisture means your skin is missing lipids and your sebaceous gland is not nourishing your skin naturally. Dehydration can come and go, and it depends on the amount of water you consume. It can also be affected by the weather conditions and environment around you,” says Aakriti Kundral, co-founder of Hottest Ex which provides skincare solutions.
Going ahead, she gives five signs of identifying a dehydrated skin, which are:
a) Itchy and flaky skin
b) Increased sensitivity, redness and hyperpigmentation
c) Blotchiness. Pinch your skin to check, if it isn’t elastic to touch, it is dehydrated.
d) Fine lines and wrinkles
e) Dullness
Expert solutions for dehydrated skin:
– To battle dehydration, one must increase their intake of water while actively using products to revive the lost hydration and improve moisture retention. Make sure to include products that are rich in antioxidants and humectants.
-Chocolate-based face masks can also help in epidermal rejuvenation, restoring hydration, locking in moisture while also working on hyperpigmentation by reducing excess melanin.
– Avoid caffeine and alcohol as they deplete the skin’s water content. Coffee intake can be limited to two per day while alcohol can be one glass in the evening.
– Use gentle exfoliants instead of harsh scrubs. Healthy skin can take up to 25 days to rehydrate and dehydrated skin can take more than that. So avoid scrubbing off the remaining moisture.
