what a difference with dry skin and what

Wrongly confused with dry skin, dehydrated skin can affect the face but also the body. In a great lack of water, dehydrated skin is in fact in a perpetual quest for hydration. How to hydrate them well and which care to turn to? We give you our advice and products to regain glowing skin!

What is dehydrated skin?

As the name clearly states, dehydrated skin is skin that suffers from dehydration. In other words, they lack water. However, we know that water is a constituent and essential element of the skin because it contains about 70%. This is to say how important it is for the condition and beauty of our skin!
When the skin is healthy, the water contained in the body moisturizes the different layers of skin tissue by moving from the dermis (the deepest part of the skin) to the epidermis – and in particular the stratum corneum – to namely the upper layers of the skin, soaking its different layers in passing. This natural flow of water within the skin has a name: Insensitive Water Loss (P.I.E). But this phenomenon of normal and permanent evaporation of water through the skin, is usually regulated by the hydrolipidic film located on the surface of the epidermis. The latter, made up of fat, water and sweat, helps keep water in the heart of the epidermis by slowing down the process to maintain an optimal level of hydration of the skin. This is what allows us to display soft, supple and glowing skin. When the skin is dehydrated on the other hand, the hydrolipidic film of the skin does not play its barrier role well and lets too much water escape. This is why the skin becomes dehydrated.
This dehydration is therefore a temporary phenomenon that is not linked to a specific type of skin. It can also affect all skin types, dry skin, normal skin and combination skin, and can even appear in oily skin.

Several factors can be the cause of dehydration of the skin. Among the environmental factors to be noted, cold, wind, pollution and UV rays are the main causes. But they are far from the only ones. Consumption of alcohol or tobacco, or even taking treatments medicated anti-acne or anti-cholesterol type treatments can also alter the hydrolipidic film of the skin and promote dehydration. Stress and fatigue can also influence the health of the skin by going against its natural protective barrier and making it less able to defend itself against external aggressions (pollution, change of season). A ill-suited skincare routine can also be responsible for the state of dehydration of the skin because the use of a stripping cleansing cream on the face or aggressive hygiene products like a shower gel with too high pH, ​​can remove the lipids and dry out the skin. Finally, age can also do its part, and the natural aging of the skin can make it more prone to dehydration. This is even more the case with hormonal upheavals that can occur over the course of a woman’s life (pregnancy, menopause).

Dehydrated skin: symptoms that never fail

Skin dehydration manifests itself in many ways. The skin, for example, lacks flexibility, plumpness and softness (the fault of the lack of hydration), dehydration fine lines may even appear on the face, but these are distinguished from wrinkles because they smooth out when you take the time to hydrate your skin with a moisturizing serum or cream. But above all, the skin becomes uncomfortable. You may feel more or less intense and unpleasant sensations of tightness on the face and on the body. Usually more present after the make-up removal routine before the night or after the morning wash, these feelings of “tight skin”May also become persistent and / or be accompanied by redness. In addition, the skin is rougher to the touch, its pores are visible in certain places of the face and it is sometimes possible that it presents scales on the level of the eyebrows and the wings of the nose but this is not the most criterion. determining. Thirsty, the skin becomes dull and sorely lacking in radiance, which is particularly visible on your face. But just having combination skin that shines on the T-zone doesn't mean your skin isn't dehydrated. The same goes for oily and young skin. The skin can therefore be dehydrated at any age.

The test to do to confirm the diagnosis: pinch a small area of ​​skin on the back of your hand, between your index finger and thumb, about an inch and release the skin. If the crease persists and it takes a few seconds for your skin to return to its original position, it is dehydrated.

What is the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin?

Although they can have similar symptoms, dry skin and dehydrated skin are not the same problem. First, the dry skin is a type of skin, a permanent state that you can counteract with the help of beauty products only to a certain extent (without being able to really change its nature), while the dehydrated skin is a temporary condition epidermis, which can appear on all skin types and is reversible. It is possible to get rid of this transient state with moisturizers (cream, serum, mask) as long as they are well chosen.
Then, dry skin does not have the same needs as dehydrated skin. Dry skin lacks fat because it does not produce enough lipids, while dehydrated skin lacks water. The sebum is therefore also a good indicator of differentiation because you can have dehydrated skin even if it is combination or oily and presents a shiny appearance on the T zone for example. Dry skin will not show these areas rich in sebum.
Since the skin needs a good balance of water and fat to be healthy, it's easy to see that it's not the same problem at all!
If you still have doubts about your skin, consult a dermatologist because the protocol for caring for dry skin is not the same as that for dehydrated skin.

Dehydrated skin: what to do?

In addition to avoiding the aggravating factors for your skin condition discussed above, it is also important to drink enough water. It is indeed advisable to drink at least a liter and a half of water per day for your health. This renews the water present in the body. So make sure you get enough water every day to hydrate your skin from the inside out. If you don't drink enough, your skin will continue to dry out.
Then, of course, you must adapt your skincare routine to the precise needs of your skin to recharge it with water. You will see, if you confused it until then with dry skin, you will have visible results very quickly.

How to cleanse dehydrated skin?

Whether for the body or the face, always favor gentle cleansers so as not to dry out your skin more. The watchword is softness, for example by opting for a cleansing milk that cleanses while comforting the skin rather than micellar water which tends to defatten the skin of the face.

Hydrabio Cleansing milk for sensitive and dehydrated skin from Bioderma

On the shower side, remember to check the composition of your shower gel so that it contains moisturizing ingredients. No need to turn to shower oils that will replenish your skin since it needs water! The latter are more suitable for dry skin. On the other hand, a shower gel rich in aloe vera (an ultra hydrating plant that is gentle on the skin) can be a good idea to wash yourself effectively while improving the condition of your skin.

Doliderm Creamy Aloe Invigorating Shower Gel

Although it's dehydrated, your skin should still be exfoliated regularly (but gently). The exfoliation remains essential to unclog the pores and rid your epidermis of dead skin. This is a step that should not be neglected because it will also allow the skin to be more receptive to the moisturizing active ingredients present in the treatments and which could have difficulty in penetrating the skin tissue if they are stopped by the dead skin which stick to it. In addition, by renewing the skin cells, exfoliation restores its radiance. What to fight against the symptoms of dehydration! For the face, we opt instead for a scrub with chemical or enzymatic action (without grains) for maximum softness and for the body, we choose a moisturizing exfoliant.

Oh My Cream Skincare Exfoliating Powder

Body Hydra + Lierac Double Hydration Scrub

How to hydrate dehydrated skin? Our advices

The level of hydration of the skin is not constant, it is up to us to provide sufficient hydration to our skin on a daily basis. Skin lacking in water needs to be hydrated a lot, but not necessarily a lot nourished. This is the nuance that makes all the difference between caring for dehydrated skin and the routine essential for dry skin. The best thing to do is therefore to get a moisturizing face cream rich in water or hydrating active ingredients that help the skin to retain water (hyaluronic acid, glycerin). A moisturizer of this type is perfect for dry or normal skin, but if your skin is combination or oily, it should prefer light treatments such as serums, which are hydration concentrates but which are not enriched with active ingredients. nourishing so as not to unnecessarily lubricate the skin.

Hydra-Essentiel Rich thirst-quenching cream Very dry skin by Clarins

Aquasource Deep Serum by Biotherm

To perfect the care of dehydrated skin, it is also interesting to include a moisturizing mask in your routine, to be made once or twice a week, in addition to daily care. By giving the skin a shot of hydration, it will help it regain suppleness and comfort quickly.

Jowaé plumping water mask

For the body, we will stick here again to a treatment that intensely hydrates without necessarily nourishing the skin. In other words, the milk galenics are sufficient, it is not mandatory to opt for a highly nutritious cream or balm. If, on the other hand, your body treatment can contain a soothing ingredient, it will have the advantage of better calming the sensations of tightness that bother you. Think about it when choosing it! The ideal product?

Kiehl's Deluxe Hand & Body Lotion with Aloe Vera & Oatmeal

Read also : – What is your skin type? Take the test

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Video by Nathalie Barenghi