Dry vs Dehydrated Skin: What’s The Difference?

 

Knowing your skin type is key when it comes to choosing effective products. You understand the basics like the differences between dry, normal, combination and oily skin. But when 'dehydrated skin' gets thrown into the mix, things get a tad more complicated.

And because we regularly hear from people suffering with dehydrated skin and not knowing what to try, we're giving you £10 OFF our Organic Hydration Gel today with discount code HG10. You're welcome to share this code to help others too!

Contrary to popular belief, dehydrated skin is not the same as dry skin. In fact, dehydration is more of a skin condition than a skin type and it can affect anyone – whether your skin is oily, dry, normal or a mixture of all three.

Confused? Good news: we’ve put together a quick guide to help you understand the differences between dry and dehydrated skin. Because knowing exactly what’s going on with your skin makes caring for it so much simpler.

DRY SKIN: The Facts

First things first, let’s talk about sebum. As your body’s largest organ, your skin is very important for protecting you from the outside world and to do this it must be strong, healthy and supple. Sebum is vital for maintaining the health of your skin as it contains complex oils and lipids which help protect, soften and lubricate it. 

For the most part, the level of sebum your skin produces is predetermined by genetics. Dry skin lacks sebum due to having fewer sebaceous glands than other skin types, which means it’s lacking in all those nourishing oils and lipids to help build a strong protective barrier against external stress. 

What Are The Signs Of Dry Skin?

Dry skin often feels itchy and uncomfortable and may be flaky, rough or cracked in certain areas. Troublesome spots are usually around your mouth, nose and eyebrows but dry skin can occur anywhere.

It often gets worse as you age or when you’re stressed, causing premature lines and wrinkles due to a lack of elasticity and suppleness in your skin. 

How To Treat Dry Skin

The most important thing to remember is to treat dry skin with the utmost of respect. Foaming cleansers that strip your skin are a massive no-no, as are toners containing harsh alcohols or unnecessary parabens and sulphates.

You should also be careful when it comes to potent active ingredients like glycolic acid and retinol as applying these too often or in high concentrations could compromise your skin’s barrier function, making your dryness so much worse. 

So, what about the things you should do? Well, Crystal Cleanser and Diamond Toner are great for preparing dry, sensitive skin for the next stage in your routine. Then look for moisturisers that are rich in oils like our Imperial Moisturiser and Night Elixir. 

Because dry skin is lacking in sebum, it’s a good idea to further replace missing oils with Organic Age-Defying Facial Oil. This is ideal for dry skin as it contains a nourishing blend of 20 organic botanical oils to feed your skin with vital nutrients and omega fatty acids. Apply this twice daily after moisturising.

DEHYDRATED SKIN: The Facts

Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, is a whole different kettle of fish because this refers to skin that’s lacking in water rather than oil. This means that unlike dry skin which is predetermined, dehydrated skin is a condition that anyone (even oily skin types) can experience at any time in their lives. 

Weather changes, lack of sleep, stress, caffeine and sun damage all strip water away from your cells and are common causes of dehydrated skin.

What Are The Signs Of Dehydrated Skin?

A certain tightness, skin that looks duller than normal, dark circles around your eyes and fine lines that weren’t there yesterday are all signs that your skin is temporarily lacking in water. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, however, it may react to dehydration by becoming inflamed, red or even congested.

How To Treat Dehydrated Skin

Gentle exfoliation with Natural Luminosity Scrub is an important first step for dehydrated skin as this will help loosen dead skin cells to help your serums and moisturisers penetrate your skin better. 

Now, for rapid hydration for thirsty skin, our 100% natural Organic Hydration Gel is perfect. Designed specifically to boost water in your cells for instantly soothed skin thanks to its organic aloe vera and vegetable glycerin. And to help you try it for yourself, you can get £10 OFF today with discount code HG10.

You should also add a deeply penetrating serum into your routine that contains a humectant ingredient like hyaluronic acid. Humectants are smart little cookies that work like sponges to draw water into the top layers of your skin, so they’re a great shout for skin that’s screaming out for hydration.

Pre-Eminent Beauty Serum contains hyaluronic acid and vegetable glycerin too for a double, thirst-quenching hit. Better still, use the serum and the gel together – applying the serum first, followed by your hydration gel.

HEALTHY SKIN FROM THE INSIDE OUT

What goes into your body is just as important for the health of your skin as what you apply on top. Therefore, whether your skin is dry, dehydrated or both, always drink plenty of fluids and eat lots of omega-3-rich foods such as oily fish, nuts and seeds to help counteract dryness. Water-rich foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables are also great ways to help boost hydration.

So, in summary, dry skin is a skin type that’s lacking in oil, whereas dehydrated skin is a skin condition that’s lacking in water. And guess what? You can have dry AND dehydrated skin at the same time. Frustrating? Yes. But, at least you now understand how to treat these two different challenges.

You simply add back in what your skin is missing. And our Organic Hydration Gel is a great place to start. So to help you tackle your tricky skin, simply add discount code HG10 at the checkout for £10 OFF your hydration gel.

Easy when you know how!