Is your skin dehydrated or simply just dry skin? How can you tell the difference?

Winter weather - always means change for  your skin. During the cold winter months, your skin regularly feels flaky, tight, and dry? — Or is it dehydrated? A proper diagnosis of your skin type is important so you can treat your skin with the right products and achieve a smooth, comfortable, and radiant complexion.

What is dry skin?

 Dry skin is classified as lipid dry, which means it doesn't produce enough sebum, or oil. Because skin relies on oil to hold moisture in, without it, skin can appear rough and flaky — and wrinkles are more pronounced. Dry skin can also lead to a damaged barrier function, increasing long term sensitivity and inflammation, and causing a chain or biochemical reactions like collagen breakdown.

Treat dry skin right by using moisturisers that contain emollients to provide a protective layer that prevents moisture loss. Look for formulas that contain ceramides, shea butter, beeswax, squalene, and oils such as jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, vitamin E, oil of evening primrose, argon oil, Yarrow oil calendula oil or tomato seed oil.



Wash with mild cleansing lotions and avoid bar soap or harsh foaming cleansers. Use gentle exfoliators: either acids or scrubs with gentle micro beads. Exfoliating helps remove surface flakiness and promote cell renewal, as they improve natural production of intercellular lipids for the barrier function. I also always recommend using a humidifier in the winter months to keep moisture in the air, and, more importantly, in your skin.

What is dehydrated skin?

 Dehydrated skin, as a skin condition, lacks water content, but may still produce oil. While it may be genetic or environmental, dehydrated skin can feel flaky and tight, and often forms fine lines easily due to the surface-cell deflation. Dehydrated skin may also be prone flakiness, fine crepy lines on the surface of the skin and or a dull complexion

 Treat dehydrated skin by using a moisturiser and serum that contains humectants like glycerine or hyaluronic acid, as these ingredients attract water from the environment into the skin to keep it soft and supple. Be gentle with skin exfoliators: Using too many acids or scrubs can make dehydration worse, resulting in skin inflammation. Cleanse with a sulphate-free gel to prevent unnecessary dehydration after washing.

A simple analogy is that a leather saddle needs to be conditioned regularly with oil to prevent it from drying out; if you were to apply water to a dry leather saddle you would only dry it out and make it look “dried out”. Dehydrated skin produces oil, but still feels tight, whereas dry skin produces little to no oil and can be flaky.