So, you drink (some) water, apply your nightly moisturizer, and try to not overwash your face - yet you still seem to have issues with dry skin and a dull appearance.
But, do you have dehydrated skin, or are you just prone to dry skin?
In this article, we will cover a few of the signs that you may have dehydrated skin over dry skin, and try to give you some tips to overcome dehydration.
So, go refill your water and take a seat.
This test is an old dermatologist favorite to help decipher dehydration vs dryness.
Simply pinch up some skin on the back of your hand and let go.
If the skin quickly returns back to normal, you are likely properly hydrated, but if the skin takes some time to return to its regular shape, you probably need to up your water intake.
Dehydrated skin is skin that is not holding onto enough water, where dry skin does not have enough natural oils.
Interestingly, you can have dehydrated yet oily skin if the water content is lacking, but oil production is high.
Using your fingers, see if you can feel the natural oils on your skin, if oil production seems fine but skin still looks dull and flaky, you likely have dehydrated skin.
Also, if there is a lot of “shine”, yet you feel that your skin is dry, tight, or flaky, you likely have dehydration with oily skin.
If your skin issues started right after the sunny summer months, or you have been out in the sun more than usual, you may be experiencing dehydration.
Bright sunlight on exposed skin generally causes excess water evaporation and may lead to dehydrated skin.
On those sun-packed days, be sure to give your skin extra dehydration protection in the form of sunscreen and moisturizers.
If these issues of tight, itchy, flaky skin are something new, it is likely something has brought on dehydration.
Dry skin is normally due to your skin type, so you would more or less always have symptoms of dry skin.
Sudden changes in apparent skin moisture problems are likely dehydration and not sporadic dry skin.
If you lived your whole life in Florida, and then up and moved to Nevada, if you didn’t change your skincare you will likely experience some levels of skin dehydration.
In very humid climates, you get used to the few steps you need to take to keep your skin hydrated, so if you move over to dry climates your skin may give you hints that it needs more moisture.
Plan on switching to thicker moisturizers, making sunscreen a must, and upping your water intake when you are going to be in drier climates to keep your skin happy and hydrated.
If it has been an extremely hot summer, or you have been cranking down that new a/c unit, your skin might be giving you signs of dehydration.
Extremes of hot and cold over a prolonged period of time tend to dehydrate skin, so if you do see temperature extremes in your future, be sure to have some thick moisture barrier creams on hand.
If you are a smoker, you may want to add another reason to quit to your list - your skin.
Hot smoke constantly swirling around your face will inevitably lead to skin dehydration, no matter how many liters of water you are drinking.
If you are washing your face more than twice a day, you may be washing off too many natural oils that act as healthy barriers to keep moisture in.
While face washing daily is a must, if your skin is dehydrating, stick to no more than 2 thorough washed daily.
You may have had amazing skin 15 years ago that you didn’t have to apply anything to, but sometimes things change with age.
Over time your skin starts holding onto less water, meaning that integrating a regular moisturizing routine is a must.
Most dermatologists recommend a day and night moisturization routine.
This one seems obvious, but many people probably don’t realize just how much water is needed for a glowing complexion.
Some dermatologists recommend making sure you are drinking 2-3 liters of water daily to maintain proper skin water balance.
If you are really dehydrated, you will notice other clues other than just your skin.
Look out for other signs of dehydration including dark circles under the eyes, sunken in eyes, increased appearance of wrinkles, dry mouth, lightheadedness, or darker than usual urine.
All of these will clue you into your hydration status so that you can up those water levels - stat.
If your skin started changing after you started a new skin product, check out the ingredients to make sure it is not the culprit.
Some beauty products still use alcohol as a top ingredient, and if you are prone to skin dehydration, applying alcohol daily could be the reason.
Look into switching to toners that say “alcohol-free” to make sure your products aren’t the reason behind your skin acting up.
Overly harsh exfoliants or scrubs may also be the cause behind newly dehydrated skin.
Now that you hopefully have some insight into what could be leading to your skin dehydration, you have an array of tips to try out.
In addition to looking into the hydrating changes listed, you may want to add on a product with Hyaluronic Acid to keep that water in - long term.
Hyaluronic Acid is a naturally occurring component of skin that has a pretty potent water-retaining superpower.
Hyaluronic acid can retain over 1,000 times its weight in water, which can help come to the rescue of a dehydrated complexion.
Strut Brightly Formula is a physician formulated hydrating powerhouse that contains Hyaluronic acid along with a peptide and vitamins A, C, and B5.
If you are interested in seeing if Strut Brightly can help you get a handle on your skin dehydration issues, schedule an Online Visit with our doctors today.
If you are a good candidate for the compound, your hydration formulation can be shipped directly to your front door.
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