How to tell the difference and what to do about it.

Dry skin is a surface condition of your skin. Dry skin types are typically categorized by the pore size, and lack of sebum or oil production. Skin may appear ashy, or with a white or gray tint. Dry skin may look dull and may become red and itchy because of an imbalance of your skin barrier.

**Dehydrated skin refers to the condition of your skin on a cellular level.**

A dehydrated condition can and does happen to all skin types including oily skin types. Dehydrated skin is typically defined by “crepe-y” skin, temporary fine lines or “sugar lines”. Your skin’s cells are lacking water.
Both of these conditions are impacted by a lack of hydration- either oil or water. To have healthy skin, you need a properly balanced skin barrier. This is the delicate, protective layer that stops free radicals from entering, allows antioxidants and other good ingredients to enter, and helps mitigate trans epidermal water loss (the natural evaporation of water from the skin). It is a circular problem- if your skin barrier is balanced, it will have an easier time staying hydrated, and if your skin is hydrated your skin barrier is more likely to be balanced.

If you typically have an oily skin type, your skin may be dehydrated if its over-producing oil, your skin may appear shiny or slick like a film is sitting on top of your skin. When our skin is stripped of its natural balancing oils, (usually by over-exfoliation or over-use of exfoliating acids) it will over-produce oil trying to balance your skin barrier.

If you have a dry or combination skin type your skin may be dehydrated if it appears crepey or temporarily appears to have a loss of volume.

Dry skin, on the other hand is a skin type or a temporary skin condition that shows itself as flaky, dull, or skin with a grey cast. Dry skin, can easily lead to irritated skin including red or itchy skin, even resulting in small red bumps.

All skin types need some form of exfoliation to help the natural skin cell shedding process, as we age this process slows down resulting in dull looking skin. However if your skin is red, itchy, and irritated I suggest focusing on hydration and leaving exfoliation for another day. If you’re not sure if your skin is dry, dehydrated, or both, I suggest coming in for a complimentary consultation with one of our licensed estheticians, we can give you a quick reset with a hydrating facial and suggest products that work for you and your skin!

So you think your skin is dehydrated? Whats your first step at home? Water intake is incredibly important to your skin’s health and directly correlates to your skin’s hydration level. If you are already drinking enough water, I suggest a series of hydrating facials and taking home a hydrating serum such as Dermaquest’s B5 Hydrating Serum or OSEA’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum.

If you think your skin is overly dry, I suggest a series of hydrating facials, a hydrating serum, and an oil. OSEA’s Dayglow Face Oil, or Essential Hydrating Oil. A series of facials will help reset

your skin and get your skin barrier back to a balanced state; however homecare is what is really going to take your skincare to the next level. Regular facials are about 30% of your skincare and homecare is the rest of the 70%. Whether your skin is dry, dehydrated or both, you could probably use a hydrating facial plus who doesn’t need some self-care in the colder seasons!

Book a Facial with Zanthe