Dehydrated or Dry? 🤷🏻‍♀️

If your skin’s not oily, there’s a high probability you’d say that it’s dry (at least some of the time—thanks to moisture-sapping radiators in the winter and skin-damaging UV rays in the summer) 🌞🌬🙅🏻‍♀️!! There’s also a high probability that you’re slathering on uber-thick moisturizers or spritzing face mists around the clock for quick relief.

But prepare to have your mind blown 🤯: most people don’t have dry skin. Instead, what many people experience is dehydration (yep, your face can get thirsty, too). And this can spell trouble for your complexion in the form of pimples, headaches, and a long list of other annoying issues. Dry skin is actually something that’s genetically passed down. It’s more of a hereditary condition and means your body doesn’t produce as much sebum—so it’s something you’re born with, rather than something that develops over time. Dehydrated skin “feels tight, rough, or sensitive” in certain spots, rather than being habitually without oil - it’s more like an occasional sense of dryness that’s brought on by environmental factors. A range of factors could be impacting your complexion, including your stress levels or environment affects (change of temperature/ humidity etc) - so if all of the sudden, your skin starts freaking out in a new locale or during a particular part of your hormonal cycle, it could be chalked up to dehydration (BTW, those long complexion-parching plane rides don’t help either!!! ✈️) Another culprit? Using products the wrong way; including over-exfoliating, applying too-harsh acne treatments, and using harsh cleansers, all of which can dry out your complexion. And of course, not getting enough sleep could be taking its toll! All of these factors can actually cause your skin to lose water, (transepidermal water loss) which can be experienced by everyone, even those without dry skin. For once, drinking the right amount of water isn’t going to do the trick 💧- not on its own, at least. If your skin’s dry, lean towards moisturizers for support that contain an occlusive ingredient that forms a protective seal over the surface of the skin. Dehydrated skin types, should look for hydrators like hyaluronic acid products