Dry Skin Needs Less Moisturizer, Dehydrated Skin Needs More

What’s the difference between dry and dehydrated skin and how do you treat them? You might be surprised at the answer…

 Do you know the difference between dry and dehydrated skin?

Dry skin means your skin’s surface is dry. Inside your skin might be relatively hydrated, but because the surface doesn’t contain enough natural oils, the moisture evaporates.  You need natural oils to hold the hydration inside. The solution is to use less moisturizer on the skin’s surface.

Why less? Doesn’t that seem like exactly the wrong thing to do?  For the best long-term result, your skin needs to produce a sufficient amount of its own natural oils, instead of relying on moisturizer. You need to “teach” your skin to produce more natural oils. So don’t use too much moisturizer.

You natural oils are just that, a natural moisturizer produced by your skin. Your ability to create natural oils is affected by the amount of the moisturizer you use.  That’s why too much moisturizer won’t cure the cause of your dry skin. You’ll just become permanently dependent on moisturizer. You do need some moisturizer to prevent dryness, but use a little less so that your body will produce more natural moisture to cure the cause of the dryness, not just the symptoms.

On the other hand, dehydrated skin means that the inside of your skin is dry. Your skin surface can be dry, moist or even oily. But you don’t have enough moisture under the surface of your skin.

If your surface skin is oily, it usually means your inner skin is dehydrated. Even though it may seem counter-intuitive, you should use more moisturizer. Why more?

Your skin is dehydrated, so your surface skin is trying to protect the little moisture that there is in your inner skin by producing too much natural oils. If you use more moisturizer on the surface, your skin thinks it has enough natural oils, so it doesn’t have to produce as much. Drink plenty of water as well as using more moisturizer!

If your surface skin is dry and your interior skin is dehydrated, that’s the worst combination. This might be seen in aging skin. Drink plenty of water and use less moisturizer. This will make your skin produce more natural oils, which will help with the dryness and dehydration.