Dehydrated Skin: How It Happens And How To Care For It

What exactly is dehydrated skin and what can you do to prevent and care for it? Dehydrated skin is when your skin becomes both oily and dry at the same time. While this doesn’t seem possible, it is, and it is actually fairly common.

Dehydrated skin occurs when your skin lacks the proper amount of water, so in order to compensate, it produces more oil. It is different from dry skin because while dehydrated skin compensates by producing oil in lieu of water, dry skin is formed when the skin is lacking both oil and water.

There are pros and cons to your skin being dehydrated rather than dry. While it still has moisture, the oil also makes it very prone to breakouts. Luckily, dehydrated skin is not permanent, and it can be remedied with proper care and maintenance. 

How To Care For Dehydrated Skin

In order to treat dehydrated skin, you must feed it whatever it was lacking in. You have to fix the moisture barrier that is allowing your skin to become oily and instead replenish it with what it needs.

Dehydrated skin is caused by a moisture barrier in the stratum corneum, and in order to fix it, you need to replenish what is known as the lipid matrix with ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids.

To help break down what each one is, here are some descriptions:

1. Ceramides: Ceramides are the most common portion of your stratum corneum and are the main part of your skin’s protective barrier. Ceramides help to regulate your skin cells, repair damaged skin, and prevent water loss. One fun fact is that a baby’s skin is so soft and smooth because of ceramides, so they are an important factor in your skin health.
2. Fatty Acids: While certain fatty acids are to be avoided in skincare because they can feed yeast in the skin, certain fatty acids such as linoleic and a-linolenic acids can be helpful. Make sure before you purchase fatty acids that they do not have carbon chain lengths of 11-24 because those are ones you want to avoid.

Five Ways To Cure Dehydrated Skin

There are a variety of products that are said to help cure dehydrated skin. Below, we have created a list of five methods to help dehydrated skin as well as recommended products that fit into each of the five categories.

1. Use Gentle Cleansers
   1. Be the Skin Daily Complete Cleansing Oil ($35)
   2. Peach & Lily Power Calm Hydrating Gel Cleanser ($28)
2. Drench Your Skin With Essence
   1. Peach & Lily Wild Dew Treatment Essence ($39)
3. Relax With A Hydrating Sheet Mask
   1. Shangpree Marine Jewel Hydrating Mask ($6)
4. Seal Your Skin With A Moisturizer
   1. Dry Skin - Atopalm Real Barrier Intense Moisture Cream ($28)
   2. Normal/Combo/Oily Skin- Peach Slices Citrus Honey Aqua Glow ($12)
5. Take Advantage Of Spot Treatments
   1. Peach & Lily K-Beauty Rescue Balm ($28)

Looking for 100% chemical-free, all-natural nourishing face and body oils? Check out Earth & Elm Nourishing Face Oil and Earth & Elm Nourishing Body Oil. Subscribe to our Trusted Health Club newsletter for more information about natural living tips, natural health, oral health and skincare. If you are looking for more health resource check out the Trusted Health Resources list. 

Written By:

Abigail Wise is an aspiring teacher, writer, and editor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Education with an emphasis in Creative Writing as well as working towards her teaching credential. She hopes to receive her Masters of Arts in English as well as go on to be a full-time teacher, writer, and editor.

Reviewed By:

Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com. 

Photo by Lazar Gugleta on Unsplash