Is My Skin Dry or Dehydrated?

Skin dehydration is a very common occurrence - but it is often confused with simply dry skin. Yep - there's a difference. While dry skin is the result of insufficient oil in the skin, dehydration is the lack of water in the skin. That means you would treat it differently as well.

First off, how can you tell if your skin is dehydrated? It looks scaly and flaky - and, you guessed it, it looks dry. Fine lines are much more visible, and skin can even appear as if it has an additional thin layer of skin on top. I know - that's what dry skin can look like - but it is important to remember one thing: dry skin is skin type and tends to be hereditary or as a result of the aging process, while dehydration is condition and tends to be something more temporary.

Dehydration can be the result of things like exposure to the sun, wind, or dry heat. It also is often caused by drinking too much coffee, tea or other diuretics. And don't forget - dry skin AND oily skin can become dehydrated. Oily skin often becomes dehydrated by using strong, harsh soaps and cleansers, as well as using astringents too frequently. And when oily skin becomes dehydrated the top layers of skin cells harden and block the skin's ability to secrete oil. You can see where this is going - oily skin that can't secrete the oils can increase (ugh) breakouts.

So now that you can identify it better - you can treat it more effectively. For instance, just treating dehydrated skin with oils can be completely ineffective. The trick is to find a moisturizer that is designed to trap the water in your skin by forming a thin layer of film on the skin's surface. Ingredients to look for include glycerin, glycolic acid and lactic acids (which help to bind water and draw it into the skin) and hyaluronic acid (which traps the moisture). There are other ingredients, like dimethicone, which can also trap the moisture, but since that has a questionable safety rating, we don't use it in Garden Girl products. Lastly, it's important to treat dehydrated skin with a hydrating face mask weekly as well. All Garden Girl face creams and body lotions are packed with hyaluronic acid and vegetable glycerin. Our Like Magic anti-aging serum is highly-concentrated with hyaluronic acid as well. Plus our Cookies + Cream masque is perfect for rehydrating your sun-parched skin. So whether you have dry skin or dehydrated skin - we've got you covered!