Got red, flaky or itchy skin? These are symptoms of dry or dehydrated skin, two very common conditions that cause a lot of discomfort for people throughout the year. While dry and dehydrated skin aren’t technically caused by the same thing, they result in the same symptoms.
In the short-term, skin dehydration is itchy and uncomfortable, and can make skin look uneven with red patches or small wrinkles. In the long term, skin dehydration left untreated can lead to an aged look on the skin. Thankfully, skin dehydration is easily prevented and treated with the right lifestyle choices and tools. Here are five easy tips you can use right now for preventing skin dehydration.
1. Be Safer In The Sun
The sun can cause damages like burns, blotchy pigmentation and premature aging on anyone’s skin. But if your skin is prone to dehydration, these threats can be compounded. Good ways to prevent these risks while keeping skin hydrated include always using sunblock, cutting time in direct sunlight and ensuring you’re drinking enough water (2.5 liters a day is a good amount to strive for).
Not into drinking lots of water? Try unsweetened tea instead, or add some fruit slices to a water for flavor. Produce like fruits and vegetables are also good sources of hydration throughout the day.
2. Avoid Using Scented Products
Scented products certainly smell good, but they can be damaging to the skin thanks to the chemicals and preservatives found in them. Sometimes even the soap or laundry detergent you use can contribute to dry and dehydrated skin. These harsh chemicals dry out the skin, removing the oils that work to retain moisture.
If you find yourself prone to dehydrated skin, try switching out the soaps, detergents and moisturizers you use on a regular basis.
3. Exfoliate Less Often
Damage in the skin can strip away its protective layer. This makes it more difficult to retain the moisture necessary to keep your skin hydrated. When you exfoliate too much or too harshly—or use products that are too abrasive—you run the risk of damaging your skin and drying it out. Try exfoliating just once a week, or switch to a gentler, natural exfoliate instead.
4. Keep Skin Hydrated with Ceramides and Hyaluronic Acid
Ceramides are naturally occurring in the body. In fact, they make up about 50% of the composition of your skin’s uppermost layers. So what do they do? Ceramides function as a sort of glue that holds the skin’s outermost layer together. By forming this layer, ceramides help retain and hold in moisture. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that products containing ceramides will help you significantly protect against skin dehydration.
Applying a ceramides-based cream at the start of the day or before bed is an excellent way to ensure your skin retains a natural moisture balance throughout the day. In addition to keeping your skin moisturized, the nourishing cream also fights symptoms of sun damage, including aging, which makes it great for use during warmer months when you’re outside often.
Another important remedy for skin hydration is hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid commonly treats things like wounds and burns, but it’s also used to replenish moisture missing in the skin. When ceramides and hyaluronic acid are combined, they make a powerful formula to moisturize the skin and ensure it retains that moisture.
5. Use the Right Remedies to Treat Dehydrated Skin
The tips above are for preventing skin dehydration and dryness—but what if your skin is already dehydrated? Some people are prone to skin dehydration no matter what approach they take. When you experience skin dehydration, you should quickly moisturize with the right products. This ensures your skin doesn’t become more damaged over time.
When choosing the right remedies for you, you should understand the difference between different products that contain hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid can be high-weight or low-weight. The weight refers to the size of the hyaluronic molecules; hyaluronic acid with a lower molecular weight penetrates the skin deeper thanks to its smaller size, which makes it the better (and oftentimes more expensive) option. Products containing sodium hyaluronate generally contain hyaluronic acid with a low molecular weight.
Skin dryness or dehydration can affect us at any time of the year. Whether from low humidity in the winter or sun damage in the summer, you should be prepared to protect yourself from skin dehydration before it happens. With the tips and tools detailed above, you shouldn’t have to worry again about flaky, itchy skin and discomfort.