How to Hydrate Dry Skin Like a Pro
By Jessica
If the goal is a smooth, glowing complexion, having flaky skin on your face doesn't make things any easier—just ask anyone whose experienced foundation clinging onto dry patches. Between over-exfoliation and using the wrong cleanser for your skin type, there are some things that exacerbate dry skin on the face. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't tweaks you can make to your skincare routine that'll pave the way for that ultra-hydrated complexion you've dreamt up.
We know tackling parched skin can often feel like an uphill battle, which is why we called on celebrity estheticians Renée Rouleau and Shani Darden along with board-certified dermatologists and founders of Epionce Carl Thornfeldt to learn what causes super dry skin and how we can banish it for good.
1 - Decipher If You're Dry or Dehydrated
Truth is, you could be mistaking your dry skin for dehydrated skin. The difference? Whereas dry skin refers to a skin type (just like oily or combination), dehydrated skin refers to a skin condition. Dry skin lacks oil, can be a result of genetics and appears flaky and rough. Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, lacks water, can occur after consuming alcohol or caffeine and appears dull and tight.
According to Rouleau, truly dry skin does not produce any oil or sebum, and since there’s no oil to enlarge the follicles or breed bacteria, dry skin types have itty-bitty pores and never break out. Blemish-free skin and tiny pores might not sound so bad, but the skin actually relies on oil to hold moisture. Without it, your complexion can appear rough and flaky, and wrinkles can appear more pronounced.
Bottom line: if you don’t have oil in your skin (meaning you have teensy pores and nary a pimple), you likely have dry skin. On top of that, if you experience flakiness and irritation, you can feel even more confident about your diagnosis. If you're experiencing tightness or a dull complexion, or you've had a night of drinking (which can suck hydration out of your skin), you likely have dehydrated skin.
2- Use Sulfate-Free Cleansers
Foaming and gel cleansers may put on a fancy show, but according to Rouleau, many of them are formulated with sulfates (which you’ll recognize on the ingredient list as either sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, or ammonium laureth sulfate). “This ingredient is a surfactant, a cleansing agent that cuts oil from the skin,” Rouleau says. “These ingredients are simply too harsh and will strip the water out of the skin after every washing.”
Thornfeldt agrees, adding that when too much oil is removed from the skin, the protective skin barrier of the skin breaks down. "There are key oils in the skin that actually act like glue to hold the skin barrier together," he explains. "Damage or remove those oils, and the skin barrier is more susceptible to breaking and allowing environmental insults, like UV rays or pollution, in." While this is true for all skin types, it's more of a challenge for drier skin types.
Rouleau says that choosing a cleanser is the single most important step of your skincare routine because washing with a drying cleanser zaps the skin of moisture, which means you'll have to quickly run and put your moisturizer on to put back in what you just took out. We're fans of this hydrating pick from Evyana because not only is it sulfate-free, but it contains moisture-retaining hyaluronic acid for super plump skin.
3 - Perform Your Skincare Routine Quickly
After washing your face, Rouleau says to tone immediately with an alcohol-free formula (like this one is also from Evyana) and moisturize right away. “If you leave your skin bare for more than a minute, it will start to dehydrate,” she says. “Perform your skin care routine quickly, and be sure to always leave your toner damp on the skin.” This guarantees that your skin feels soft and stays protected. And, because applying a toner or moisturizer immediately after face washing helps lock in some of the water, you won't have to use as much product.
4 - Repair Dryness With a Hydrating Cream
Some people avoid using creams at night to let their skin "breathe," but both Rouleau and Thornfeldt agree that using moisturizer at night is very important. This is because night creams work best when the skin is in repair mode at night while we sleep, says Thornfeldt. During the day, our skin is in protection mode, fending off the day's disturbances (think: UV rays and pollution). "At night when your skin is at rest, the skin’s permeability is at its highest, allowing the active ingredients to absorb deep within the skin,” Rouleau says. Bottom line: This is the time when you can really tackle your skincare concerns (in this case, dryness) since your skin is no longer playing defense.
A night cream is essentially a moisturizer without sunscreen and you don’t have to use something specifically labeled “night cream." In fact, any moisturizer without SPF will work, as long as it suits your skin type. This pick features a luxuriously rich consistency that's perfect for dry skin, along with a powerful blend of anti-aging botanicals such as Shea butter, Grapeseed oil, Avacado Oil, and Chufa Milk.
5 - Add Moisture to the Air With a Humidifier
Lotions, potions, and creams aside, your fix for dry skin could be as simple as plugging in your dusty humidifier. Especially in the wintertime (or year-round, in dry climates), it’s important to add moisture into the air, as this encourages moisture in your skin to stay put. Darden recommends this humidifier from Dyson, as it helps to keep the air clean and at the perfect humidity, which allows your skin to stay more hydrated and comfortable overnight and throughout the day. What's more, besides relieving dry, flaky, itchy skin, humidifiers can also have health benefits, too. Since they add moisture into the air, they clear your nasal passages which can help with allergies and asthma.
6 - Use a Hydrating Oil Serum
Thornfeldt explains that a healthy skin barrier comprises a mixture of cholesterol, ceramides, and free fatty acids. For a product to really be effective for dry skin, the important thing is whether or not it helps restore the skin barrier. In order for it to do that, it must contain oils—particularly the oils that are found in healthy skin. If you're worried about clogging your pores, Thornfeldt says that the product won't be pore-clogging if the oils are highly purified and do not contain contaminants. "Remember, moisture is about water-holding capacity, but because dry skin types are not producing enough oil, adding more water without the oils the skin barrier needs are counterproductive for addressing what dry skin really needs," he says.
The Restoring Serum from Evyana contains fatty acid-rich Geranium Rose Oil along with Cypress Oil, which holds up to 500 times its weight in water and naturally minimizes the appearance of pores.
Ask yourself: do you really think only young people are beautiful? Probably not, right? I bet you can think of a ton of examples of exquisitely beautiful people in all phases of life.
The trick here is to just take care of yourself and love the body you are in.
Just the practice of purposely looking for examples of beauty can do wonders for your confidence. Once you define beauty for yourself, it becomes a whole lot easier to see your own uniqueness as beautiful.
What do you think of these tips? Do you already do all this? Are you inspired to try? Comment on our Instagram or Facebook for others to know!