The reason dry skin often itches is due to how easily it gets irritated. In case you suffer from dry and itchy skin, you need immediate medical assistance. If your skin lacks sufficient water, it becomes dehydrated. Dehydrated skin may become itchy and turn pale as well. You can tell a skin is dehydrated through symptoms like uneven complexion and overall tone, fine lines will also appear more vividly. Dehydrated skin is quite uncomfortable, however through the correct modifications in your everyday habits you can easily treat this condition. The most effective way to handle this kind of skin condition is from the inside out, which means you need adequate body hydration. Even though they may seem the same, dehydrated skin is different from a dry skin type. Both dry skin and serious dehydration are conditions that should be addressed by a certified doctor.
Is Dry Skin The Same as Dehydrated Skin?
Dehydrated skin vs. Dry skin
Most discussions classify dehydrated and dry skin as the same even though the two are different conditions.
Dehydrated skin is a result of inadequate water while dry skin, on the other hand, arises due to the inadequacy of natural oils commonly referred to as sebum. The other major difference is dehydrated skin is a condition while dry skin is a skin type under which certain groups of individuals fall.
The common skin types classification include normal, dry, combination and oily. Humans are born with a certain skin type that may change as we get older or may be influenced by the different seasons. Dry skin type means the sebaceous glands fail to produce adequate natural oils. You need to support hydration of dry skin type by applying a topical cream, this will help you prevent further moisture loss. There are some conditions that may also lead to dry skin, like hypothyroidism. Below are signs of dry skin:
- white flakes
- Redness
- scaly skin
- irritation
Dry skin can be correlated with skin conditions like eczema, post-acne breakouts, and psoriasis. Having dry skin due to these kinds of complications isn’t the same as being a dry skin type individual. Body dehydration means you’re losing more water than you’re consuming, heightened urination from diuretics and caffeine may also result in this condition. Excessive sweating due to exercise may also lead to dehydration.
How Will I Know My Skin is Dehydrated?
Common Symptoms of Dehydrated Skin
If you want to know you’re suffering from skin dehydration, be on the lookout for these symptoms:
- sunken eyes
- dullness
- Itchiness
- The shadow around your face particularly near your nose and below your eyes
- increased incidence of both wrinkles and fine lines
- darker under-eye circles
If you’re suffering from severe dehydration, you may develop symptoms that go beyond your skin for example:
- Faintness
- dizziness
- lightheadedness
- dry mouth
- overall weakness
- Urinating less frequent and excreting darker urine
Severe dehydration will likely require prompt medical care, and you should visit a doctor in case these dehydration symptoms don’t disappear.
How to test if your skin is dehydrated?
It’s as easy as pinching your skin when you want to find out how hydrated your skin is.
- Grab a small section of your cheek between your thumb and the index finger and press slightly.
- If you see any wrinkles in the mirror and your skin doesn’t retreat when you release it, then chances are your skin is dehydrated.
- An aesthetician or a dermatologist may also assist you in determining whether your skin is dehydrated or you have a dry skin type.
How to treat dehydrated skin?
Common Treatment of Dehydrated Skin
As opposed to dry skin, you can treat skin dehydration through changes in your lifestyle. The single most crucial step is restoring your body hydration by drinking enough water. The most popular way of monitoring your water intake is by sticking to the conventional 8 glasses daily rule. Based on your daily activity and your weight, you may have to increase your water intake. You can seek advice from a doctor on the right amount of water for you. Remember that drinking too much water may also lead to loss of minerals. Another common way of increasing your fluid intake is by eating vegetables and fruits that contain a lot of water such as watermelon. The lifestyle and dietary changes suggested below can be adopted to help you treat dehydrated skin:
- Reduce your alcohol intake if you have to drink.
- Reduce caffeine intake.
- Regular exercise
- Quit smoking
- After exercise, replenish your body with water
- Take a few sips of water like every 30 minutes
- Increase your intake of plant-based foods like legumes, vegetables, and fruits
- Get enough rest
Individuals who’ve suffered from illness recently are likely to suffer from dehydration due to the loss of fluids. A solution for this is drinking broth-based soups, plenty of water and electrolyte beverages. Cases of serious dehydration are handled by doctors by putting the patient under intravenous fluids.
The difference in managing Dry Skin vs Dehydrated Skin
What Works for Dry Skin?
You’ll notice that dry skin is slightly challenging concerning treatment. For individuals with naturally dry skin, extra care is required for them to maintain a moist skin surface particularly when the weather is cold and dry. These groups of people need a moisturizer designed for their dry skin since it maintains the skin’s moisture without making it extra oily. Applying oily moisturizer isn’t a solution for dry skin, it may even lead to acne breakout. There’s also a myth that drinking plenty of water will treat dry skin.
Dehydrated skin is manageable
Even though a dehydrated skin condition may be complicated, once a doctor properly diagnosis the cause it's quite easy to come up with treatment. Dehydrated skin may have symptoms similar to dry skin type, the only difference is you can simply treat it by modifications in your lifestyle. If you’ve already tried treating dehydrated skin condition and the symptoms don’t seem to go away, then you need to visit a dermatologist. This is because you could be having dry skin.
Will My Skin Be Itchy If I Have a Dry Skin?
Does Dry Skin Lead to Itchy Skin?
A lot of elderly people have dry skin, especially on their forearms, elbows and lower sections of their legs. The common signs of the rough and scaly skin surface, usually followed by an uncomfortable persistent itching. Less humidity due to air conditioning households in the summer and overheating in the winter will likely result in itchiness and dry skin. As we age we continue to lose both oil and sweat glands, these are a factor of dry skin. There are other factors that may lead to skin dryness like hot showers/ baths, overusing perfumes, soaps, and antiperspirants. Habits like smoking, sun exposure, and stress can also result in dry skin.
Having an itchy dry skin may result in insomnia, it may also be a symptom of a severe disease or it could cause you irritation. Some of the diseases that result in itchy skin are kidney and diabetes. There are certain medications that worsen the itchiness condition.
How Moisturizers Help With Dry Skin?
Which is More Effective, Lotion Ointment or Cream For Dry Skin?
A common solution for dry skin is applying a moisturizer on your skin to calm the skin as well as minimize water loss. There are three main types of moisturizers like lotions, creams, and ointments. Ointments contain a water and oil mixture and some of the oils are petrolatum and lanolin. Creams contain water as the main component and they should be applied on the skin more than you do ointments if you want to increase their effectiveness. For lotions, water-soluble powder crystals are present, water is still the main component for this product. The increased water content in lotion makes it cool when you spread it on the skin and you won’t feel oily. The only drawback of using lotion on your skin is the reduced effectiveness in comparison to ointments and creams. To achieve moist skin status, you should apply lotion frequently. You should always use moisturizers, just ensure that you get ones that your skin doesn’t react to. You may need to apply them frequently to relieve the signs and symptoms of dryness.
3 Steps To Achieving a Healthy Hydrated Skin
Tips For Rehydrating Dry Skin
Dry skin is caused by a reduction in the number of oil-producing glands on the face and body. Meanwhile, lack of water and not lack of oil, cause dehydrated skin. This means you can actually have dehydrated skin and at the same time have an oily complexion.
Most people understand the negative implications of dehydration on our general health, but who knew it had the power to cause such visible havoc on our faces? In order to understand the difference between overall dryness and dehydration, below are three steps to healthy, hydrated skin.
Diagnosis to Differentiate Between Dry Skin and Dehydrated Skin
The main difference between skin dehydration and dry skin is the first is a skin condition while the second is a skin type. Dry skin produces less sebum oil in comparison to normal and combination, the reduction of the oil means the skin retains less moisture which means the skin is less protected against external harm. Dehydrated skin lacks sufficient water and maybe as a result of different factors like diet, caffeine intake, weather, and the environment.
Signs of Dehydrated Skin
Lightly squeeze a portion of your cheek using your fingers, if it wrinkles instead of maintaining the shape then your skin is dehydrated. For dehydrated skin, you’ll notice excess wrinkles, tightness and dull, you may also see extra dark patches under your eyes. Some of the common signs of dehydrated skin are inflammation, plenty of congestion and redness.
How to Identify Dry Skin?
For dry skin type, symptoms are itchiness, flakiness, and discomfort. The common affected areas are the mouth and nose. For the entire body, you’ll notice dryness on the inner thighs and arms and the neck. Extreme cases of dry skin types will produce a grinding sound when you rub against it.
Treatment of Dry Skin
There are different steps you can take to relieve dry skin such as lowering the number of acidic products in your beauty routine and increasing your antioxidant intake. For skin dehydration, however, you can apply these two steps below in your skincare routine:
Add a Serum to Your Skin Care Routine
To restore skin hydration, apply serums before you spread any type of moisturizer on your affected areas. Both serums and moisturizers perform different functions. Purchase a serum that contains hyaluronic acid, it’s this same component that’s present in most fillers on the market. The human body naturally produces hyaluronic acid, for individuals with dehydrated skin however, supplementing with products that have hyaluronic acid is essential.
Use a Heavier Moisturizer on at Night
Although we're generally protected at night from extreme outdoor effect, we may lose moisture as a result of heating up our rooms with AC. Spread a non-comedogenic and oil-free moisturizer before you sleep to overcome this drying effect.
Skin Maintenance to Avoid Dry Skin
A dry skin type is a natural skin state that will likely remain this way throughout your life; skin dehydration, on the other hand, is a skin condition that is easily treated. When you’re well-hydrated your skin cells will swell and the benefit is you end up with reduced visibility of wrinkles and fine lines. One of the quickest remedies for dehydrated skin is increasing fluid intake. An even more prompt solution is a facial mist within the day, and couple it with a moisturizing mask each week to revitalize the skin moisture.
