Im ‘bout to blow your mind here. Unless you’re a regular client at The Skin Room, in which case you’ve probably already heard me explain this a million times over.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DRY SKIN AND DEHYDRATED SKIN.
This means that if your skin is feeling tight, flakey, etc...it might not actually be dry. I mean, it might be...but it might not be.
Dry skin lacks oil. Dehydrated skin lacks water. Dry skin is a “skin type”, which you are predispositioned to have; there are many ways to maintain a skin type, but without proper care it will always revert back. Dehydrated skin is a “skin condition”; a skin condition is something that is brought on by improper care, nutritional issues, or external factors and it can be fixed with a little TLC.
You may be wondering how you’re supposed to tell whether you have dry or dehydrated skin. That’s where we come in! We gotchuuuuuu! As licensed estheticians we are trained to analyze the skin by look and feel to determine what skin types and/or conditions you may have at any given time. And we can recommend treatments and homecare products based on what your skin needs. But in the meantime, I’m going to break it down for you with my favorite fruity analogy.
In the case of dry skin, we typically would recommend a treatment such as a hydrating enzyme or dermaplaning to literally scrape off the dull, dead skin cell build up. Dead skin cells are very dry and cannot absorb any of the amazing ingredients you may be putting on them. Taking off those layers is very important so that your products can actually be effective. As far as homecare products we will guide you towards oil based serums and moisturizers, as well as non-stripping cleansers and toners.
But more often than dry skin, we see client’s who actually have DEHYDRATED skin. These clients usually think that they are experiencing dryness and are treating it as though they are. Obviously this becomes frustrating as they aren’t seeing any results. Because dehydrated skin is lacking water, I like to bust out the grape vs raisin analogy. Picture the most perfect grape you’ve ever had, and then think of that grape as your face: plump, tight AF, not a single wrinkle to be seen, would make a lovely wine, am I right? Now think of that face/grape having all the water sucked out of it, DEHYDRATED if you will. A grape void of water is a raisin: shriveled, wrinkly, loosy goosy, not cute. And if we are being honest, raisins are just gross. Right? Even craisins are bleck. Yogurt covered, chocolate covered...I’ve never met a raisin that I liked.
If you allow your skin to become dehydrated (remember, dehydration is a skin condition which we bring upon ourselves) it will appear, and quite honestly BE more aged. Every fine line will be visible. If you were to squeeze a raisin, it would stay in the shape that you squeezed it into. If you were to press on or manipulate dehydrated skin it wouldn’t bounce back like a plump grape would, and being stuck in that position will cause loss of elasticity. Elasticity is what keeps our skin tight and not saggy, and when you lose it you’re going to be real sad.
Not only does a lack of water in the skin make us look older, but it also causes our skin’s barrier layer to become compromised which in turn lets in bacteria that causes acne and other junk. Trust me, you want to be the grape.
In order to achieve grape status and age like a fine wine, you need HYALURONIC ACID. Yes, consuming the correct amount of water every day will make a huge difference too, but most people’s skin doesn’t naturally know how to bind to that water. That's where hyaluronic acid comes in. This ingredient can hold an enormous amount of water within its molecules and helps the skin bind to it. If you have dehydrated skin, hyaluronic acid is the powerhouse that will teach your skin how to function properly again.
Dry skin: oil based products. Dehydrated skin: hyaluronic acid...and drink that stupid water! Sometimes, clients have BOTH dry and dehydrated skin which requires a mixture of both types of products.
We have a huge assortment of products here at The Skin Room that contain oil or hyaluronic acid or both. We will analyze your skin to determine which ones will be beneficial and get you to the juicy grape that you never knew you wanted to be!
Xoxo,
Lauren