In this post, I take you through how to fix dehydrated skin fast in 3 steps.
Step 1
Hydrating ingredients on your skin
Hydrating ingredients in skincare belong to a category of ingredients called humectants. Humectants are water magnets. When applied on the skin, they pull the water molecules from the atmosphere towards them and, in the process, bring hydration to the skin.
Few tips:
– Use hydrating serums. Serums have very few ingredients, and the humectants in a hydrating serum will be of the highest concentration. A serum is more effective.
– Pat the hydrating serum on your skin when your skin is slightly moist.
– If you are applying the serum after your shower, the best time to apply this hydrating serum is in the bathroom when there is some steam.
Step 2
Top off the hydrating serums with a skincare product rich in emollients and/or occlusives. These ingredients form a thin layer on the top of the skin and help the skin retain the moisture that the humectants just brought to the skin.
Never leave your hydrating serum as the last layer on the skin. Always top off your humectants with an emollient/occlusive-rich skincare product.
Important note about step 1 and step 2
Humectants are water magnets. They need moisture. If you live in a dry climate, there isn’t much moisture in the atmosphere.
If humectants can’t find moisture in the atmosphere, they will pull water from the deeper layers of skin to the skin’s surface. Suppose you don’t apply an emollient/occlusive; the moisture will evaporate into the atmosphere, leaving your skin more dehydrated. So always top off humectants with an emollient and/or occlusive-rich product ~ twice as crucial if you live in a dry climate.
Step 3
Skin usually becomes dehydrated when the top layer of the skin is compromised. When the top layer gets compromised, it can’t effectively prevent water loss through evaporation.
The top layer gets compromised when the substances that the top layer is made up of are not at an optimum level. So, we need to replenish our skin with these regularly. The way to do this is to use skincare products rich in skin-barrier-strengthening ingredients.
An easy win
Moisturiser is a skin care product that most of us use daily. So make that moisturiser count.
Use a moisturiser that has:
~ hydrating ingredients (humectants)
~ emollients and/or occlusive
~ some skin-barrier-strengthening ingredients.
How fast can we fix dehydrated skin?
If you regularly use skincare products with the right ingredients, it shouldn’t take more than a week to fix dehydrated skin.
The critical point to remember is to continue this routine, maybe less regularly than before, even after the skin returns to normal.