Is My Skin Dry Or Dehydrated?
It's that time of year again! The time when the jungle-like temperatures of South Texas fall (finally) and we can all go back outside again without breaking a sweat just to get from the door to the car. It's refreshing and dreary and....cold.
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So we turn our heaters on and break out the blankets and scrounge around to find out boots (yesssss boot season!). And we start to notice that it's taking more foundation to do our make up and it's looking cakey. And our legs start getting itchy. And I could have sworn I had a sample of some hand lotion in my purse...
It's so dry!
Yes, this is what I hear in my treatment room every day during about mid December to March. My skin is so dry!
But is it?
Dry means your skin is lacking oil. It looks like super small pores. Dehydrated means your skin is lacking water. It looks like full parchment paper when you pinch it . Which is it? Could be either. Could be both.
More often clients that come to me for dry skin actually have dehydrated skin. This is much more common in the winter. The amount of oil your skin produces typically doesn't change too awful much from season to season. It can, but it's not as common.
How much water you have in your skin can vary quite a bit. Why you ask? Well just let me show you a few reasons.
The amount of humidity in the air changes with the season. Especially down south here, we're used to very humid summers, with humidity rates of 90% or more sometimes. But in the winter, this drops off. We get less rain, our hurricanes go away, and we forget we're living in essentially what is swamp land. So overall, our body won't hold onto water as well.
We use our heaters. We know we get made fun of for turning the heater on when it's still 55 outside, but we're not used to the thermostat dipping down below 70. So we crank up the heaters. And heaters dehumidify. Taking even more precious water out of the air.
We start taking hotter showers. They feel sooooo good. So good. But hot water strips our body (and hair) of water and the oil needed to hold water in.
So what can we do to help out skin in this changing time?
Change up your home care game. You may need to add a heavier serum with hyaluronic acid (which holds water in your skin, and also comes in plant form know as the Senna plant) and use a heavier moisturizer.
Don't take hot showers and baths. I know. This is the hardest one. At least, if you do make sure to use a body oil directly after to seal in what water is left on your skin.
Drink plenty of water. About 1/2 to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight.
Try not to be directly in front of a heater. If you have a space heater, keep it a few feet away from you.
Struggling with itchy skin is real, but there are many options available for relief. If you need some advice trying to figure out what's going on in your skin, schedule a consult!
Love your beautiful face!