Dehydrated Skin: The Dos and Don'ts of Caring for Your Parched Skin

Dehydrated skin is a common issue wherein the skin is lacking in water — as opposed to dry skin, which is lacking in oil. It’s caused by various factors, including air conditioning, dry weather, poor sleeping habits, and not drinking enough water. But thankfully, it’s a temporary situation and not a skin type. Topical treatments and some lifestyle improvements can turn your dehydrated skin around. Here are some dos and don’ts to help you.

A damaged skin barrier is one of the major causes of dehydrated skin. When the skin can’t regulate moisture levels, it can get rough, itchy, scaly, red, and tight. It exhibits the same symptoms as dry skin, hence the frequent confusion. The main difference is the approach to healing. With a compromised skin barrier, you’d want to avoid harsh, exfoliating ingredients that can aggravate flaking or irritate the skin further. Avoid acids and physical scrubs until your skin’s sensitivity, redness, and itching subside.

Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant that draws moisture from the environment to the skin. It’s especially essential to dehydrated skin, which needs more hydration than usual. Make this skincare hero your BFF if you want to bring suppleness back to your skin — but make sure you do it right. Apply hyaluronic acid right before patting your serum and slathering on your moisturizer. This helps your skin absorb your skincare products better.

Apart from hyaluronic acid, you might want to try adding a vitamin C serum to your routine. It may sound counterintuitive since vitamin C is better known as a skin brightener. However, it’s also a powerful antioxidant that hydrates the skin. According to a research review published in the National Institutes of Health, topical vitamin C can reduce transepidermal water loss by up to 19%, helping restore the skin barrier. 

Give your hyaluronic acid something to work with — use moisturizer. Even if dehydrated skin needs more water and not oil, it will still benefit from a good moisturizer, which will deliver nutrients to your skin as well as lock water in. Apply moisturizer day and night to nourish your skin. Try POND’S Orange Nectar Jelly Moisturizer, which has vitamin C. It’s also alcohol-free, which means it won’t irritate your sensitive skin.

You really shouldn’t be washing your face with hot water in the first place, but even more so if you have dehydrated skin and a compromised skin barrier. Hot water can dry out and irritate the skin by damaging its epidermal layer. This can make it even more impossible for your skin to retain moisture. Instead, use warm water to wash your face.

Prolonged sun exposure can do major damage to the skin, including disrupting the skin barrier. Wearing sunscreen daily and reapplying throughout the day can help keep your dehydrated skin from losing even more water. It also prevents further irritation caused by sunburn. Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen that shields the skin from UVA and UVB rays with at least SPF 30.

Use a hydrating sunscreen like POND'S UV Hydrate Sunscreen to give your skin a fresh, glass finish while protective it from ultraviolet rays.

Follow these simple tips when caring for dehydrated skin to gently restore moisture and strengthen your skin barrier. It will take a little bit of time, but with the right products, you’ll notice the difference — no more itching and flaking — in two weeks.