Dehydrated skin is a leading cause of acne - find out why and what you can do to prevent it.
Skin cells require a lot of moisture to function properly. Sufficient moisturizing keeps the epidermis toned and fresh-looking, while poor hydration leads to premature aging and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This is why it`s essential to ensure proper moisturizing of cells.
Sufficient hydration allows for coping with multiple skin problems. Once cells get enough moisturizing, they perform properly, renewal processes are not slowed down, and they are toned and elastic.
When the skin is not sufficiently hydrated it loses its plump, youthful radiance. Think of a turgid plant and what happens when it starts to wilt: it gets dry, flakey, and wrinkly. Skin itchiness and inflammation is also commonly associated with dehydrated skin. The lack of hydration causes excess oil production which ends up clogging pores. The clogged pores then proceed to trigger inflammation. This can't be soothed without some sort of moisture or hydration.
Many people confuse dry skin with dehydration. When we talk about dryness, we mean insufficient activity of the sebaceous glands. So, here`s the point: dryness is a skin type; it does not change. Dehydration is a temporary symptom that can be eliminated.
Dry acne-prone skin needs constant care to look healthy; a skincare routine is picked, taking into account the peculiarities of the skin type. Dehydrated skin also needs treatment; yet, it`s possible to normalize its hydro-lipid level with corresponding highly moisturizing skincare products.
Dehydration can occur on both the face and body. Its main reasons include:
Any of these causes can lead to an increased loss of moisture in cells, which inevitably results in cracks, sagging, fine lines, and premature aging.
Dehydration can most definitely cause acne breakouts. In fact, it is one of the main factors associated with acne prone skin. Anyone can get dehydrated skin regardless of their skin type. It is caused by insufficient hydration.
Dehydrated skin disrupts the skin’s natural moisture barrier. It does this by disrupting the water-oil balance in the skin. It is worth noting that oil and water should not be considered synonymous. Water provides essential hydration to drive biochemical processes in the skin. On the other hand, oil is emollient and locks in the hydration. Both components work together to maintain the skin’s moisture barrier.
However, do not fret if your skin’s moisture barrier seems to have gone a bit haywire. Dehydrated skin is often associated with environmental stressors. If you are in a humid country, the skin’s oil production tends to spike up and vice versa. Even with the change of seasons - transitioning from summer to winter, it requires your skin to adapt to the differing moisture content in the air.
This is why tweaking your skincare routine according to the seasons is crucial. Having a few fail-proof products on hand to soothe dehydrated skin helps maintain skin moisture levels. A few of our go-tos are the Evenswiss Balancing Complex and ZENii Pro Hydrate. Both of these work to help restore moisture in dehydrated skin.
The variety of products is high on the market. So, when selecting a suitable treatment, pay attention to your skin type and product composition. To prevent dehydration, make sure to apply moisturizers twice per day.
Since everybody’s skin is different, it is quite difficult to pinpoint an exact time frame. If the problem is solely due to dehydration and not a compromised skin barrier, 3 months of consistent skincare application should start to give you results. Though, this is just an estimate and should not be taken as a hard and fast rule.
There was a famous old school home method of treating acne prone skin - to dry out your skin on the belief that it would make your skin less oily. While in theory it sounds reasonable, it is definitely one of the worst methods in practice and would worsen acne.
Drying out the skin by not applying moisturiser, or using a stripping cleanser would deprive your skin of the hydration that it craves. This will push it to overcompensate for this lack of moisture by producing even more excess oil.
There are two essential steps in treating dehydrated skin. If the skin is merely dehydrated, look out for a good lightweight moisturiser that will deliver you a pack of hydration such as the Evenswiss Rich Regenerating Cream.
As well as this, ZENii Pro Hydrate is another great moisturising solution. This supplement is a tried and true skincare solution packed with sodium hyaluronate. This acts as a vessel to transport water molecules to supplement the skin with hydration.
To seal in all that moisture, we recommend pairing it with the Indeed Labs Clearify Facial Oil for optimum hydration. The Indeed Labs Clearify Oil has a unique lightweight, non-greasy formula. It helps nourish your skin and rebalance oil production.
As mentioned above hydration is essential in skincare, especially if you have acne prone skin. Water is essential in providing an optimum medium for biochemical processes. It is also a universal solvent that helps to transport waste products and toxins to be excreted from the skin. Hence, water is essential for supplementing skin regeneration and healing acne.
If you are worried about oiliness and prefer lightweight water based products instead of the Indeed Labs Clearify Facial Oil, try the Evenswiss Balancing Complex. Evenswiss Balancing Complex is a serum that works to improve congested, oily, dehydrated acne prone skin. This is more of a targeted skincare solution, so pair it with any trusted moisturiser for best results.
Besides hydration, there are other factors to consider when battling with dehydrated acne prone skin. Whilst delivering moisture to your skin should be of main priority, treatment requires finding the right balance of active ingredients as well.
Retinoids, AHAs and a daily exfoliating cleanser such as Exfoliator II by Indeed Labs would be a great accompaniment to your skincare routine. Retinoids increase cell turnover to yield new skin cells. AHAs help to gently decongest the skin by buffing away accumulated dead skin cells.
Moisturizers are used to hydrate cells with water. Such skincare products contain ingredients that attract and retain moisture in cells, preventing dehydration. For example, hyaluronic acid comes as the most famous and powerful moisturizer. It locks liquid in cells, ensuring the required hydro level. This is why moisturizers come as an obligatory product in your skincare kit for daily application. Moisturizing is the last step of a regular skincare routine.
It`s possible to exfoliate dehydrated epidermis. However, one should do it with great caution. Dermatologists and cosmetologists suggest restoring the hydro-lipid level first and then, introducing exfoliating procedures. If you still want to exfoliate dehydrated cells, give preference to gentle products.
To sum up the article, let’s clarify the correlation between dehydrated skin and acne. Answering the question “Can dehydrated skin cause acne”, note that each body is individual. However, in most cases, acne appears as the consequence of extra sebum synthesis and accumulation, which leads to clogging pores and bacterial growth. This is not the case for dry skin; on the contrary, these symptoms are typical for the oily epidermis.
