Sometimes your skin feels dry; sometimes, it feels oily. Sometimes it may look dull, uneven, and unhappy. Your skin needs attention, but to figure out what it needs and how to help it, you need to find the cause of the problems.
If you know your skin type (normal, oily, combination, or dry), you might wonder why the same skincare products you’ve always used aren’t helping. The skincare experts at Furtuna Skin can help. We’ll talk about the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin.
We’ll also talk about what’s going on under the epidermis and learn how to correct each issue to increase hydration, soothe dry, irritated skin — and help bring your skin back into balance.
What Is Dry Skin?
Dry skin is a common skin type, like having oily skin or combination skin (skin that is both oily and dry in different places). Dry skin happens because of a lack of oil, also known as sebum. When you have dry skin, your sebaceous glands don’t produce enough oil to keep your skin adequately moisturized.
You might have dry skin for a variety of reasons. Genetics is the most significant determining factor that dictates your skin type. If one or both of your parents have had dry skin, you may also experience dryness.
What Causes Dry Skin?
Dry skin can also be caused by:
- Environment. If you live in an arid climate or are exposed to a lot of wind with little humidity, your skin will naturally be more dehydrated.
- Age. As you age, your sebaceous glands produce less sebum (your skin’s natural oil). This decrease in oil production can lead to drier skin.
- Over-washing and over-exfoliating. Washing your face too much or with harsh scrubs can strip your skin of natural moisture.
- Heat. Hot showers, hot climates, and even indoor heaters can strip the skin of moisture.
- The wrong products. Some skincare products contain ingredients that leave your skin feeling dry and irritated. Soaps and detergents we use on our clothes may also irritate the skin.
- Underlying skin issues. Some skin conditions may cause your skin to develop rough, dry patches or flake and itch.
What Are Some Symptoms of Dry Skin?
Not sure whether or not you have a dry skin type? Here are some of the most common symptoms:
- Rough patches, rashes, scaliness, peeling, or flaking on your skin.
- Dullness. The skin may lack luminosity and appear drab or lackluster.
- Skin sensitivity. If you suddenly develop sensitive skin, it could be a sign your skin is dry. Symptoms like itchiness, flaking, and redness can all be indicative of skin that lacks enough moisture.
The good news is that dry skin is an entirely manageable condition. If your skin is dry, you need products that not only help hydrate and soften it but also help bring your skin’s natural moisture balance back to ground zero.
How Can You Fix Dry Skin?
One way to fix dry skin is to use products that help hydrate, protect, and regulate your skin’s natural moisture balance. For this, you need quality ingredients.
Emollients
Ingredients that act as emollients soften the skin and improve overall skin texture. If your skin feels rough or is so dry you’ve developed cracks or rashes, an emollient works to fill in these areas of irregularity and improve your skin’s feel and condition.
One of nature’s most powerful emollients is olive oil. It contains squalane, sterols, and Vitamins A, K, and E, which have emollient properties and help soften and soothe dry, damaged skin.
Humectants
In addition to emollients, you need ingredients that are humectants. These ingredients pull water molecules from the air and lock them inside your skin, keeping your skin hydrated for hours.
Jojoba oil, olive oil, and beeswax are all excellent humectants, all with the simultaneous ability to draw moisture to the skin and create a protective barrier to ensure it isn’t lost.
How Can I Treat Dry Skin at Home?
At Furtuna Skin, every product we create has our single-origin, organic extra virgin olive oil as a base. It’s a powerfully potent, natural, and nourishing vehicle for delivering other plant botanicals to your skin.
You can find our award-winning olive oil in our Replenishing Balm. Our balm is formulated with multiple humectants and emollients to help soothe and restore luminosity to dry, damaged skin.
What Is Dehydrated Skin?
Unlike dry skin, dehydrated skin is a skin condition. Skin conditions can happen to any skin type, so it’s possible to have oily skin that is also dehydrated. It’s also possible to have dehydrated skin that is also dry skin.
What Are Some Common Causes of Dehydrated Skin?
Dehydrated skin occurs due to a lack of water in the skin. When you don’t drink enough water or lose too much water through sweating or strenuous activities, your skin’s water content can decrease, and your skin hydration levels may plummet.
The main reason skin becomes dehydrated is damage to the skin barrier. Your skin barrier, also known as the lipid barrier or stratum corneum, is the uppermost layer of your skin. It helps protect your skin against moisture loss.
When the skin barrier becomes damaged, your skin loses water more easily. Damage to the skin barrier happens from:
- External factors, like sun exposure without proper sunscreen, can lead to skin dehydration. The sun can reduce the overall moisture level in your skin, leaving it dehydrated.
- Free radical damage. Free radicals come from the sun and irritants like pollution and cigarette smoke. These can damage the skin and cause it to lose water.
Your skin needs antioxidants to protect against free radicals, and you can find these in high-quality skincare products that contain natural, potent ingredients.
- Using the wrong products. Products that aren’t designed to protect your skin against water loss can increase your likelihood of developing dehydrated skin.
What Are Some Symptoms of Dehydrated Skin?
Dehydrated skin shows signs that may overlap with dry skin, such as:
- Dry, flaking, or itching skin. Dehydrated skin frequently becomes itchy, with or without flaking.
- Dark circles under the eyes or depressed, hollow areas in the cheeks.
- More noticeable fine lines and wrinkles, and an overall loss of skin elasticity.
If you feel your skin is dehydrated, you can take steps to easily correct the issue and improve your skin’s hydration levels.
How Can I Soothe Dehydrated Skin?
Fixing dehydrated skin includes more than just increasing your water intake and making sure you always wear sun protection. It means leveling up your skincare routine and giving your skin the right ingredients to help it do what it does naturally: thrive.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants act like shields of protection against free radicals. They help your skin cells fight off damage and help correct the visible effects of earlier free radical damage. While vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, olive oil and olive leaf water contain more antioxidant fighting power than vitamin C alone.
Gentle Cleansing
Sometimes, the cleansers we use can strip the skin barrier of its ability to protect our skin as well as it should. Plant-based cleansers that contain hydrating ingredients work to gently remove dirt and oil while delivering nutrients to the skin barrier to help it function properly.
Furtuna Skin Micellar Cleansing Essence works as both a cleanser and a toner, effectively drawing out dirt and oil and simultaneously hydrating skin. It’s also formulated with our Splendore Anchusa® Complex, which is clinically proven to block free radical damage by 100%.
Deep Hydration
While much about keeping skin healthy is an inside job, the topical products you use can help boost the skin’s ability to stay hydrated and promote skin rejuvenation. Furtuna Skin Biphase Moisturizing Oil offers a double dose of hydration in a two-part system of powerful plant ingredients.
- Restore. Olive oil and olive leaf extract help protect against collagen loss and visibly plump and replenish skin’s moisture barrier. These ingredients help hydrate and achieve a supple, glowing complexion.
- Protect. While keeping skin hydrated and nourished, our Moisturizing Oil also keeps the skin barrier protected so it can do its job of protecting against moisture loss. Splendore Anchusa® Complex protects against free radicals while, 360° Exposome Defense™ Complex protects against digital blue light and urban air pollution.
All the protection and hydration your skin needs in one powerfully potent, completely natural product? Yes, you can have it all.
Skin That Thrives
Dry skin and dehydrated skin can make your skin appear dull and can even lead to breakouts or skin conditions. You can fight back naturally with products containing natural ingredients that collaborate with your skin to help restore its ability to protect itself and truly thrive.
Furtuna Skin makes it easy for you to care for your skin without harsh, synthetic ingredients. By combining old-world wisdom with new innovation, we develop skincare that brings back skin’s natural radiance and health, one olive-oil infused product at a time.
Sources:
Dry skin - Symptoms and Causes | Mayo Clinic
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