It seems like no matter how much you invest in a well regimented skin-care routine, you most likely will have to look up ways on how to hydrate skin anyway. But don’t feel too defeated if you’re experiencing some dryness. Dreaded dehydration is a top skin concern for most and happens for a variety of reasons that are all too common.
“Dehydrated skin is skin lacking water or that has reduced ability to hold onto water,” says Ifeoma Ejikeme, general medicine consultant and expert aesthetic physician. Many of us know from personal experience that dry skin also often looks dull and sallow, and fine lines can appear more pronounced. It also immediately—and devastatingly—hinders a luminous glow.
So what gives? How do we combat this? The good news is that it’s super easy to fix. It just requires a few tweaks in daily habits and looking for the right products. Here, Vogue finds the simplest ways to keep skin hydrated—with some help from the experts.
Signs of Dehydrated Skin
Before getting to all the ways you can hydrate your skin, you have to be able to tell when your skin needs to be taken care of. Dendy Engelman, MD, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon at Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue says there are many signs of dehydration and it’s pretty easy to tell when you have it. “If skin is dry, there could be rough texture, flakiness, and dullness. It can also feel more sensitive and [be] prone to irritation and redness,” Engelman adds. “Well-hydrated skin is smooth, supple, plump, and has a healthy glow; there will not be dry patches, flakiness, or tightness.”
Michael I. Jacobs, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College and medical technology director at Cortina, agrees and adds that fine lines become more pronounced and the bags under your eyes will get darker and appear more sunken when your skin is dehydrated. “Overall, the skin will have a loss of elasticity and won’t have the dewy radiance that comes with hydrated skin,” Jacobs explains.
Aside from the luminosity factor, Pamela Marshall, clinical aesthetician and co-founder of Mortar & Milk, says it’s important for skin to be well hydrated and moisturized to help those who are acne-prone or oily; it makes it less likely to exhibit inflammatory markers, like breakouts or flushing. “Dehydrated skin will send messages to the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum,” she explains. “This excess sebum goes into the pilosebaceous unit, causing it to swell and inflame. The capillary network will also expand when skin is dehydrated [causing increased redness].” Hydrating the skin properly will calm the skin, making the symptoms go down.
It all starts with your diet
Hydrated skin starts from inside out, which means the first step starts with your diet. Luckily, you can turn to a lot of different types of food. First, look to incorporate a healthy dose of essential omega-3 fatty acids into your meals. “Internally, our skin is both hydrophilic [has a tendency to mix with water], and lipophilic [attracted to lipids], meaning we need both water and lipids to keep it hydrated,” says Marshall. “Foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, and oily fish can have a positive effect on the overall hydration levels of the skin, as well as the dermal levels.” She also advises taking an omega supplement (We love Artah’s Essential Omegas).