Want to confuse someone after a facial? Tell them they have oily and dehydrated skin. Seems like an oxymoron, no? Well, not really.

One of the greatest misconceptions in skin care is that dehydrated skin means dry skin. In reality, the two are very different. Dry skin is a skin type, like normal or oily, and refers to the amount of oil (also known as sebum) in your skin. Dry skin can be hereditary or caused by certain medications or hormonal changes and is generally finer in texture with fewer pores and cannot handle the same aggressive treatment as thicker, oiler skin.

People with dry skin have less of the oils and lipids that comprise part of the hydrolipidic barrier, the protective barrier that helps slow the rate at which water evaporates from the skin. Because of this rapid evaporation, dry skin types often suffer from dehydration. Therefore, dry skin requires emollient products that help promote the protective barrier, thereby slowing the rate of evaporation.

Dehydrated skin is a skin condition and occurs when your skin does not have enough moisture from water and can affect all skin types – dry, normal and oily. Dehydrated skin can be caused by a host of factors including use of harsh soaps and hot water to cleanse, use of certain acne medications such as benzoyl peroxide and retinoids, excessive sun exposure, smoking, caffeine and alcohol consumption and low humidity. Dehydrated skin will feel tight, may have blotchiness or redness, can appear dull and may become flaky.

Dehydrated skin will have different consequences depending on your skin type. For people with oily skin that are dehydrated, the glands will produce extra oil to help stop moisture evaporation. This overworking of the glands leads to excess oil production causing large pores and clogging. In dry skin types, since there is no oil, skin suffering from dehydration will utilize collagen and elastin for replenishment, which can cause premature wrinkles and sagging of the skin.

There are three basic steps to treat dehydrated skin:

1. Eliminate the environmental factors - Stop smoking, cut back on the coffee, wear sunscreen and stay in the shade, use a humidifier. Also, using a sulfate free cleanser, like skoah’s gel kleanser and kleansing lotion, will help clean your skin without stripping its good oils.
2. Moisturize - Oils/lipids will help trap water in the skin by sealing over the skin preventing evaporation. This is why people with oily skin should not be afraid of a little oil in their moisturizer, like that found in skoah’s face skotion. Unless you are in an extremely dry climate, humectants will help attract water from the atmosphere, so try our moisture induce mask. And if you are truly afraid of oil, hyaluronic acid, like that found in our power jel, is a fantastic non-oil product that will help bind water to the skin.
3. Hydrate - Drink plenty of water, especially if you are consuming alcoholic or caffeinated beverages. This is the Golden Rule at skoah since we’ve been known to have a wee coffee problem and enjoy the occasional cocktail or two.

Pete from skoah Boston