Your Guide To Skin Hydration
You may have noticed already that we often bring up hydration. Well, a healthy and radiant skin starts with proper hydration. And it's not just about drinking enough water. The skin's moisture barrier is made of fats like cholesterol, fatty acids, and ceramides. This barrier is then responsible for locking in moisture and keeping your skin hydrated and healthy. In other words, by maintaining the balance of oils and water in our skin, we give this remarkable organ the best opportunity to play its role to maximum effect.
When the moisture barrier is damaged or compromised, it can cause serious skin hydration issues. Fortunately, moisture barrier damage isn't permanent. With the right changes to your lifestyle and skincare routine, you can reverse the damage and restore proper hydration to your skin.
In this blog article, I want to dive a little bit deeper in why skin hydration is important, how to identify dehydrated skin, and the best ways to keep your skin hydrated and glowing.
Why hydration is essential to skincare?
Water is an essential part of the composition of the human body – it's both what we contain, and what we require. Renewing its frequently expended stores is crucial to preserving a healthy level of hydration in our bodies. And, as you may already understand from the intro of this article, in our skin.
Hydration is crucial for maintaining the skin's barrier function, which protects against environmental aggressors like pollution, UV rays, and bacteria. Well-hydrated skin is more resilient, less prone to irritation, and looks more plump and youthful. On the other hand, dehydrated skin can lead to issues like dryness, flakiness, increased sensitivity, and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Why does skin lose hydration?
I hope we all can agree that it's extremely important to hydrate your skin, but do you know why the skin loses hydration?
Well, sometimes the things we do (or don't do) deplete our skin's water content. These things could be something like:
spending a lot of time in the cold or heat
using harsh soaps, detergents, and chemicals
using rough sponges, wash cloths, or exfoliating products
taking long, hot showers or baths
not drinking enough water throughout the day
The good news is, that all the above-mentioned problems are easy enough to fix. By drinking a few extra glasses of water each day or keeping your showering time short, or minimising the use of soap, you can already improve your skin's hydration levels significantly.
There are, of course, medical conditions that can lead to dehydrated skin. For example,
thyroid disease
menopause
diabetes
poor nutrition, etc.
In these cases, your doctor should be able to help you find the best treatment considering your condition.
How to identify dehydrated skin?
Before we start getting into all the ways you can hydrate your skin, you have to be able to tell when your skin needs to be taken care of. There are certainly multiple signs of dehydration, so it should be easy to tell when you have it. Some signs that you can look out for:
dryness and flakiness: even oily skin can feel tight and look flaky when dehydrated;
dullness: dehydrated skin often lacks the healthy glow and can appear dull and lifeless;
fine lines and wrinkles: lack of hydration can make fine lines more noticeable;
sensitivity: dehydrated skin is more prone to redness and irritation;
dark circles: dehydration can make under-eye circles appear more prominent.
Overall, a dehydrated skin will have a loss of elasticity and won't have the dewy radiance that comes with hydrated skin. Skin hydration is also extremely important for those with acne-prone or oily skin, because proper hydration makes it less likely to exhibit inflammatory markers, like breakouts or flushing.
If you're unsure about your skin's hydration levels, there's a little test you can do. Using your thumb and index finger, pinch the fleshy part of your skin where the cheek and under eye area meet.
When you do this, your skin will appear “tented” for a moment, or stuck in the shape of your pinch. Your hydration level is indicated by how quickly the skin snaps back into place. The quicker it snaps back, the higher the level of hydration. Skin that slowly returns to its usual position often indicates dehydration.
How to keep your skin hydrated?
Like I mentioned earlier, there are steps that you can take every day to improve your lifestyle and health, including, of course, the skin hydration levels. If I had to mention some easy tips for keeping your skin hydrated, those would be the following:
get enough sleep (8-9 hours)
limit your shower time to 5–10 minutes and keep the water lukewarm
drink enough water
limit the amount of coffee and alcohol you consume in your daily life
limit — or better yet avoid completely — smoking
eat a varied diet that's rich in essential fatty acids
protect your skin from the sun, wind, and cold
try to reduce your stress levels
If we're talking about skincare, though, then important changes you can implement in your routine are:
switching to a gentle cleanser
using products that contain ceramides, hyaluronic acid, lipids, and fatty acids
using a hydrating mask from time to time
Selfnamed has a variety of face care products that can help with dehydrated skin. Here are some of the products, that I think are among the most effective when it comes to restoring the hydration levels in one's skin.
Hydrating Toner: pH-balancing toner, infused with rose water and hyaluronic acid, for radiant and moisturised skin.
Collagen Boost Serum: gives your skin much-needed hydration and a dose of powerful actives that help to support collagen for a younger looking skin.
Hydrating Serum: soothing bisabolol provides comfort, while cloudberry and peony extracts provide nutrients and vitamins for a healthy looking skin.
Ceramide Hydrating Night Cream: thoughtfully formulated with ingredients that work their magic overnight, promoting skin renewal and a radiant glow.
Oil-Free Hydrating Gel: together with betaine and watercress extract, this gel coats your skin with endless hydration, leaving the skin plump and fresh.
Collagen Anti-Age Night Cream: the nourishing power of cocoa and shea butter ensures deep hydration.
Nourishing Facial Oil: amazing blend with 11 organic certified oils and extracts, giving the nutrient and vitamin boost your skin needs to reveal a healthy and glowy look.
Double Hydration Boost Gel: helps to form a moisture-locking barrier on the skin, preventing moisture loss and enhancing the skin's natural plumpness and elasticity.
Oil-Free Zinc Face Gel for Men: absorbs quickly and provides instant hydration, while collagen supporting Zinc helps maintain the skin looking youthful and fresh.
Sensitive Skin Oil-To-Milk Cleanser: rich and oily texture turns into silky milk and dissolves make-up and impurities when in contact with mater.
We have also introduced new product collection box sets, where one of the sets is specifically devoted to skin hydration. It's the Hydra-Glow Protection Set, which includes the Sunscreen SPF30 Face & Body, Double Boost Hydration Gel and Brightening Eye Cream.
Maintaining proper skin hydration is vital for achieving a healthy, glowing complexion. By incorporating at least a few of the tips I mentioned and using the right products, you can keep your skin well-hydrated and resilient against environmental stressors. Remember, a hydrated skin is a happy skin, so make it your No 1 skincare priority.
How To Start Your Own Skincare Line Using Selfnamed
Selfnamed is here to help create your own skincare line by making the process as simple and seamless as possible. As soon as you decide on your ideal customer and product range, there are only a few simple steps to take:
Select product sample sets. You can choose from more than 30 high-quality, organic or natural certified skincare products made in Northern Europe.
Add your style. Selfnamed offers an easy-to-use design studio to create labels and packaging. You can work with pre-made print-ready templates or create your design from scratch. You can also choose our design service.
Start selling your products. There are no minimum orders, meaning you can easily adjust the volume to your needs.
Before making a custom order, we recommend looking at our sample set selection. These sets contain curated product lines for different skin types, letting you choose the best products for your brand. This way you can test the products — their consistencies, textures, fragrances, as well as packaging quality.
There are the basic steps on how to start a skincare line from the comfort of your home. Best of luck with your new endeavour!
