This is How to Hydrate Your Skin According to Dermatology Ph.D

The sweater weather and even colder weather is just around the corner and it is that time of the year where our skin will be more prone to dehydration, flakiness, and tightness. But, not this year, because we will talk about some tips on how to make your skin stay hydrated and plump throughout the season starting from skincare to some lifestyle changes!

What is hydrated skin and why it is important

Our body is made up of 70% of water and it is an essential part of not only our health but also our skin. Our skin is such a smart organ that performs many important functions for us such as regulating temperature, providing tactile sense, and as a protective barrier that keeps our body away from harmful irritants and stressors. All these skin cells' function is made possible due to the proper amount of water and hydration on our skin. When our skin is well hydrated, it will function and look its best!

Signs that your skin is dehydrated

As we get older, our skin loses its ability to retain water for its to function at its full potential. You may be wondering how you know if your skin is lacking water or not. When your skin is dehydrated, you may be experiencing one of these: • Dull looking skin

• Tightness
• Itchiness
• Sunken eyes
• Increased or accentuated fine lines/surface wrinkles

Another simple way to test whether your skin is dehydrated is by doing the pinch test. Take a small portion of your skin (cheek, jawline area) and then squeeze it gently. If your skin doesn’t instantly bounce back and turns wrinkly, your skin may be dehydrated.

How to keep your skin hydrated in a few steps

Luckily, dehydration is a temporary and treatable condition with simple lifestyle changes. You just have to make a few skincare and lifestyle changes. Here are some steps that will keep your skin hydrated:

A. Skincare:

From cleansing – moisturizing: there are ways to keep your skin hydration at its peak

1) Don't over wash your skin

Look for a low pH and gentle cleanser for your everyday use and cleanse your face twice a day. Washing your face too often or for too long, can take away a lot of our skin natural lipids. Make sure that your cleanser doesn’t leave your skin feeling tight or dry.

2) Use lukewarm water

Don’t use water that is either too hot or too cold They both can be damaging for your skin barrier that helps to trap as much moisture for your skin.

3) Don’t over-exfoliate

When your skin barrier is compromised due to over-exfoliation, your skin is going to lose more water than it should and leads to dehydration. Make sure to exfoliate in moderation and never go overboard since it may cause more damage than good to your skin.▶ Acid Skincare Ingredient 101 - Read to learn the details about all the acid ingredients found common in skincare!

4) Use your moisturizer daily

Don’t forget to use a hydrating product on your skincare routine starting from a toner, serum, and lock them with a good moisturizer. When your skin is very dehydrated, you can layer several hydrating products and seal it with a more occlusive moisturizer to keep the water content. Otherwise, you can just use a single product with a good blend of humectants, emollients, and occlusive to help your skin retain its moisture.▶ Gel vs Cream? Read to find out the different types of moisturizers and find the one for you

B. List of Hydrating Ingredients

Here is some list of hydrating ingredients you want to look for in your skincare routine and can be readily found in a lot of skincare products from toner, serum, lotion and a lot of moisturizer:

1) Humectants:

- • Glycerin
- • Hyaluronic acid
- • Polyglutamic acid
- • Propylene glycol
- • Urea
- • Lactic acid
- • Honey
- • Panthenol

2) Occlusives:

- • Petrolatum
- • Shea butter
- • Plant-based oil
- • Beeswax
- • Mineral oil

3) Emollients (skin barrier repairing):

- - • Ceramides
  - • Fatty acids (linoleic, oleic acid, etc)
  - • Cholesterol
  - • Squalene

C. How to Add Extra Hydration Each Step

Extra tips on how to maximize each of your skincare products for an extra boost of hydration. There are ways to level-up your hydration game with your skincare:

1) Toner:

- ◎ Layer your toner

: Have you ever heard of the 7-skin method of layering your toner 7 times in one routine? We don’t think that the number really matters actually and 7 times maybe a little bit too much. But, if you find your current skin care product is not hydrating enough, you can always play around with how many times you layer them.

- ◎ Make a sheet mask with your hydrating toner

: When you’re on a budget, you don’t have to get a dedicated sheet mask to get the hydration concept from a sheet mask as long as you have a hydrating toner and a sponge cotton pad. You just have to soak in your cotton with your favorite hydrating toner, and then apply it to the desired ‘dehydrated’ area and let it sit there for 10 – 20 minutes. Your skin will soak in all the moisture just like how it does with a sheet mask!

- ◎ Put it on a spray mist bottle and carry them with you wherever you go

: When your skin is feeling tight in the middle of the day, you just have to spray it away.

2) Mist:

- ◎ Sandwich method

: Spray your hydrating mist in between your skincare step. For example: toner – mist – serum – mist – moisturizer. This will boost up the hydration that you will get from each of the products.

3) Moisturizer:

- ◎ Layer your moisturizer

: When the hydration from multiple layers of toner and a layer of moisturizer is not enough, now you can layer your moisturizer to give that extra boost of hydration for your skin.

- ◎ Top it off with some facial oil

: Facial oil is an emollient-occlusive that can help optimize the work of your moisturizer to trap more water! You can mix it with your moisturizer directly or apply it on top of it. Do whatever makes your skin feel good.

- ◎ Sleeping mask

: When you are ready to splurge, you can stock up on a sleeping mask for that extra dehydrated skin day. Sleeping masks work as a moisturizer, but they usually have more of an occlusive that provides that rich creamy texture. It is a good item to have when you are prone to dehydration but not a necessity.

D. Lifestyle and Diet Tips to Keep Skin Hydrated

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This is How to Hydrate Your Skin According to Dermatology Ph.D

What is hydrated skin and why it is important

Signs that your skin is dehydrated

How to keep your skin hydrated in a few steps

A. Skincare:

1) Don't over wash your skin

2) Use lukewarm water

3) Don’t over-exfoliate

4) Use your moisturizer daily

B. List of Hydrating Ingredients

1) Humectants:

2) Occlusives:

3) Emollients (skin barrier repairing):

C. How to Add Extra Hydration Each Step

1) Toner:

◎ Layer your toner

◎ Make a sheet mask with your hydrating toner

◎ Put it on a spray mist bottle and carry them with you wherever you go

2) Mist:

◎ Sandwich method

3) Moisturizer:

◎ Layer your moisturizer

◎ Top it off with some facial oil

◎ Sleeping mask

D. Lifestyle and Diet Tips to Keep Skin Hydrated

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