Achieving optimal hydration for healthy skin can be a bit challenging. Initially, our skin requires priming to prepare it for moisturization, followed by the essential step of capturing and retaining water to prevent its escape. The key lies in utilizing a moisturizer rich in lipids, as it creates a protective barrier that effectively prevents water evaporation. Discover how to keep your skin hydrated wherever and whenever.
What Is Hydrated Skin?
Hydrated skin refers to skin that has an optimal level of moisture and water content. When our skin is well-hydrated, it appears plump, smooth, and radiant. It feels supple, elastic, and comfortable rather than dry, tight, or rough. Hydrated skin is better in every way, in fact, all skin that is trying to function with chronic dehydration is in critical deficiency and nothing else you do for your skin will help it. There is no substitution for water. Proper hydration helps to prevent issues such as sun damage, blackheads, dryness, flakiness, and dullness, promoting a healthy and vibrant complexion.
What Causes Dehydrated Skin?
- Environmental Factors: Exposure to dry air, low humidity, harsh weather conditions, and excessive heat will cause topical water loss.
- Inadequate Hydration: Not drinking enough water or consuming excessive amounts of diuretic substances like caffeine and alcohol can dehydrate the body, further affecting our skin’s moisture levels.
- Improper Skin care Routine: Using harsh or drying cleansers, over-exfoliating, or using products with irritating ingredients can disrupt the skin’s natural moisture balance and contribute to dehydration.
- Age: As we age, our skin’s ability to retain moisture diminishes, resulting in high risk of dehydration.
- Overuse of Hot Water: Frequent and prolonged exposure to hot water, such as long showers or baths, can strip the skin of its natural oils, plus just bake the water right out of our skin.
- Medical Conditions: Certain health conditions like eczema, psoriasis, diabetes, and thyroid disorders can affect the skin’s ability to retain moisture, making it more prone to dehydration.
- Medications: Some medications, such as diuretics or certain acne treatments, can have a drying effect on the skin and contribute to dehydration.
How To Hydrate Your Skin: The Steps
When priming our skin to hold water, it’s crucial that skin cells are fresh, and ideally, these new skin cells have been inspired by Dermal Nutrients and not by corrosives such as chemical peels. If you have never heard about the benefits of Dermal Nutrients then you simply must learn about this now! This is an enormous game changer and a big part of what helps our skin be able to hold onto water.
- Prepare skin for product application by splashing and/or steaming with warm water.
- Pat dry & immediately (don’t wait– learn about The Thirsty Moment by watching the Origin Set Application video). Mist with a hydrating mist which is real rosewater and/or natural spring water.
- Apply a hydrating serum and Dermal Nutrient rich serum in order to acquire fresh skin cells without the over exfoliation of our skin. Aloe vera gel and/or hyaluronic acid as these are two of the best hydrophilic substances for a hydrating serum.
- Apply an oil-dense moisturizer quickly, before all of this evaporates.
Common Mistakes Of Hydrating Skin
One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to learning how to hydrate skin is the misuse of popular essential oils. It is good to recognize that essential oils for your face are not good.
I know they are natural but the vast majority of essential oils are extremely astringent and are best for cooking, cleaning, personal scented oils, massage oils, and first aid kits. The use of most essential oils will dry your skin out…even if it is used in a rich carrier oil like avocado, rose-hip seed, or even carrot oil.
It is important to also avoid all astringent toners that claim to minimize pore size like witch hazel, benzoyl peroxide, and apple cider vinegar.
Lastly, embrace a lipid rich heavier moisturizer. One of the most important things we can do to optimize our skin’s hydration is to use a thick moisturizer. “But won’t a dense moisturizer clog my pores?” NO! Exactly the opposite! It will hydrate and help our skin naturally UNclog. I swear on both of my grandmothers’ graves. Learning how to hydrate our skin is fundamental for skin happiness.
The Bottom Line On Keeping Skin Hydrated
Understanding how to properly hydrate our skin is essential for achieving skin happiness and promoting overall skin health. By following the right steps and avoiding common pitfalls, we can keep our skin hydrated wherever and whenever. Remember, hydrated skin is the foundation for a healthy and radiant complexion.
About the author
I took many wrong turns when I started learning about skin at 19. The more I spent on skincare, equipment, and training, the further I felt from actually helping skin. I was frustrated with only being able to offer temporary and superficial solutions at best. What emerged from the disappointment and turmoil, I now call, The Regenerative Skin Process. Skin Harmonics is a dedicated medical fusion holistic skincare clinic that provides a root cause approach delivering lifetime skin health through medical grade skin care products, new learning, and Deep Pore Cleansing Facials.
