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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Dehydrated Skin 101

For the longest time, I'd been convinced my skin was definitely oily; I always have to blot at least once throughout the day, my pores are enlarged and I'm very acne-prone - that points to oily, right? But then, a friendly esthetician at 'Quality' Perfumery in Warsaw suggested my skin was definitely severely dehydrated and out-of-balance, which is why I was mostly getting breakouts on my cheeks. The diagnosis was then confirmed by my dermatologist here in WA, so I started a hunt for new skincare products to cater to my newly discovered skin condition.

If you'd like to learn more about the difference between dry and dehydrated skin and see whether your skin might be dehydrated too, I highly recommend you take a peek at Beauty Mouth's blog, which explains everything far better than I could even attempt to. And don't forget to take part in her Clinics on Thursdays if you have any questions!

The first product I've tried to combat dehydration was Reviva Labs Hyaluronic Acid Serum ($22 for 1 0z./30ml). Hyaluronic acid has long been a favorite of many skincare brands, but I was interested in how this magic ingredient actually works. In fact, HA is the intercellular gel we humans all have in our skin that acts like a molecular sponge: it absorbs water from liquids we drink and then feeds the moisture to our cells. Applying HA topically helps the top layers of skin retain more moisture from the liquids we drink, not from moisture in the atmosphere, so it doesn't matter what climate you live in - it works anyway. Fascinating, huh? The Reviva Labs Hyaluronic Acid Serum is a light clear gel that soaks into the skin instantly, leaving it refreshed, hydrated and glowing. What I like most about this product apart from its effectiveness, is that the serum feels like nothing on the skin; it doesn't leave any residue at all. For someone who constantly suffers from oilies, this is a major plus! The serum is both great on its own, layered under a moisturizer or an oil (read below) as well as under make-up.

I then turned to Caudalie Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Creme for Dehydrated and Sensitive Skin ($40 for 1.3 oz/40ml) as my hydrating moisturizer of choice. The Caudalie cream claims to 'restart internal hydrating mechanisms and restore water reserves' with grape seed polyphenols, organic grape water and fortifying and moisturizing Vinolevure. The product has a light, liquidy cream texture that absorbs quickly, but leaves a bit of a shiny/sticky residue on the skin. It's also very heavily perfumed, which is a bit counterproductive for a product aimed at sensitive skin. My biggest gripe with this Sorbet-Creme however is that I don't really think it provides any lasting hydration to the skin - so I wouldn't really recommend this one to be honest, despite many rave reviews around the blogosphere.

My last purchase was the Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil for Dehydrated Skin ($50 for 1 oz./30ml), following a glowing recommendation from Beauty Mouth herself. I will admit that I was very skeptical; I've tried using face oils before with no noticeable results, and then I didn't exactly have the best experience with Clarins products in the past. This little bottle of golden goodness has me converted though. It's a lovely, light oil with 100% natural plant extracts and a mostly patchouli scent - patchouli oil is actually the second ingredient! Speaking of ingredients, the list here is short and sweet: hazel seed oil, patchouli oil, fragrance, sunflower seed oil, tocopheryl acetate, blue orchid extract and fragrance compounds from the essential oils. It comes with a handy dropper that lets you dispense the exact amount of the product, which is just 2 drops for my whole face and neck. I love applying it at nighttime: I warm it a bit in my hands and lightly press into the skin to wake up with a hydrated, soft skin in the morning. It gives a very spa-like feel and I've been enjoying using it as a part of my 'unwind' routine in the evening. Highly recommended!

Other than the products discussed above, my other tips would be to find a really good, non-drying creamy cleanser (not foaming! Look out for the review of the cleanser I picked up recently), drink a lot of water and supplement with fish oil or flax oil/evening primrose oil. The supplements take about 3 months to kick in, so don't be discouraged! I also found that using a room humidifier at night helps a lot too, and my husband's allergies have definitely benefited from it as well. Similarly to the humidifier, spritzing your face once in a while with a moisturizing water (I use Mario Badescu's Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater) helps to relieve dehydration too.

I hope this post was helpful to some of you battling dehydrated skin, or at least you've had a little sneak peek into my skincare routine. Have you ever suffered from dehydrated skin? What are your favorite products for hydration?

Disclaimer: The Reviva Labs Hyaluronic Acid Serum was provided to me for review consideration by Reviva Labs. I am not compensated to feature it on my blog nor am I affiliated with the brand. All other products featured were purchased by me with my own money. All opinions are my own and 100% honest, as always!

14 comments:

  1. In my arms my dear! I thought I was alone! I am having a case of severely dehydrated skin at the moment. I though it was Winter dry skin, I thought it would go, and a couple of weeks ago it just got worse and worse, and the very hard water here isn't helping a lot. Currently on an emergency cure (tap water being banned from my face, I currently use Avene Thermal Water only to cleanse it), I'll have to report on that on the blog when it goes better. I definitely like the Clarins oil, and I do have some Hyaluronic Acid somewhere that I'm definitely going to add to the emergency routine!

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    1. I remember my cousin never using tap water on her face, she had atopic skin I believe. The HA just has such a lovely cooling and hydrating feeling on the skin!

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  2. I have never heard of this condition before but it certainly makes sense. The Clarins oil sounds absolutely lovely. I've been considering getting a humidifier only because of my allergies - but the prospect of having skin benefits is definitely making it more luring :)

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  3. I've been wondering for some time if my skin was actually oily or if it was, in fact, just dehydrated.

    Right now, I'm using Kiehl's Acai Damage-Correcting Moisturizer and it seems to be working great. I still need to blot, though; but the oiliness is definitely not as bad. I'm thinking I should go to a skincare expert to make sure what my skin type really is :p.

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    1. I still have to blot too, but I'd say overall my skin is much less aggravated - I still get some dehydration, but then I'm using antibiotics and retinoids, so it's pretty much unavoidable. It's sometimes really hard to see what skin type you have just on your own!

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  4. My skin is dehydrated too as well as being acne-prone. I have found using a hyaluronic serum is definitely helping to alleviate this. The Clarins oil sounds lovely, I quite the scent of Patchouli.

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  5. Glad to hear the humidifier is working for both you and the Mr.! I still want to get one, but haven't managed it yet.

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  6. I have similar problem - oily, acne-prone skin, very sensitive, dehydrated (especially after all this salicylic acid or retinol treatments or AC in my apartment). I really like Dermalogica's product - Skin Hydrating Booster and Skin Hydrating Masque. And Avene Hydrance Optimale Light (my dermatologist's pick).

    Pozdrawiam :)

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  7. Has anyone ever alleivated the condition of dehydrated skin? If its a condition and not a skin type it should resolve after all the hydrating right?

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    1. Yes, I believe so - but a lot of people's lifestyles and the conditions we live in cause us to be more dehydration-prone on a regular basis, I believe. Also it might have more of a chronic nature for some; for example, I suffer with eczema, an allergic skin condtion, which I can alleviate temporarily (that, or it just goes away on its own ;) but it always comes back, so I would say it's chronic. I think dehydration might be very similar in nature for some people. Hope that helps?

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  8. Yes that helps a little. I noticed you mentioned you have enlarged pores, was that rectified by hydrating your skin or is it still an issue to this day. I think my dehydration is from a compromised skin barrier, which I've heard is also a cause of eczema so I'm thinking if I fix my skin barrier as well as hydrate it externally and internally, my pores will function properly. Right now its just congested, the pores are soooo noticable, orange peel like. I think with pores people either exfoliate or rebuild their skin to fix it. Exfoliating just gives me larger pores. Either way I'm not sure if I'm on the right track, hmm. What was the best product you used?

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    1. Well, pores is a different matter altogether - mine are inherently big because my skin is on the oilier side, and the size of your pores isn't something you can change actually - but you can make them appear smaller (tighten them) by getting rid of the excess sebum. I'm not sure how exfoliating could give you bigger pores - what do you use to exfoliate? But I think you're right with trying to strenghten your lipid barrier; make sure you don't use any harsh surfactants. Anyway, definitely check out Caroline Hirons' blog, she's fabulous with all skin-related questions and has a lot of good product recommendations. You can also email me if you have any specific questions and need help, the address is on the bottom of the page :)

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  9. Yeah I did check her stuff out, although the link on this page didn't go to her dehydrated skin blog post, had to go on google to find that lol.

    The exfoliation thing, a small number of people from online forums have suffered from large pores, dehydrated skin and volume loss through retin a, microdermabrasion & other exfoliating methods. I mean to say OVER exfoliation can cause this. My damage was from microdermabrasion, before that I used avon clear skin scrub, abrasive type exfoliant on my skin, that made my pores non exsistent, but after the damage, I tried using it again but it was absolutely ineffective. Lovely speaking to you though! I intend to start my own blog soon so I will definately email you etc.

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  10. Yay, I found the post! The Reviva Labs serum sounds like a great option for me once I run out of Hydraluron. Thanks for the great review!

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