How can you tell whether your skin is dehydrated?

Very often, we mistake dehydration for dry skin. What’s the difference anyway?

I could never make up my mind about what ‘type’ my skin fell under. It’s gone through sporadic bouts of breakouts, extreme oiliness, determinedly taut, tingly at times and ever so often, returning to a can’t-make-up-its-mind phase. It felt so dry and tight yet strangely oily on certain parts like it would reject even a drop of serum or face oil. So I’d wonder, should I defy my oily skin and apply a rich cream made for dry skin types? But what if my skin can’t breathe and gets clogged? Eventually, I concluded that just like me, my skin is moody. But, in fact, as my dermatologist revealed to me one day, it was simply dehydrated. If you, too, face the ‘what’s up with my skin?’ dilemma, you might want to check with your doctor what it's really trying to tell you. Very often, most of us mistake dehydration for dryness. It’s not our fault; they almost always have the same signs. So let’s delve into the nuances of both to help you determine what end of the spectrum your skin lies. 

Understanding dehydrated skin 

In theory, the difference between dry and dehydrated skin is simple: “It’s the difference between oil and water,” says dermatologist Dr Aparna Santhanam. Dry skin refers to skin that is lacking in oil. She adds, “It produces less sebum (or oil) than normal or oily skin. You can be born with naturally dry skin, or it can be caused by external factors such as poor nutrition, pollution, excess use of oil-control products and the natural process of ageing.” Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, is low in water, and can happen to any skin type—“dehydration refers to skin that is losing more water than it is taking in.” 

Water accounts for almost half, and up to 60 per cent, of our body weight. About 64 per cent of this water is stored in our skin. Every system in our body needs water to function smoothly, including our skin. Well-hydrated, healthy skin will display good elasticity, improved barrier function, no redness and a restored natural glow. When it is lacking moisture or water, the skin might feel especially itchy, look dull and/or tired, have dry fine lines, rough texture, flaking, scaling, cracking and visible redness. “In those with oily or acne-prone skin, these symptoms could co-exist with a shiny appearance or acne breakouts,” says Santhanam.

The symptoms we experience in both conditions, dry and dehydrated, could be similar to begin with, i.e. tightness of skin, a feeling of stretchiness and of lack of moisture. However, while you’ll realise that if it were just dryness you’re dealing with, any moisturiser could immediately combat that feeling for the moment, but only products that protect the stratum corneum (the outer layer of the skin) barrier will help dehydrated skin. To be absolutely sure, a dermatologist's examination and assessment can make you differentiate between the two.

Drink up!

A lack of moisture can impact the health and strength of our skin barrier immensely, and vice versa. “A healthy skin barrier helps skin retain water. An efficient stratum corneum should have 10 to 15 per cent of water,” says Santhanam. When it drops below 10 per cent, the skin becomes dehydrated. “To compensate for this, water may move up to the surface which can create an imbalance of moisture within the skin,” she adds.  Since this is a water issue, not an oil one, it doesn’t matter if you have oily skin–you’ll most likely still be dehydrated. “In fact, skin may even become extra oily in dehydrated skin as low moisture levels can cause a feedback mechanism in the skin to erroneously produce excess oil, in an attempt to compensate,” explains Santhanam. 

But with all that water that makes up the human body, how do we still end up lacking it? The skin—made up of three primary layers, the epidermis (outermost layer), dermis (middle layer) and hypodermis (undermost layer)—reserves plenty of water that other organs in our body can drink up from. Water passively evaporates through the skin through these layers,  a process called transepidermal water loss (TEWL), that the skin naturally regulates. But this natural balance is often disrupted by a ton of external, internal, environmental and emotional factors that speed up the TEWL. 

Beyond hydrating yourself 

“Extreme temperatures, harsh weather, excess air-conditioning and indoor heating, pollution, unprotected UV exposure, harsh cosmetic products, not staying hydrated enough, skin conditions that disrupt the barrier like psoriasis or eczema, stress and fatigue can all contribute to dehydrated skin,” says Santhanam. The solution, as you might have guessed, is to stay hydrated! “The old adage of two litres of water a day holds good,” says Santhanam, but she recommends building it up with high moisture-containing foods like cucumbers and watermelons, as well as healthy fats like avocados, nuts, coconut oil and olive oil in your diet. “Foods high in protein and fibre also help in retaining water and preventing dehydration,” she adds.

It also helps to stay in humid environments and not locked up inside air-conditioned rooms all day. Another hack that Santhanam believes works is applying moisturiser on damp skin to lock in the water. When it comes to choosing the right product to keep your skin supple and hydrated, she advises getting topical blends with hydrating ingredients like squalene, hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, peptides, ceramides and ceramosides, aloe vera as well as natural oils of coconut and olive—“they help in rebuilding the skin’s barrier and preventing TEWL.” Avoid exfoliating acids like salicylic acid, glycolic acid, retinoic acid and retinoids unless under dermatological supervision. Instead, opt for milder ones like lactic acid or lacto bionic acid and lower grades of glycolic acid, following it up immediately with a barrier-building cream. And, go drink that glass of water.

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