Dehydrated skin?

cch

Was browsing at department store counter yesterday and sales assistant looked at the skin on my face and hand and said my skin was dehydrated and that I had lost my glow!! :eek: (Didn't buy anything though )
Have been knocking back the water since but was just wondering what the exact signs of it are and is there anything else I can do? I tend to use adult oily skincare, like the green ranges from Lancome or Estee Lauder because they seem to work for me at keeping shine and spots away, but maybe they're too much for my skin??
Any advice appreciated!!

missmatty

I'd say she was hoping to persuade you to part with some of your cash :rolleyes: Don't worry about it, keep lashing the water into you and eat healthily. Maybe take Perfectil, that nails/skin/hair multivit supplements? Don't take too much notice of it.

How Strange

cch wrote: »

Was browsing at department store counter yesterday and sales assistant looked at the skin on my face and hand and said my skin was dehydrated and that I had lost my glow!! :eek: (Didn't buy anything though )
Have been knocking back the water since but was just wondering what the exact signs of it are and is there anything else I can do? I tend to use adult oily skincare, like the green ranges from Lancome or Estee Lauder because they seem to work for me at keeping shine and spots away, but maybe they're too much for my skin??
Any advice appreciated!!

First off, if you have dehydrated skin then drinking water is not enough. You need to treat your skin and hydrate it directly.

Secondly, what type of skin do you have? You are using products for oily skin but you may have combination skin (the most common for Irish women) if you have a shiny t-zone area. This typically means that your nose, forehead and chin areas shine like a beacon by mid morning but the other parts of your face could be still quite dry.

You need to establish what kind of skin you have. Then you need to buy products specifically for that type of skin. I use dermologica but when my current moisturiser runs out I'm going to invest in a La Roche Posay one as LRP, Roc and Vichy are all very good for combination/dry skin problems.

How would you know if your skin is dry? Apply something like bio-oil or Weleda Rose Oil capusles to your skin and if it drinks it up immediately then you're skin is dehydrated. I recommend the weleda rose oil capsules as they are very gentle on your skin. They cost about €19 from health food stores and you use a capsule every evening.

[HTML]http://www.weleda.co.uk/categories/name/wild-rose-facial-care[/HTML]

The type of moisturiser is also very important. Heavy ones will just clog your skin but won't necessarily hydrate. Get one specifically for dry skin and use it every day. I use lighter ones in the summer and more hydrating ones in the winter like Elizabeth Arden ceramide moisturiser. It's expensive so I wouldn't use it everyday but would alternate it with a cheaper one.

You should need to invest in a good hydrating mask and use it once a week.

If your t-zone is shiny then use finishing powder. I use this religously and bring it to work with me to touch up around lunch time. Also I found using a product like clinique's pore refining serum as it will close your pores and combat excess oil without clogging your pores.

cch

Thanks for the tips, I have some bio oil at home so I will try that later!

Am a bit fickle with my skincare, I try to use mattifying light moisturisers in the morning and something for combination skin (but still light/fluid etc) at night and tend to have about three of each going at one time, whichever one I use depends on my mood/time available/sobriety

I used to get huge lumpy spots on my chin but no more thankfully, pores either side of my noses can flare up occassionally, have blackheads on nose and chin, forehead and nose can shine so badly and foundation tends to disappear from around nose by lunchtime (though that could be my hold-my-coffee-cup-close-to-my-face habit!)

I had a dermologica facial a while ago and she said my skin was oily, but again I didn't buy any products!

Isn't there some test that you pinch the skin on the back of your hand to see how fast it snaps back? Is that for dehydrated skin or something totally different??! Ok, now I'm just rambling...

Larianne

I agree with How Strange. You probably have combination skin and the products for oil skin is drying out your skin too much.

You'll know your skin is dehydrated if it's not soft to touch and feels quite tight after washing your face. Depending on how dehydrated your skin is you may want to change your cleanser as well as your moisturiser. A milky cleanser would be better then a wash/foam cleanser as it's not using water which can leave the skin feeling tight. Get a good clarifying toner as well. The Lancome range for Combination Skin - blue bottles is very good. Darphin also have an excellent range, although it's quite pricey. L'Oreal is a great skincare range if you haven't much cash to splash.

Also, do you exfoliate? This will help get rid of your dead skin cells on your face and give you a nice glow. I love the Origins Modern Friction Exfoliator. Only use it twice a week. (I wouldn't reccommend this if you have dry skin, might be too harsh). A hydrating mask like How Strange could then be used afterwards.

If you have lots of your creams left and you want to use them up, maybe get a hydrating night cream and let that do its magic at night.

A primer like Smashbox's one can help with stopping your foundation from disappearing. Make sure to set your foundation with powder. What type of foundation do you use?

How Strange

cch wrote: »

pores either side of my noses can flare up occassionally, have blackheads on nose and chin, forehead and nose can shine so badly and foundation tends to disappear from around nose by lunchtime (though that could be my hold-my-coffee-cup-close-to-my-face habit!)

Then you're using the wrong products in that area. I started using serums last year and they really worked on reducing black heads and breakouts as well as reducing pores. I'm dermogenisis at the moment and I find it very good, very light but hydrating where I need it but the clinique pore refining serum can be used in isolation on the t-zone area.

I had a dermologica facial a while ago and she said my skin was oily, but again I didn't buy any products!

Ok, well I stand corrected but most likely it is oily/combination.

Isn't there some test that you pinch the skin on the back of your hand to see how fast it snaps back? Is that for dehydrated skin or something totally different??! Ok, now I'm just rambling...

If you pinch your skin and it doesn't 'bounce' back straight away then it's dehydrated. Think of a wrinkly apple compared to a fresh one.

You don't have to spend lots of money on products but I've found that buying over the internet is great. Strawberrynet.com is great for a wide range, adonisgrooming.co.uk is great for dermalogica as they ship within two days to Ireland and the duty is paid so there's no hassle with customs.

In general I avoid l'oreal, nivea etc as I find they are pricey enough and don't last as long as the more expensive brands.