So in this blog article, we’ll share some tips on how you can remain your face feeling hydrated throughout the whole day. But before we hop on into that, let’s take a look at what exactly is hydrated skin and how to tell if your skin needs some hydration.
What is hydrated skin?
Who doesn’t want their skin to feel juicy, smooth, and radiant, right? That’s what hydrated skin feels like.
Scientifically, hydrated skin means that its cells are containing water. Hydration is the process of absorbing water from the air and then infusing it into your cells to help your skin absorb more moisture and nutrients.
Many people tend to confuse the terms “hydrated” and “moisturized”. So what’s the difference?
Moisturizing entails capturing and retaining moisture in order to strengthen your skin’s natural protective barrier. This works to prevent water loss in the cells, ensuring that skin feels soft and glowy.
Both hydrators and moisturizers work to fight dryness, flaking, and tightness to help you achieve that youthful and juicy skin.
How to tell that your skin needs hydration?
If you have a slight suspicion that your skin might be dehydrated, you should try these 3 ways to test if that could be the case:
- Try a pinching method — pinch the skin on one of these areas: over the back of your hand, on the abdomen area, or over the front of the chest just right under the collarbone. This will show if your skin is dehydrated. Minor dehydration levels will slowly return the skin to a normal state right after the pinch.
- Squeeze your cheeks — lightly squeeze a little part of your skin around your cheek area. If you see wrinkling and the skin doesn’t bounce back once you let go, it’s possible that your skin is dry and dehydrated.
- Talk to your dermatologist — if you’ve noticed your skin acting differently than normal, including looking dull, being dry, and flaking, you should consider talking to your dermatologist to figure out if your skin needs some more hydration, or if there are any other underlying problems that need to be solved.
Other symptoms of dehydrated skin can include:
- Dull-looking skin;
- Dark circles or shadows around eyes;
- Flaking and itchiness;
- Visible fine lines or wrinkles;
- Dryness inside and around the mouth;
- Puffiness around the eyes;
- Sensitivity and redness.
7 tips on remaining hydrated skin for a whole day
In order to maintain your skin looking and feeling the best without the feeling of tightness, itchiness, and dullness, try some of the tips mentioned below!
1. Avoid overly stripping cleansers
Washing your face in the evening and keeping your skin clean is essential not only for smokers but for everybody, as our skin cells absorb dirt and air pollutants during the day. But if you’re suffering from dehydrated skin, hard and stripping cleansers should be avoided.
Instead, try using something more gentle on your face. For example, Regene Supreme’s foaming cleanser contains lactic acid as its active ingredient, which promotes collagen regeneration and strengthens the skin on the face. This cleanser consists of mostly natural ingredients, ensuring deep cleansing without stripping away moisture and hydration.
2. Switch to water-based skincare products
As mentioned above, dehydrated skin means that your skin cells lack water in them, so you need to increase these levels to get that juicy skin. If you’ve observed that your skin tends to be oily in some areas of the face (like the T-zone), don’t neglect to apply moisturizers at all!
What you can do instead, is try out some products with water-based formulas in them. That can help you to get that much-needed hydration without feeling heavy on your skin.
3. Try using deeply hydrating face masks
Sometimes using a water-based day cream is not enough and your skin might need a little more hydration boost than that. Try using hydrating face masks! After a long day at work, take off all your make-up, wash your face and pamper yourself with a nice cooling mask right before going to bed.
These masks can not only help you relax and enjoy that self-care moment but provide your skin with long-lasting hydration. The best ones for dehydrated skin are masks with hyaluronic acid in them.
4. Purchase a high-quality humidifier
Did you know that heating during the cold months of the year causes dry air, which in turn dehydrates your skin? That’s where humidifiers come into play! Investing some money into a high-quality humidifier can benefit you all year-round (especially, if you live in a place where the weather tends to get a little more on the dry side).
A humidifier can supply your skin with extra moisture, using steamed water that’s going to help your skin to retain the lost hydration.
5. Forget about long, hot showers
We know how upsetting it is to hear, especially for people that enjoy doing their imaginary world-tours in the shower. While long, hot showers can be beneficial for your soul, they are actually harming your skin.
Hot water can eradicate your skin’s protective barrier, which can result in the loss of hydration, causing dryness and irritation. Instead, try using lukewarm water!
6. Consume watery and juicy foods
As obvious as it might sound, not many people think about it this far. But that’s true — you should incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Not only they are beneficial for your overall health, providing your body with many vitamins and antioxidants, they can also retain the hydration back to your skin.
For example, fruits like oranges and lemons are full of juice that’s rich in Vitamin C — an element that’s important for your skin’s texture and dark spots. Cucumber has a lot of water in it (more than 95%, in fact), so consuming it can help to hydrate your skin in the long run.
7. Drink less coffee
While caffeine has many benefits for your health, mind, and soul, it is not so great for your skin’s health. This also applies to alcoholic beverages. These types of drinks can severely reduce the water levels in your skin cells, which in turn causes the feeling of tightness, itchiness, and dehydration.
So, if you want to maintain your skin hydrated throughout the day, try limiting your alcohol and coffee intake. That doesn’t mean that you have to completely give them up but at least limit them to approximately one to two cups a day (or a glass of wine) to help you minimize the effects of dehydration.
The bottom line
We understand that many smokers are not ready to give up the habit that can have a toll on their skin, that’s why we’re always trying to look for other ways you can keep your skin and body as healthy as possible even without quitting smoking.
Try to implement some of these tips into your day-to-day life and see for yourself, if you can notice any changes! Take care!