Dehydrated Skin

We all know that more than half of our body weight is due to the water content in the body. The human body is such that it ensures that every cell in the body gets the water that it needs for proper functioning. This reaches the cells in the form of blood, lymphatic fluid, interstitial fluid, etc. However, at times, when we do not drink enough water as is required by the body, or if we lose too much water from our body due to which the amount of water available does not meet our requirements, then we may land up with what is known as dehydrated skin. Before we go onto know how to identify this condition and what its various treatment options are, let us see what exactly this is and what are its various symptoms.

What is Dehydrated Skin?

Many people tend to confuse dehydrated skin with dry skin; however, the two are different in their cause. Dehydrated skin is skin that lacks in water and moisture content, whereas, dry skin is skin that either doesn't produce enough oil (sebum) or the use of harsh chemicals and cosmetics has stripped the skin of its natural oil content. Thus, while merely using a surface skin moisturizer may help in getting rid of dry skin, it cannot treat dehydrated skin, as a surface moisturizer does not help to restore the water content in the body.

There are many different dehydrated skin symptoms which can help you to identify this condition. It may surprise you to know that even when you have dehydrated skin, your skin may actually be extra oily. As a defense mechanism to protect the skin, the sebaceous glands tend to overwork to ensure that the skin is soft and protected from pathogens, and so, they produce more oil than required. So, oily skin may be a symptom of excessively dehydrated skin. Other symptoms of this condition include itching, redness, increased susceptibility to infections of the skin, wrinkles, dryness, etc.

Dehydrated Skin Remedies

There are many ways of treating dehydrated skin. If the main cause of dehydration is lack of water intake, then first and foremost, you need to increase your water intake. This is important because no amount of palliative treatment will help if you do not have enough water in your body. Besides this, you can also try out some mild skin exfoliation treatments after using a scrub. These will help in getting rid of peeling skin which may be making your skin look worse, especially if you have dehydrated skin on face. You can use gentle products on your face, like oil-free and water based moisturizers and skin creams. Also, cleansing is of utmost importance when you have dehydrated and dry looking skin on the face. This is because dehydrated skin is susceptible to infections, so you need to cleanse your face on a regular basis to prevent skin infections and breakouts on your skin.

This is a common problem that many people face without even realizing it. Drinking water in adequate amounts is the best way to treat this condition, as other treatments are merely palliative in nature. They say that six to eight glasses of water should be consumed by a person on an average, with a slight increase in this amount if you happen to sweat a lot due to environmental reasons or because you work out a lot. Despite how common this problem of dehydrated skin is, people do not realize that it is a simple problem that can easily be cured and avoided by taking simple measures like drinking enough water on a daily basis.