How To Treat Dry & Dehydrated Skin on the Face?

Does your skin often feel dry, flaky, or rough? Discover the best tips for hydrating and nourishing your skin, restoring its smooth and healthy appearance.

Have you ever noticed your skin becoming tight or sensitive after summer ends, when chilly winds start blowing, or after trying out a new exfoliating toner?

Sometimes, no matter how much moisturizer you apply, your skin is still dry and itchy.

If that's you, don't worry. There are simple but effective things you can do to transform your dry, dehydrated skin into smooth, healthy-looking skin. 

Read on and learn the ultimate regimen that will restore moisture and have your face feeling like a brand new, fresh-faced you.

What is Dry Skin?

Dry skin is a common condition where the outer layer of your skin, the epidermis, lacks moisture. It happens when your skin does not produce enough natural oils or loses too much water. Medically, it is known as xerosis, xeroderma, or asteatosis. Although it is not usually serious, dry skin can lead to roughness, itchiness, and even fine lines and wrinkles.

Dry skin can occur anywhere on your body and can happen to anyone of any age. Nevertheless, it is more probable in older individuals because, as we age, our skin becomes thinner and has fewer natural oils. Some skin conditions, like eczema, contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and seborrheic dermatitis, can also make your skin drier.

Understanding what causes dry skin is the first step to finding the right skincare routine to keep your skin hydrated, smooth, and healthy.

How to Diagnose Dry Skin: Simple Methods You Can Try at Home

If you believe you have dry skin but don't want to visit a dermatologist, you can diagnose it quite simply at home with the help of two simple methods.

These will also enlighten you about your skin type and how to follow the right skincare regimen to ensure healthy and well-moisturized skin.

1. The Bare-Faced Method

This is the quickest way to test for dry skin. Start by washing your face with a gentle cleanser and patting it dry. Don't put on any moisturizer, toner, or serum. Wait 25–30 minutes, then observe your skin, especially on your cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin.

If your skin tightens, dries out, or has a slightly rough feel when you smile or make facial expressions, and there is no shine at all on your nose or forehead, then you have dry skin.

2. The Blotting Paper Test

One other simple method to diagnose dry skin is the Blotting Paper Test. Take a fresh blotting sheet and press it lightly on various parts of your face. Hold the sheet against the light to look for oil.

Minimal or no oil: This signifies dry skin.

Medium oil in the T-zone (nose and forehead): This indicates combination skin.

Too much oil everywhere: This is a sign of oily skin.

For optimal results, do this test in the late afternoon or evening because testing too soon after you've cleansed your face may not give you accurate results.

Dry Skin Common Symptoms:

• Rough, scaly, or flaky texture

• Tightness, especially after cleansing

• Irritation or itchiness

• Sensitivity or redness

• Fine lines or cracks

• Peeling skin around the nose and mouth, particularly

• Chapped lips

If you notice these signs, it is important to moisturize regularly and apply products meant for dry and sensitive skin. Constant hydration and gentle care can restore smoothness to your skin and prevent it from becoming dry again.

What Causes Dry Skin?

Dry skin on the face can be caused by many things. Even though some people are born with dry skin, there are other causes from the outside too that result in dry skin. It is interesting that even if your naturally oily skin gets dry at times, too. Some of the common causes and risk factors of dry skin are mentioned below:

• Genes
• Cold, dry weather
• Unhealthy diet
• Dehydration
• Aging and hormonal changes
• Hypothyroidism
• Vitamin or mineral deficiency
• Excessive exfoliation
• Harsh detergents or soaps
• Hot showers or baths
• Unbalanced skin pH
• Sun damage (UVA/UVB rays)
• Chlorine in swimming pools
• Underlying skin conditions, such as psoriasis or dermatitis
• Certain medications, such as statins and diuretics

Why Is My Skin So Dry Even When I Moisturize?

If you are constantly moisturizing your skin but still notice it feels dry and tight, it might be because you are using the wrong type of moisturizer. Some face creams contain ingredients like isopropyl alcohol or sulfates, which can actually strip moisture away from your skin. It’s important to choose products that are hydrating and free of harsh chemicals.

Another possibility is that your skin might not be "dry" but actually dehydrated. While they sound similar, dry skin and dehydrated skin are not the same thing. Understanding the difference is key to fixing the issue.

Dry Skin vs. Dehydrated Skin: What’s the Difference?

Many people think that dry skin just means your skin lacks moisture, but it’s actually more complicated than that. Here’s a simple breakdown:

Dry Skin:

• Dry skin is a skin type, meaning it’s part of your natural skin makeup.

• It’s caused by a lack of natural oils (sebum) and moisturizing factors like amino acids and urea.

• This type of skin often feels rough, flaky, or scaly. It’s also more prone to redness, irritation, and sensitivity.

• People with dry skin tend to have an impaired skin barrier, which means moisture escapes easily.

Dehydrated Skin:

• Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, is a temporary condition that can happen to any skin type even oily skin!

• It’s caused by a lack of water, not oil.

• When your skin is dehydrated, it often feels tight and may look dull. Fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles can also appear more noticeable.

• One quick way to check is to gently pinch a small area of your face—if it wrinkles easily or doesn’t bounce back, it’s likely dehydrated.

The best skin care tips & routine for dry skin

Fortunately, the two forms of treatment are similar. In the majority of cases, dry skin can be treated similarly by helping to enhance hydration and the moisture barrier to assist in keeping water in and prevent the possibility of water loss.

Take a lukewarm shower and bath

According to dermatologists, it's a myth that drinking lots of water improves skin hydration and gets rid of dry skin. However, drinking water is certainly good for your health, and it can't hurt to drink lots of water and stay well hydrated.

The best part is that if you take a shower or bath, water adds to those layers when you wet your skin. Just make sure to remember to avoid staying away from prolonged exposure to hot water, especially long, hot baths and showers.

Extended exposure of the skin to hot temperatures will break down the skin's natural barrier by depriving the skin of its natural surface oils, dry out the skin, and exacerbate such ailments as eczema. Regular cool or warm showering, even several times a week, keeps the skin healthy and nourished.

Use a mild "Sulfate-free" facial cleanser

Avoid SLS, especially if you use hard water. Recurring dryness and irritation a common symptoms of long-term use of hard water for cleansing. Dryness of the skin can be caused by high mineral content found in hard water, which, if allowed to evaporate on the skin, can clog pores and cause dryness, resulting in breakouts, flaking, and itching.

When the calcium and magnesium in hard water react with the fatty acids in bubble baths and face and body washes, they cause unpleasant coagulation. Your skin is not properly cleaned because of this, and the chemicals leave a residue on your skin.

Sodium lauryl sulfate is an anionic surfactant, a naturally occurring derivative of coconut and/or palm kernel oil, which is used as a foaming agent used in most personal care and grooming products such as shampoos, lip balm, hand sanitizers, shaving foam, hair dyes, makeup removers, foundations and facial wash.

Also, do not use hard soaps containing tallowate or sodium cocoate since they too can be detrimental to dry skin. Instead, go for a "sulfate-free" cleansing cream, milk or balm so that it does not dry out your skin and keeps it smooth, soft and supple the whole day.

Moisturize daily and properly

For dry skin type

To combat dryness, you need to introduce a richer, more emollient moisturizer into your daily skin care routine. These thicker face creams are usually oilier, so they would be the best solution for extremely dry and cracked skin.

The ideal dry skin moisturizer is one containing occlusive lipids such as shea butter or ceramides, which can soften and smooth the skin as emollients, a second type of moisturizing ingredient, and create a physical barrier on the skin to lock out dryness and dehydration.

In addition, facial oils can also reduce transepidermal water loss such that dry skin retains more of its natural level of moisture.

For dehydrated skin

For dehydrated skin, layering is key. Use a toner, serum, day cream and night cream containing antioxidants and humectants that help draw moisture to the skin's surface and retain water so the skin doesn't dry out quickly.

Common humectants found in ampoules, lotions and balms are aloe vera, honey, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, sodium PCA, various glycols, panthenol (vitamin B5), peptides, and amino acids. Regular use of hydrating face masks or sheet masks can also help keep the skin soft and supple.

Read the ingredients of cosmetic products

It surprises the majority of individuals to learn that their favorite cosmetics or make-up they apply every day can cause dry skin. Experts say that ingredients toxic to skin when you have dry skin are alcohol, perfumes, parabens and preservatives.

While benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and retinoids are best suited to oily-skinned people and mild acne, they dry out and make dryness worse if you have very dry skin. In addition, products with menthol or camphor provide a cooling feeling but can be extremely drying. They can be used, but sparingly.

Be smart and gentle with exfoliation

Everyday exfoliation is required for dry as well as dehydrated skin. Employ smooth, non-abrasive ingredients that loosen flakes and dead skin residue and promote skin cell turnover without stripping the skin's natural oils.

For dry, sensitive, or acne skin, employ a washcloth or konjac sponge and a chemical exfoliant, as mechanical exfoliation is too harsh for this skin type and causes micro-tears.

AHAs are the most common dry skin exfoliating acids. Glycolic and lactic acid help to remove dead skin cells from the surface layer of the skin and promote healthy skin turnover.

If your skin is sensitive, use a chemical peel that consists of PHAs as they are less harsh on the skin due to larger molecules. Be only careful not to over-exfoliate and use it once or twice a week.

Always use sunscreen

Water loss from the body is increased when you are exposed to the sun, drying out and dehydrating this type of skin. After sun exposure, your dry skin may be thicker, rougher and more flaky, tight to the touch, and look wrinkled and tired. Thus, your skin has to be protected from daily sun damage.

UVA rays, including long UVA rays, seep deep into the skin and tend to accelerate signs of photoaging, while UVB rays cause sunburn and damage the outer skin layers.

If you have dry skin or it is winter, you should apply a moisturizing sunscreen with ingredients that calm and hydrate the skin, such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, glyceri,n or aloe vera. Apply thicker sunscreens or creams with a creamy, rich texture, rather than a gel or matte foam type, which is better for oily skin.

Mineral sunscreens of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are thicker in consistency and are moisturizing, making them perfect for dry or dehydrated skin. Make sure your sunscreen is broad-spectrum with a minimum of SPF 30 to reduce the risk of skin cancer and sunburn of the skin.

The SPF in your sunscreen only shows protection against UVB, but the higher the SPF, the more protection it also offers against UVA.

Buy a humidifier

At this point, you know cold, dry air can lead to all sorts of problems, such as dullness, dryness, flaking, and premature aging. With lower humidity, the air tends to suck water through the skin. The good thing is that a humidifier puts moisture back into the air, keeping the possibility of the air drawing moisture out of your skin away.

As a result of this, the majority of dermatologists agree that humidifiers can be very helpful for people with dry, dehydrated and itchy skin, chapped lips and dull hair because they help to add moisture into the air to an appropriate humidity level (40-60%) to eliminate these undesirable conditions.