Causes of Dehydrated Skin + How to Treat It
Is your skin showing more fine lines than usual? Is it red and tight-feeling? It may be dehydrated.
Any skin type – including oily and combination – can temporarily experience dehydrated skin when water evaporates from inside the skin into the surrounding environment. While this process (known as trans epidermal water loss or TEWL) is happening all the time, a disruption in the skin’s protective moisture barrier can cause it to go into overdrive, resulting in dehydration.
Unlike dry skin – which is a skin type – the causes of dehydrated skin are often external. Read on to learn 5 common causes of dehydrated skin so you can keep your skin quenched, plump, and luminous.
1. Climate
Hot weather can dehydrate skin from the inside out, especially when we don’t drink enough water. But a dry climate -- regardless of temperature – often visibly dehydrates skin as the lack of humidity saps skin of moisture.
This also applies to dry air indoors. The processes used by forced air heating and air conditioning units removes moisture from the area, meaning indoor air is often drier than the air outside regardless of the season.
Fight dry climates by locking in moisture with Omega Repair Cream. Our bestselling moisturizer uses plumping, hydrating omega fatty acids similar to what’s in your skin’s moisture barrier to moisturize and support your skin’s protective layer while hyaluronic acid deeply hydrates and plumps.
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2. Travel
The air circulating in airplane cabins has extremely low humidity which can accelerate TEWL and lead to dehydrated skin. This is especially true around the delicate eye area where skin is thinnest and most susceptible to dehydration.
Prevent fine lines associated with dehydration by cloaking undereye skin in protective moisture with Marine Algae Eye Cream. Our multi-award-winning eye cream instantly and deeply moisturizes while visibly lifting. Pink marine algae, a natural source of peptides, visibly improves fine lines and wrinkles while multi-hyaluronic acid and our superhero hydrator, squalane, provides skin-plumping moisture.
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3. Sun Exposure
The sun’s negative effects go beyond skin cancer and hyperpigmentation. Exposing skin to UV rays can quickly compromise the skin’s natural protective barrier, causing moisture to escape and dehydrating skin. This is why your skin can feel tight and thirsty after sun exposure even when you haven’t been burned.
Prevent the dehydrating effects of sun exposure with our Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen. It provides broad spectrum SPF 30 protection alongside a burst of squalane-powered hydration for plump, radiant, healthy skin. Natural zinc oxide blocks harmful UVA/UVB rays, while ectoin and butterfly ginger extract extend our SPF’s protective qualities to strengthen skin’s barrier, lock in hydration, and prevent daytime damage.
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4. Environmental Stressors
Environmental stressors include any aspect of your surroundings that can strain your skin’s primary function to act as a barrier between you and the environment. These can include pollution, pool chemicals, salt water, or household cleaning products. While you can’t altogether avoid environmental stressors, you can support your body’s natural repair processes to soothe stressed skin.
Protect your skin from dehydration by strengthening its barrier and helping to repair daytime damage with our most intensive renewal cream, Ectoin Overnight Rescue. Clinically-proven stress-busting ectoin binds with moisture and seals it into skin, pairing with squalane to leave the skin feeling stronger and more supple after a single overnight treatment. You’ll awaken to deeply hydrated, less sensitive skin that’s smoother with fewer fine lines
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5. Overuse of Exfoliating Actives
Using too many active ingredients aimed at increasing cell turnover can over-exfoliate your top layer of skin, stripping the moisture barrier and causing redness, sensitivity, and dehydration.
Quench skin compromised skin with our Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum. Our bestselling serum instantly hydrates and plumps using our moisture-boosting blend of multi hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, and ectoin while improving the appearance of fine lines with copper peptides. Our groundbreaking super ingredient, squalane, delivers 40x more of these skin-plumping ingredients for increased and lasting efficacy.
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As a lifestyle writer and journalist, I love sharing my passion for ocean conservation and obsession with clean beauty. I’ve tried almost every trend and ingredient, and Biossance’s science-backed formulas are the only ones that consistently calm my reactive skin and make it smoother, clearer, and healthier. I’m so excited to be on this journey of skincare innovation with Biossance, and to share it with you!
