Dry skin and dehydrated skin are not the same. Sure, they often look and feel the same, so people use these terms interchangeably to describe their rough, parched skin. Many of the same factors can lead to both dry skin and dehydrated skin, adding to the confusion. For example, excessive exfoliation, overuse of harsh skincare products, a damaged skin barrier, and exposure to extreme weather conditions, such as freezing temperatures, super sunny days, and low humidity.
Needless to say, we fully understand the confusion. However, we are here to tell you that dry skin and dehydrated skin are technically different, and we are ready to help you understand why. Spoiler alert: One is a skin type; the other is a skin condition. However, there are additional factors that differentiate them from one another.
Ahead, we’ll delve deeper into what makes dry skin, dry skin, and what dehydrated skin truly is. Knowing exactly how to identify the differences between the two will help you treat your skin with better, more effective care while making the necessary adaptations to your skincare routine.
What is dry skin?
Dry skin refers to a skin type that people are often born with due to genetics or develop due to hormonal changes. It affects those of all ages, genders, and ethnicities.
From a scientific perspective, dry skin occurs when the outermost layer of skin lacks lipids, which are the natural oils found on the skin's surface. Individuals with this skin type might produce less sebum than the average person. As a result, dry skin can exacerbate chronic skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis.
The telltale signs and symptoms of dry skin include a flaky or scaly complexion with some redness, irritation, and/or rough texture. Your skin may even feel tight and uncomfortable due to its lack of oils and inability to retain moisture.
What is dehydrated skin?
Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, is a temporary condition that can affect any skin type. Dehydrated skin is similar to a dehydrated body—both are caused by a lack of water. Because of this, your face may be oilier than usual as your skin is overproducing sebum to help counteract its water loss.
You can identify dehydrated skin by several signs. Your complexion may appear duller than usual, fine lines may start to appear unexpectedly, and dark circles under your eyes may become more pronounced. Plus, your skin might feel uncomfortably itchy and could experience unexpected breakouts.
A Quick Way to Identify Dry vs. Dehydrated Skin
If you’re still not sure if you’re dealing with dry skin or dehydrated skin, skincare experts often recommend conducting a quick “pinch test”.
To do so, lightly squeeze a small section of skin on the back of your hand or just below your under eyes between two fingers. If your skin quickly bounces back into place, it’s most likely a dry skin situation. If your skin stays pinched for over three seconds, it’s probably dehydrated. Still unsure of what’s happening with the state of your skin? Be sure to consult with a board-certified dermatologist. They will provide you with the right diagnosis and proper care.
The Best Skincare For Dry Skin
Have you discovered that you have dry skin? To help remedy the situation and relieve your skin ASAP, seek out oil-based skincare products. Think serums, lotions, and creams infused with plant-based oils, such as jojoba, coconut, and almond. Also, look for formulas containing ceramides. These lipids, naturally found in the skin barrier, help replenish your skin’s natural oil levels while creating a moisture-locking barrier on the surface of your skin.
We recommend washing your face every night with Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel. This fragrance-free formula gently cleanses without stripping your skin of the little amount of natural oils it's working to produce. It also adds hydration with the help of antioxidant-rich fermented black rice and bamboo extracts. Trust us when we say your skin won’t feel drier or tighter than before you started washing your face with this gel cleanser. It even has a slightly acidic pH of 5.5 to help balance your skin barrier instead of compromising it.
Next, pat on a layer or two of our beloved Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner. You can even soak cotton pads with it to create mini sheet masks for areas of your face that are particularly flaky or scaly. Hyaluronic acid provides an immediate boost of plumping moisture to the skin, while fermented black rice extract nourishes and reduces inflammation.
Fun fact: While many K-beauty toners contain rice extract, Haruharu utilizes fermented black rice extract, enhancing our toner’s effectiveness in transforming your skin from dry to dewy. Clinical studies even found that the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner improves moisture by 57.65% and texture by 11.16% after two weeks of use.
Finally, seal all that moisture in with the best moisturizer for dry skin: Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream. This ultra-buttery formula is packed with emollients derived from coconut and olive oils. It also features lipid-rich ingredients, including hydrogenated lecithin and cholesterol, to get your skin back on track to glass skin gorgeousness. Best of all, Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream is speckled with ceramide capsules formed in a structure similar to skin, ensuring easy absorption and long-lasting moisture. This moisturizer is even clinically proven to improve moisture by 37.129% and the skin barrier by 23.597% after two weeks of use.
The Best Skincare For Dehydrated Skin
Dealing with dehydrated skin? Humectants, which draw water into skin from the environment, are about to be your skin’s bestie. Some examples include aloe, glycerin, panthenol, and hyaluronic acid.
Your dehydrated skin routine should start with a gentle, sensitive skin-friendly cleanser, like Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel. It contains a ton of humectants, namely glycerin, panthenol, beta-glucan, and fermented black rice extract, to attract water to the surface of your skin and replenish lost moisture as you wash off the dirt, makeup, and debris on your face. These ingredients also help balance out sebum production, so your skin won’t be as oily as it has been lately.
Then, reach for a hyaluronic acid-infused toner. Of course, we’re huge fans of the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner for treating dehydrated skin. This formula features the same emollients as the cleanser—just with added skin-plumping hyaluronic acid, which is known to hold over 1,000 times its weight in water. It will get to work immediately to help smooth out those shallow lines on your face and provide major hydration. Just as we mentioned earlier, clinical studies showed that the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner improves moisture by 57.65% and texture by 11.16% after two weeks of use.
Last, but not least, we recommend slathering on Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice Probiotic Barrier Essence as a moisturizer. The luxuriously milky fluid will quench your skin’s thirst with a dynamic combination of emollients, ceramides, and probiotics. We’ve already established that emollients draw water into skin, but did you know that ceramides and probiotics replenish and strengthen your skin barrier, so less water escapes your skin? Yes, please!
Black Rice Probiotic Barrier Essence was proven effective for improving moisture by 33.695% and skin barrier function by 21.001% after two weeks of use. Considering all these statistics, we suggest layering this product over the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner to seal in all that refreshing moisture and maximize hydration. Your skin will feel softer, smoother, and healthier in no time.
Do You Have Dry Skin or Dehydrated Skin?
Dry skin and dehydrated skin are not the same. Sure, they often look and feel the same, so people use these terms interchangeably to describe their rough, parched skin. Many of the same factors can lead to both dry skin and dehydrated skin, adding to the confusion. For example, excessive exfoliation, overuse of harsh skincare products, a damaged skin barrier, and exposure to extreme weather conditions, such as freezing temperatures, super sunny days, and low humidity.
Needless to say, we fully understand the confusion. However, we are here to tell you that dry skin and dehydrated skin are technically different, and we are ready to help you understand why. Spoiler alert: One is a skin type; the other is a skin condition. However, there are additional factors that differentiate them from one another.
Ahead, we’ll delve deeper into what makes dry skin, dry skin, and what dehydrated skin truly is. Knowing exactly how to identify the differences between the two will help you treat your skin with better, more effective care while making the necessary adaptations to your skincare routine.
What is dry skin?
Dry skin refers to a skin type that people are often born with due to genetics or develop due to hormonal changes. It affects those of all ages, genders, and ethnicities.
From a scientific perspective, dry skin occurs when the outermost layer of skin lacks lipids, which are the natural oils found on the skin's surface. Individuals with this skin type might produce less sebum than the average person. As a result, dry skin can exacerbate chronic skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis.
The telltale signs and symptoms of dry skin include a flaky or scaly complexion with some redness, irritation, and/or rough texture. Your skin may even feel tight and uncomfortable due to its lack of oils and inability to retain moisture.
What is dehydrated skin?
Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, is a temporary condition that can affect any skin type. Dehydrated skin is similar to a dehydrated body—both are caused by a lack of water. Because of this, your face may be oilier than usual as your skin is overproducing sebum to help counteract its water loss.
You can identify dehydrated skin by several signs. Your complexion may appear duller than usual, fine lines may start to appear unexpectedly, and dark circles under your eyes may become more pronounced. Plus, your skin might feel uncomfortably itchy and could experience unexpected breakouts.
A Quick Way to Identify Dry vs. Dehydrated Skin
If you’re still not sure if you’re dealing with dry skin or dehydrated skin, skincare experts often recommend conducting a quick “pinch test”.
To do so, lightly squeeze a small section of skin on the back of your hand or just below your under eyes between two fingers. If your skin quickly bounces back into place, it’s most likely a dry skin situation. If your skin stays pinched for over three seconds, it’s probably dehydrated. Still unsure of what’s happening with the state of your skin? Be sure to consult with a board-certified dermatologist. They will provide you with the right diagnosis and proper care.
The Best Skincare For Dry Skin
Have you discovered that you have dry skin? To help remedy the situation and relieve your skin ASAP, seek out oil-based skincare products. Think serums, lotions, and creams infused with plant-based oils, such as jojoba, coconut, and almond. Also, look for formulas containing ceramides. These lipids, naturally found in the skin barrier, help replenish your skin’s natural oil levels while creating a moisture-locking barrier on the surface of your skin.
We recommend washing your face every night with Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel. This fragrance-free formula gently cleanses without stripping your skin of the little amount of natural oils it's working to produce. It also adds hydration with the help of antioxidant-rich fermented black rice and bamboo extracts. Trust us when we say your skin won’t feel drier or tighter than before you started washing your face with this gel cleanser. It even has a slightly acidic pH of 5.5 to help balance your skin barrier instead of compromising it.
Next, pat on a layer or two of our beloved Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner. You can even soak cotton pads with it to create mini sheet masks for areas of your face that are particularly flaky or scaly. Hyaluronic acid provides an immediate boost of plumping moisture to the skin, while fermented black rice extract nourishes and reduces inflammation.
Fun fact: While many K-beauty toners contain rice extract, Haruharu utilizes fermented black rice extract, enhancing our toner’s effectiveness in transforming your skin from dry to dewy. Clinical studies even found that the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner improves moisture by 57.65% and texture by 11.16% after two weeks of use.
Finally, seal all that moisture in with the best moisturizer for dry skin: Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream. This ultra-buttery formula is packed with emollients derived from coconut and olive oils. It also features lipid-rich ingredients, including hydrogenated lecithin and cholesterol, to get your skin back on track to glass skin gorgeousness. Best of all, Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream is speckled with ceramide capsules formed in a structure similar to skin, ensuring easy absorption and long-lasting moisture. This moisturizer is even clinically proven to improve moisture by 37.129% and the skin barrier by 23.597% after two weeks of use.
The Best Skincare For Dehydrated Skin
Dealing with dehydrated skin? Humectants, which draw water into skin from the environment, are about to be your skin’s bestie. Some examples include aloe, glycerin, panthenol, and hyaluronic acid.
Your dehydrated skin routine should start with a gentle, sensitive skin-friendly cleanser, like Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel. It contains a ton of humectants, namely glycerin, panthenol, beta-glucan, and fermented black rice extract, to attract water to the surface of your skin and replenish lost moisture as you wash off the dirt, makeup, and debris on your face. These ingredients also help balance out sebum production, so your skin won’t be as oily as it has been lately.
Then, reach for a hyaluronic acid-infused toner. Of course, we’re huge fans of the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner for treating dehydrated skin. This formula features the same emollients as the cleanser—just with added skin-plumping hyaluronic acid, which is known to hold over 1,000 times its weight in water. It will get to work immediately to help smooth out those shallow lines on your face and provide major hydration. Just as we mentioned earlier, clinical studies showed that the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner improves moisture by 57.65% and texture by 11.16% after two weeks of use.
Last, but not least, we recommend slathering on Haruharu wonder’s Black Rice Probiotic Barrier Essence as a moisturizer. The luxuriously milky fluid will quench your skin’s thirst with a dynamic combination of emollients, ceramides, and probiotics. We’ve already established that emollients draw water into skin, but did you know that ceramides and probiotics replenish and strengthen your skin barrier, so less water escapes your skin? Yes, please!
Black Rice Probiotic Barrier Essence was proven effective for improving moisture by 33.695% and skin barrier function by 21.001% after two weeks of use. Considering all these statistics, we suggest layering this product over the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner to seal in all that refreshing moisture and maximize hydration. Your skin will feel softer, smoother, and healthier in no time.