If you have oily skin, it is hard to tell when your skin gets dehydrated.
This post tells you five ways to tell if your oily skin is dehydrated.
Is your skin getting oilier?
Have you noticed an increase in the oil on your face? If yes, your skin is probably dehydrated.
But why more oil if it’s dehydrated?
Skin hydration and oil together play an essential role in helping the top layer of skin act as a barrier (as a shield).
The functions of this barrier are to:
– prevent water from the skin from evaporating into the atmosphere
– prevent breakouts on the skin
When skin loses hydration (and becomes dehydrated), its barrier function weakens. So, the skin starts producing more oil to compensate for the water loss. Unfortunately, this extra oil cannot replace the hydration it lost—but the skin doesn’t know that, so it continues to produce more oil to compensate for the loss of hydration.
So, if you feel your skin is getting oilier, it could be dehydrated. To confirm this is the case, do the pinch test described below.
What happens when you pinch your skin?
Slightly pinch your skin and let it go. Notice how long it takes for skin to return to its original place. If it takes longer than usual, then your skin is dehydrated.
Is your skin looking dull?
Old cells from the top layer of the skin fall off regularly, making way for younger cells to rise to the top. This process is called cellular turnover. For cellular turnover to happen at the rate it should, the skin needs its hydration level to be right.
When skin is dehydrated, cellular turnover does not occur regularly. Irregular cellular turnover means old cells that should have fallen off all stick together on the top layer, giving the skin a dull appearance.
Any lines on the skin lately?
When the skin is dehydrated, some fine lines appear on the skin. These are not the age-related fine lines. These are dehydrated lines, and they go away once your skin is back to its hydrated self. Dehydrated lines are shallow and not as deep as age-related fine lines.
What happens when you apply makeup?
Does your makeup settle in creases? Since dehydration causes dehydrated lines, makeup settles into these dehydrated lines.