Hydrating vs. Moisturizing Your Pores and pores and skin: How They Differ

Picture this: You stand up, and your pores and pores and skin feels painfully dry. Or is it dehydrated? It might be exhausting to tell, much like it could be exhausting to seek out out whether or not or not you need hydration or moisture. Whereas these phrases would possibly seem like synonyms, they’re pretty completely completely different on the earth of skincare. It might properly all be very difficult. So we requested two board-certified dermatologists—Lindsey Zubritsky, MD, and Kenneth Mark, MD—to interrupt all of it down for us.

Protect learning for the definitive distinction between hydrating and moisturizing (and to be taught the way in which to seek out out which your pores and pores and skin desires).

What Does Hydrating Your Pores and pores and skin Indicate?

Pores and pores and skin hydration refers to rising its water content material materials. Think about hydrating your pores and pores and skin as akin to quenching your thirst with a refreshing gulp of water out of your Stanley cup. To take motion, Zubritsky recommends looking for parts that entice and retain moisture. “This often impacts the outermost layer of the pores and pores and skin and ends in plumping of the pores and pores and skin,” she explains.

What Does Moisturizing Your Pores and pores and skin Indicate?

Zubritsky explains that moisturizing focuses on enhancing and fortifying the pores and pores and skin barrier, often resulting in pores and pores and skin feeling snug and supple. It moreover aids in sealing moisture into the pores and pores and skin.

Based mostly on Mark, moisturizing and hydrating are often not mutually distinctive phrases. Nonetheless, after we think about typical “moisturizers,” we think about merchandise that straightforward or lubricate the pores and pores and skin.

Determining Which Your Pores and pores and skin Desires

Based mostly on Zubritsky, the essential factor to determining the next step lies in determining whether or not or not your pores and pores and skin is dry or dehydrated. “While you’ve acquired dehydrated pores and pores and skin, your pores and pores and skin lacks water and positive desires hydrating parts to replenish the water content material materials,” she says. “Nevertheless in case you might have dry pores and pores and skin, your pores and pores and skin lacks oil, and positive desires a moisturizer in order so as to add moisture.”

“With that being talked about, these are often not always mutually distinctive and there could also be essential overlap, considerably within the case of the indicators you experience and the moisturizers you choose,” she continues. Dry pores and pores and skin might need a troublesome texture, with flaking, scaling, redness, or itching. Then once more, dehydrated pores and pores and skin would possibly actually really feel tight with a boring look and further seen advantageous traces and wrinkles.

To search out out in case you might have dehydrated pores and pores and skin, she recommends the pinch check out. “Gently pinch the pores and pores and skin of the cheeks or arms. If the pores and pores and skin is gradual to return to common, it’s seemingly dehydrated.”

Learn the way to Hydrate Your Pores and pores and skin

“When hydrating the pores and pores and skin, it’s important to seek for parts like humectants,” Zubritsky advises. Humectants entice and appeal to water (often from the encircling environment) and could be current in serums or moisturizers. Mark and Zubritsky emphasize that hyaluronic acid is probably going one of many most interesting humectants for creating hydrated, plumper-looking pores and pores and skin. “One in every of my favorite merchandise for that’s the Neutrogena Hydro Enhance Water Cream ($20),” says Zubritsky. “It accommodates hyaluronic acid that [delivers] 9 cases further hydration compared with untreated pores and pores and skin. It truly works to offer pores and pores and skin a hydrated, plump, glowy, and dewy look.”

“One different all-time favorite ingredient of mine is lactic acid, which, as a humectant, will enhance the pores and pores and skin’s water content material materials,” offers Mark. Plus, for these with delicate pores and pores and skin, lactic acid—an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA)—can be good for gently exfoliating with out irritation.

Learn the way to Moisturize Your Pores and pores and skin

“When moisturizing your pores and pores and skin, seek for parts that work to strengthen and assist the pores and pores and skin barrier, equal to emollients or occlusive parts,” advises Zubritsky. She recommends parts like ceramides, dimethicone, shea butter, lanolin, or petrolatum. “One in every of my favorite moisturizers is Tatcha The Dewy Pores and pores and skin Cream Plumping & Hydrating Moisturizer ($72),” she tells us. “It’s a rich, luxurious moisturizer containing dimethicone, squalane, and antioxidants that seal in moisture.”

“On this planet of parts and dermatology, vehicles matter,” says Mark. “For severely dry, cracked pores and pores and skin, ointments with their occlusive bodily barrier security, equal to Aquaphor Ointment ($18), are typically required.”