In fact, oily skin is often a symptom of dehydration. Your skin could very well be over-producing oil to compensate for the lack of moisture. That's why we've engineered our brand-new Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer, with a new approach to fighting oily skin.
Drinking ample water balances the oil and water content on the skin of your face. This helps to prevent excess oil and sebum secretion, which means fewer clogged pores and acne.
Oily skin can abruptly appear at any time or age. Potential causes may be stress, insufficient hydration, an overly sweet diet or an intense skin cleaning routine. Other potential causes for sudden onsets of oily skin may also be hormonal disorders, such as acromegaly.
Telltale signs of dehydrated skin include dullness, tightness, increased sensitivity, rough texture, dark undereye circles and fine lines. "If your skin is severely dehydrated it may also have flaky patches in the dryer areas", says Patricia. But as we've learnt, it's also very possible to be oily at the same time.
When dehydrated areas of the face begin producing extra sebum in attempts to lubricate and moisturize the skin, it increases the chances of developing clogged pores. This can make already large pores appear even larger as they expand with oil and other debris.
Pinch a small amount of skin on your cheek, abdomen, chest, or the back of your hand and hold for a few seconds. If your skin snaps back, you're likely not dehydrated. If it takes a few moments to bounce back, you're likely dehydrated. Repeat in other areas if you'd like.
Dry and oily skin often occurs in people who are chronically dehydrated. But the primary cause behind dry, oily skin is simply genetics. Combination skin means that you may have fine lines and wrinkles at the same time as acne, blackheads, and other oil-related breakout issues.
When your skin produces excess sebum (or oil), your forehead and other parts of your face can appear shiny or oily. While this may happen for a variety of reasons, stress, fluctuating hormones, genetics, and humidity are common factors.
The main cause of an overproduction of sebum is hormonal imbalances, including as a result of puberty and pregnancy. “As well as hormones, heat, exercise and genetics play a part,” says Kate Kerr, acclaimed clinical facialist.
Dehydrated skin means that your skin is lacking water. It can be dry and itchy and perhaps dull looking, too. Your overall tone and complexion may appear uneven, and fine lines are more noticeable. While dehydrated skin can be a nuisance, it's relatively easy to treat with the right lifestyle changes.
Unfortunately, neglecting to treat dehydrated skin can lead to acne breakouts, irritation, dry patches, dullness, and more. The first step to rehydrating your skin is knowing what leads to skin dehydration in the first place and how to spot it.
For the optimal diet to hydrate oily or acne-prone skin, add some leafy greens, probiotic-rich foods like sauerkraut, and detoxing foods like artichoke to your meals. There's no need to know any more tips on how to hydrate oily skin until you've made sure your diet and hydration are balanced.
Will Oily Skin Go Away on Its Own? Since two of the main hormonal causes of oily skin are puberty and adolescence, some people see their oily skin fade with time, especially after puberty. Unfortunately, that's not the case for everyone.
Your water could be hard, meaning it contains more minerals than usual, in particular calcium, magnesium, and iron. It can also be soft, meaning it's lower in minerals than normal. While these minerals are usually fine for drinking, it can cause breakouts, dryness, and irritation on your skin.
Washing your face with cold water may help treat excessively oily or acne-prone skin by combating the over-production of sebum.
Although oily skin can clog pores and lead to increased acne breakouts, oily skin also has many benefits. Oil helps preserve the skin, and people with oily skin tend to have thicker skin and fewer wrinkles. The key is to strike a balance between having too much oil and maintaining your skin's natural moisture.
Excess androgen hormones (sex hormones), in particular dihydrotestosterone (DHT), stimulate sebum production. Hormonal fluctuations, particularly during menstruation, pregnancy, and with disorders of the ovaries, testicles, and adrenal glands, can also trigger sebum production.
Why Is My Nose Oily? Your nose is likely oily because your sebaceous glands are producing more oil than necessary to keep your skin hydrated. The sebaceous glands beneath the pores in your skin are responsible for producing the natural oils, also known as sebum, that keep your skin healthy.
Longer showers spent in hot water can be dehydrating. After your shower, towel dry slightly — but leave your skin a little damp — and apply a nourishing moisturizer on top. “That's one of the key times to put moisturizers on because there's still a little bit of the moisture from the shower on your skin.
Your skin can become dry and cracked due to low humidity and lack of moisturizer, even if you drink enough water. However, dehydrated skin lacks moisture from the inside. It may appear not only dry and itchy but also dull, uneven, and wrinkled. You can even detect dehydration through your skin.
While making any long-term changes to your skin takes time, you can start to repair your moisture barrier and notice a serious boost in hydration to the skin in just a few days. In fact, you can change hydration levels in the skin in just 24 hours .
If you have dry skin, that means your skin is lacking oil and it needs to be moisturized. If you have dehydrated skin, your skin lacks water and it needs to be hydrated. Hydration makes our skin feel soft, but it won't stay soft if there is no oil to protect that hydration from escaping.
“Hyaluronic acid is an easy choice for oily skin because it won't clog pores or leave a heavy residue but it still provides an impactful amount of moisture,” she says, adding that a serum with hyaluronic acid is often enough to keep skin hydrated and balanced.
Drinking water is primarily thought to prevent acne by promoting proper skin hydration. Dry skin can trigger excess oil production, which could contribute to acne ( 2 ).