What is the Difference between Dry Skin and Dehydrated Skin?

Do you know the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin?

It is a little confusing because we often use the same word to describe both. If we have dry skin, we say that our skin is dry. If we have dehydrated skin, we also say our skin is dry. That is where the confusion comes in.

Very simply, dry skin is a skin type whereas dehydrated skin is a skin condition.

There is not much you can do to change your skin type. If you have dry skin, the chances are you have fewer oil producing glands in your skin than other skin types, like normal skin and oily skin. However, any skin type can have a dehydrated condition. You can have dehydrated oily skin. You can have dehydrated normal or combination skin, and you can also have dehydrated dry skin.

What causes dehydrated skin?

Quite simply, dehydrated skin is a skin condition because the skin lacks moisture content. The simplest way to deal with low moisture content is to drink water and Rooibos tea.

There are four factors that affect dehydrated skin:

• our age
• the environment
• weather and
• our food and our liquid consumption

Did you know that as we age our skin's ability to retain moisture lessens?

The younger we are the easier it is to not have dehydrated skin because of the skin's ability to retain moisture. As we age, we need to focus on maintaining an adequate moisture content by adding liquid from within the body as well as taking care of the skin from the outside particularly to counter our environment and drying weather conditions.

In that regard, I suggest reading the following two blog posts:

• 3 Simple Skincare Routine Changes for Winter Dry Skin and
• How to Layer a Nighttime Skincare Routine.

As far as diet goes, it is important that we eat water-rich foods. In winter we could consume soups, broths, oranges and grapefruit, all of which have a high natural water content. In summer, vegetables like zucchini and fruits like watermelon are also naturally high in water content.

But the number one way to get water content is to drink it. I am not talking about black tea, coffee, and alcohol. They are all guilty of being diuretics that dry our skin by taking moisture out of the body. I am talking about Rooibos tea and water. The best way to drink Rooibos tea is milk-free, especially if your goal is to increase moisture content in the skin.

If you are new to drinking Rooibos tea, I have three teas I recommend for getting started. They are:

Simply Rooibos, a 100% Rooibos tea with no added herbs vying for the limelight.

Rooibos and Melissa Leaf, a popular tea that has the added benefit of being a night rest tea often enjoyed in the evening before bed, and

Rooibos and Honeybush, a combination of two of South Africa’s indigenous fynbos plants. The combination of Honeybush with Rooibos gives this tea a naturally sweetened and pleasant taste.

We have nine Rooibos teas from which to choose. View all our Annique Rooibos teas right here.

On a last note, since I started intermittent fasting, I have switched from black tea with milk to drinking Rooibos tea straight up in the morning, and it has done wonders for me. First thing every morning, I am rehydrating my body and skin cells by drinking Rooibos tea instead of a diuretic tea or coffee. As I fast until 10 o’clock every morning, drinking Rooibos tea also helps to balance my blood sugar levels and soothe any hunger pangs. And finally, the combination of intermittent fasting and Rooibos tea has increased my metabolism helping me to burn calories faster and release extra weight.

This is a triple win in my book!

Consider adding a Rooibos tea to your shopping cart and benefit at the very least from a hydrated skin.