Hydration
By now, we all know the importance of drinking enough water. Many of you probably have an app or some sort of tracker to monitor how much water you take in per day.
There’s tap water, boiled water, filtered water, bottled water, reverse-osmosis water, distilled water, ionized water, alkaline water, ultraviolet treated water, etc. Water makes up 60% of an adult's body weight.
Skin is the largest organ of the body and the last to receive the benefit of all the water you drink. Applying hydration and moisture topically is just as important as ingesting internally.
To Hydrate
Hydration means increasing the amount of water in your skin cells. This results in a healthy, smooth and plump complexion. When skin is regularly hydrated, it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. In addition to appearing younger, your skin cells maintain their overall cellular functions when hydrated.
Unfortunately, chronic dehydration is something more and more women must wrestle with as we get older. Using a topical product with the most hydrating ingredients will help you stay on top of this, sometimes frustrating, war.
When it comes to an ingredient that is hydrating, hyaluronic acid is by far the gold standard. This little molecule packs a punch by holding a thousand times its weight in water. It is found naturally in the human body, but just like collagen, our skin’s supply depletes as we age. A product like NIA24 Intensive Moisture Double Serum (1.0 fl oz) will be more than helpful.
You also want to look for sodium hyaluronate, which provides a plumping dose of hydration and is featured in our Caolion D-Programme Freshly Hydro Sheet Mask Premium 6-Pack.
Ingredients like glycerin attract water to themselves and can be found in products like Dermalogica's Sound Sleep Cocoon. So not only can you hydrate your skin, but you can oh so gently drift off to sleep at the same time.
Remember to hydrate the rest of your face and body. Jan Marini's Hyla3D Lip Complex contains multiple forms of Hyaluronic Acid that is lost with age and diminished by the sun to provide deep, long-lasting hydration.
Soybean Extract, which is found in Strivectin's Tightening Body Cream, is an anti-inflammatory that fights against skin sagging, dehydration, and lack of elasticity.
You can find these and other hydrating products at this EntirelySkin.com link here.
The purpose of hydrating is to bind water to our skin while the purpose of moisturizing is to prevent water from leaving our skin. Dehydrated skin lacks water and therefore needs to be hydrated. Dry skin lacks oil and needs to be moisturized. It is important to distinguish between these two because they are often treated incorrectly.
While hydration is what makes our skin soft, it won’t stay that way if there is no oil protecting that hydration from evaporating and abandoning the skin, which would leave it dry and flaky. And vice versa, to put oil on top of already dehydrated skin may smooth it, but it will still lack the hydration that makes it feel soft and elastic. Dehydrated skin that is moisturized without receiving the amount of hydration it needs, will still look dull and feel uncomfortably tight. Dry skin that is hydrated but not moisturized will still flake and have a rough texture.
Please join us next time for our discussion about moisturizing!
