Water plays a very pivotal role in keeping your skin healthy, smooth, supple and radiant. Both hydration and moisturization, address the importance of providing adequate water to your skin to fight dryness and dehydration.
Very often, these two terms are used interchangeably, however, they are not exactly the same. In this article, learn about the difference between moisturization and hydration and make informed choices in tackling skin dryness and dullness issues.
Difference between Moisturization and Hydration
What is Hydration?
Skin is the largest organ of your body with regards to chemical composition. The skin is predominantly water accounting for up to 60% to 70%. That is why, when you are dehydrated, the skin tends to look dull and uncomfortably tight.
Even oily skin types need their due share of water. When the water content of the skin is depleted, it directly impacts any skin type with less elasticity and roughness. On the other hand, a well-hydrated skin delivers a plumpy effect. This plumpness smoothens out fine lines and wrinkles in your skin, making it look youthful. Further, it also gives your skin its natural radiance so that every skin cell in your body functions optimally.
What is Moisturising?
Hydration for skin is as important as drinking water for your body. If you are drinking lots of water, but there is nothing to lock-in all this water, your skin will look dry and dull.
Moisturization helps to lock in the water content by preventing hydration to escape out of the skin. The skin is naturally equipped to protect itself from loss of water or damage through its lipid barrier. However, at times your skin tends to go dry due to environmental and climatic conditions. Now, this is where moisturizing comes in to play helping to trap and seal in the moisture to build the skin’s protective barrier.
Do You Need a Moisturizer or Hyrdator or Both?
If your skin feels dry frequently, it’s very easy to assume that you need a healthy dose of moisturizer. While it might be true, it’s also possible that your skin, may, in fact, dehydrated.
To understand whether your skin is dehydrated take note of your skin’s condition. If you are dealing with a dull or lackluster skin with fine lines and wrinkles becoming more visible, your skin may be battling dehydration.
On the contrary, if you are prone to dry and flaky skin, it can be a sign that your skin is not producing enough lipid cells to protect itself and lock in the water content. The moisturizer’s role is to reduce the amount of water that evaporates out of the skin to minimize trans-epidermal water loss.
You can have hydrated, but dry skin, dehydrated but moisturized skin or both conditions. Ideally, we want a well-hydrated skin that has topical moisture locked into them.
Pick the Right Hydration and Moisturization
Drinking plenty of water is the best possible way to hydrate your skin. In addition, you can also supplement it with topical hydration that binds and draws water into the cells. Natural humectants enable the skin to improve its ability to hydrate over time, so look out for natural sources like pure rose water, honey, aloe vera.
For moisturization, the intake of healthy fats in your diet is very important, including monounsaturated fats and Omega -3 Fatty Acid. The healthiest way to lubricate your body from within is having pure ghee preferably made from A2 Cows Milk. Also, cooking oils extracted from cold-pressed seeds and nuts like avocados, nuts, flax seeds, sunflower, fish oil are good for your skin.
External application of moisturizer topically is also crucial. Include natural moisturizers extracted from plants, nuts, and seeds as these natural oils are the best. Cold pressed Sesame oil, Almond oil, Coconut oil, Cow’s Ghee, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, and Organic Beeswax are some good examples. These natural moisturizing ingredients help in fighting the signs of aging by locking in hydration in a very efficient way.
For best results, apply hydrators and moisturizers in the morning after bath and at night before bedtime. You should apply moisturizers after applying your hydrators so that it doesn’t peel.