Skin dullness is often the first sign of dehydrated skin. We all want that wonderful natural glow that comes from within. If you’re wondering why your skin doesn’t look nourished and healthy, it might be time to start taking your daily skin hydration seriously.
Before we jump to answering the most common winter skincare question - ‘How to hydrate skin properly?’, let’s understand what is hydration and why your skin needs it?
What comes to your mind when you read about hydrating your skin? Do you instantly think about moisturizing your skin? If yes, then you’re partially right.
Essentially, there are two parts of nourishing the skin - hydration and moisturization. The hydration step is all about increasing the water content in your skin. Dehydrated skin looks dull, dry, and flaky. On the other hand, properly hydrated skin looks smooth, nourished, and radiant.
# Drink water like it’s your job
We know how important it’s to drink an adequate amount of water. Yet, so many of us fail to take it seriously and treat it like a choice. Make drinking water as important as your ‘work’. Reach out for an extra glass of water instead of coffee. You can prepare a pitcher of water and add some cucumbers/orange to it. This way, you will provide your skin with a healthy dose of anti-oxidants along with hydration.
# Eat water-rich foodsWhat you eat determines the water content in your body and your skin. Make sure that you consume some water-rich foods throughout the day. If it’s summertime, you can load up on fruits and vegetables like watermelons and cucumbers. In winters, you can go for strawberries and oranges.
# Use only gentle and natural face/body cleansersDo you check the ingredients of your skin-care products? If not, then you should start looking for skin-harming chemicals like parabens and sulfates. Sometimes, when we wash our face with a cleanser, our skin gets stripped of its natural moisture content
# Add a natural serum or facial oil to your skincare regimenApplying facial oils and serums just before moisturization is the most important step for hydration. Serums and face oils are loaded with hydrating ingredients and can provide your skin with sufficient water content before the moisturizer can lock it in.
# Refresh your skin with facial sprays
Facial mists can be super handy when it comes to daily skin hydration. We all know the amazing feeling that comes with spraying Rose Water on our faces. Not only it’s immensely soothing and refreshing, but also hydrating.
Of course, this step is best suited for the summer days. However, if you are a fan of facial mists, you can spray it on your face right after cleansing your skin so that your skin recovers any loss of hydration from cleansing.
# Moisturise properly to seal in the water contentEarlier in the article, we talked about how moisturization helps in sealing the water content in the skin. Hence, moisturization is a very important step without which you’ll have to keep hydrating your skin multiple times during the day.
It’s recommended to use a separate moisturizer for day and night. A heavier moisturizer is recommended at night, especially if you use air conditioning. We might not realize this but our skin constantly loses moisture even when we sleep.
# Apply Sun Screen every dayWe all love the winter sun. But did you know that sun exposure dehydrates your skin? Now, this doesn’t mean you need to stop stepping out and soaking in the sun altogether. It just means that you shouldn’t ever step out without sun protection.
Prolonged skin exposure without sunscreen also causes aging of the skin as it rapidly breaks the skin’s natural moisture barrier and depletes collagen level.