Hydration vs Moisturizing & Why Both Are Important To Achieving Optimal Skin Health

A known skin care fact is that the largest organ of our body is the skin. In order for your skin to be healthy and stay looking youthful, it requires lots of water. For years, when most of us saw the words hydration and moisturizing we assumed they meant the same thing, and boyyyyy were we wrong. And don’t feel bad, in the skin care and makeup world, those two words are often used interchangeably so it is very easy for many of us to not realize the difference. They have different roles in our skin care routine.

Our skin has a natural lipid barrier that protects itself from damage and water loss. Hydration is in reference to the amount of water in your skin. If you suffer from dry skin (like I do), that means your skin isn’t producing enough lipid cells to form a protective barrier, which prevents it from locking in moisture. This is where hydration and moisturizing really makes the difference. Hydrators are products that are formulated with ingredients like humectants that increase water content by pulling moisture from the air in to your skin’s many layers. Hydration products contain less than 5% lipid ingredients. These kinds of products usually are clear or like a gel or jelly like serums, toner, etc. Then you have moisturizers. They seal in the natural oils and lipids on the surface of your skin, which prevents water from evaporating and maintaining a moisture balance and reducing transepidermal water loss. Moisturizing products contain up to 25% of lipids, which stay on top of your skin instead of being absorbed. These products look white or creamy. Body or face oils are nourishing and contain less than 1% of hydrating ingredients, like jojoba oil, shea butter, etc. They are used to create a film out of your skin or mimic your sebum to protect and prevent water loss. They look like oils or balms.

So now that that is settled, now you will be able to identify the difference between dehydrated and dry skin. Dehydrated skin lacks water, so it requires hydration. Dry skin lacks oil and needs moisturizers.

The best way to choose products should be based on skin type and weather. Examples are below:

Oily Skin

Fall/Spring - HydraQuench Toner/Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Summer - HydraQuench Toner

Winter - Green Tea & Silk Moisturizer or Maracuja Oil

Normal/Combination Skin

Fall/Spring - Green Tea & Silk Moisturizer

Summer - Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Winter - HydraQuench Toner/Green Tea & Silk Moisturizer

Dry Skin

Fall/Spring - HydraQuench/Green Tea & Moisturizer

Summer - HydraQuench Toner/Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Winter - HydraQuench Toner/Cara Hermosa Butter

Now keep in mind, this is just an example of how you can adjust your routines to protect your skin. Some of you might need more, some might need less. If you have sensitive or sensitized skin, that also adds another level of understanding before choosing your products.

I hope this answers any questions you have on the difference between the two. Feel free to comment if you have any other questions!

To help you on your quest to balance the oil/water ratio in your skin, here is a 10% discount towards your next order*.