Everyone’s skin gets dry from time to time, especially in the winter months when the air is icy, the sun doesn’t come out for days, and you’re inside your heated apartment. But fear not, if your skin is dehydrated, you can easily fix that. Follow these steps to keep your skin from drying out. 

Your skin gets dehydrated, irritated, rough, and parched for many reasons. This is why hydration is so important. More often than not, it relies on more than mere water intake (which you should be doing anyway). But you’re in luck: no matter what the reason behind your skin getting dehydrated, this problem is easy to reverse. 

Before we get to it, it’s important to relay the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin: while dehydrated skin is caused by a lack of moisture due to short-term circumstances, dry skin is a specific skin type. We’re going to be addressing dehydrated skin, and not skin that is always dry and must be addressed on an ongoing and regimented basis. 

When skin is dehydrated, it ages faster, breaks out more, and gets irritated more easily—which means that it lies in your best interest to make sure your skin is as hydrated as possible. In order to restore your skin from its dehydrated state, all dermatologists recommend a solid and consistent skincare routine. Here is what you need to be doing:

Examine your water intake

It seems obvious that your water intake will determine how hydrated your skin is. Whether you knew this or not, water actually plays a huge role and has a very big impact on your skin. Therefore, if you’re not drinking enough water, your skin is more likely going to be dehydrated often. 

Examine the air quality and moisture

If you are cranking up the air conditioning or the heating, then your skin will most likely suffer from it. Maintaining a comfortable and stable room temperature with humidity levels above 30% will keep your skin hydrated. Anything other than that will send you running and reading this article.

Examine your diet

You need to be having Omega-3 rich foods (salmon, egg yolks, and walnuts are great)—essential fatty acids are very important for keeping skin nourished. Also, excessive drinking is very dehydrating for the skin. So you need to be watching those cocktails and how often you have them. After you’ve examined all these things, it’s time to build a thorough nighttime skincare routine (and actually follow through with it). After all, the best way to counter dehydrated skin is to follow a skincare regimen.

Start with a gentle cleanser

Use a non-soap cleanser before bed. Regular soaps are known to dry up your skin because it throws off its pH balance, whereas gentler and non-soap options actually keep your skin dewy.

Use hydrating sheet masks

Sheet masks are known to produce quick results but they are extra beneficial before bed because the serum and liquids they release into your skin help restore it and hydrate it overnight. 

Apply night cream

Bedtime moisturizers are normally denser than daytime moisturizers, which means they work for a longer period of time and actually trap moisture inside the skin. This promotes a super fast and effective cellular turnover. The nourishing ingredients that moisturizers are packed with help hydrate, heal, and soften the skin over time, this is why it’s important to be consistent with using them.