How to Hydrate Your Skin Properly
4 easy ways to add moisture into your routine, the K-beauty way
A clear, glowing complexion is the holy grail of skincare. It’s also a tenet of traditional K-beauty.
And, when it comes to a good glow, Korean skincare methods call for creating weightless hydration.
This means using lightweight essences, oils and mists to provide ample hydration without congesting pores or feeling cloying on your skin, whatever your skin type.
Here’s all you need to know…
Why is hydration important?
We all understand how dehydration can impact our health, but it’s perhaps not so well known how it can wreak havoc on our skin too.
To start, a properly hydrated complexion, keeps skin plump and healthy and improves skin’s elasticity so you’ll see fewer fine lines and wrinkles. Think of it as plumping your skin from the inside out like the pokable silicone bubbles on a silicone Pop-It toy!
What’s more, when your skin is thoroughly hydrated, it’s better able to flush out environmental irritants and toxins so it becomes more resilient.
You’ll often find your skin barrier is less easily irritated and damage prone when you’ve hydrated it properly. Finally, if you have oily skin, hydration actually helps to combat oiliness by preventing skin from overproducing oil when it lacks moisture.
What does dehydrated skin look like?
Dehydrated skin often feels tight and can get irritated quickly. It can also look flaky and dull and have more pronounced lines and wrinkles in certain areas, especially under the eyes.
These are all tell-tale signs that your skin’s normal, healthy processes have been disrupted and that’s due to a lack of water content in the skin.
What’s the difference between dry and dehydrated skin?
Dry skin is a skin type that in general, lacks oil whereas any skin type can be dehydrated, even oily.
If you’re breaking out but have visiblly dry skin, it’s likely that you’ve got oily skin but it’s dehydrated.
One expert explains the reason behind this is that while you may have high sebum levels and be an oily skin type you can have low water content at the same time so will be lacking in hydration.
On top of this, treatments for spots and breakouts are very drying so it’s essential to make sure your skin is properly hydrated when you’re dealing with excess oil.
How do I hydrate my skin properly?
The signs of dehydration are so similar to those with dry skin so if you’re not sure which one you’re dealing with there’s good news – in K-beauty, you generally treat both skin concerns in the same way, which is with lots of lightweight hydration layered in.
Here’s how to help your skin feel and look smoother, plumper and much more comfortable…
• Exfoliate twice weekly
Gentle exfoliation helps to slough off the top layer of skin cells so you get the new, fresher cells beneath coming through to the surface. This also means the skincare products you apply afterwards will absorb better as they don’t need to penetrate through that layer of dead skin cells. Try…
• Add nourishment with an essence
Essences are a K-beauty essential because they’re both nourishing and lightweight and great for multi-tasking – you can replace your toner and serum steps with an essence if you prefer the texture or, if you have oily skin, you might simply want to stick to one product here. Essences work to hydrate skin but also to replace essential nourishment that gets lost when our skin is dehydrated. Try…
• Lock in hydration with an oil
Once you’ve added nourishment to soften and soothe skin as well as humectants to attract moisture to skin and keep it there, it’s essential to use a type of hydrator that will prevent all that newly added moisture from escaping into the air. This is where an occlusive, like a facial oil, can help, and we suggest using them at night. Look for a lightweight formula that won’t clog pores. Try...
• Top up your hydration levels every 3-4 hours
Mists are great way to keep your skin hydrated throughout the day. The new formulations are meant to be spritzed over makeup too and will ensure your skin looks refreshed while delivering a dewy, more luminous finish. Try…
which is rich Mugwort and Green Tea Leaf Water for intense hydration and added radiance. Cucumber, Rice, Okra and Kelp extract revitalise skin at the same time.