Dry vs. Dehydrated Skin — What’s the Difference?
Understanding Skin Imbalance
Dry and dehydrated skin often feel similar, but they stem from different causes. Distinguishing between the two can transform your skincare choices — especially when your rituals are rooted in botanical, oil-based formulations. Knowing what your skin is missing (oil vs. water) helps you choose the most nurturing path toward balance and radiance.
What Is Dry Skin? (Lack of Oil)
Dry skin lacks some essential lipids that it would normally produce. It is a skin type, which means that it's more a permanent, natural condition and not necessarily the result of exposure to any external or internal imbalance. Instead, you have likely always experienced it to some degree. Still, many factors can accentuate dryness, including the weather, the products you use, and your environment.
When your skin does not generate enough lipids, its barrier weakens leading to flakiness, rough texture, tightness, itchiness, and long-lasting dryness. Dry skin doesn’t just show up on your face, but on your body too.
Botanical oils like jojoba, moringa, kukui, baobab, and milk thistle replenish these missing lipids and help rebuild the integrity of your skin barrier. When lipid balance is restored, the skin becomes softer, smoother, and more resilient.
What Is Dehydrated Skin? (Lack of Water)
Dehydrated skin is a temporary condition caused by a lack of water in the skin — and it can happen to any skin type, even oily or combination. It’s often the result of a damaged skin barrier arising from sun exposure, environmental pollution, and harsh climates or chemicals. Dehydrated skin can also result from not drinking enough water, in particular during hotter seasons.
Dehydration often shows as dullness, tightness, faster-forming fine lines, and an overall loss of plumpness because skin cells don’t function as well as they could when they are dehydrated. If you notice a lack of glow, more visible fine lines, and frequent blemishes, your skin may be dehydrated.
Botanical oils support dehydrated skin by reducing transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and creating an environment where hydration is better retained within the deeper layers of the skin.
You can experience both
While there are major differences between dry and dehydrated skin, you can still experience both at the same time. Dry skin is more prone to become dehydrated because the skin’s natural oils play an important part in water retention. They are natural occlusives that help keep moisture on the upper layer of your skin, therefore avoiding TEWL.
Why Botanical Oils Support Both Conditions
Whether the skin needs more oil or more water, botanical oils play a vital role. They reinforce your skin barrier, reduce moisture loss, calm irritation, and help maintain the skin’s natural equilibrium. Their nutrient-rich profiles provide both protection and nourishment, helping the skin regain luminosity, suppleness, and comfort.
Our Favorite formulas for Dry and Dehydrated skin
BELOVED Replenishing Luxury Oleoserum is a highly nourishing oil serum formulated to deeply moisturize, plump, and restore elasticity to both dry and dehydrated skin. It contains kukui nut oil, a reparative staple used in ancient Hawaii to guard the skin against sun damage and harsh environment exposure.
Looking for higher hydrating power and protection? Then RADIANT Enriching Concentrated Balm is your choice. It houses a powerful cocktail of hyaluronic acid, phospholipids, peptides, and ceramides to protect, hydrate, and rejuvenate your skin.
And we couldn't leave body skin out. SACRED Soothing Body Serum is your ultra-hydrating Winter ally, infused with a desert-native botanicals that condition rough spots, and protect the most delicate skin.
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