Why Your Makeup Is Going Patchy And How To Fix It – Dehydrated Skin

You use oil free products, powder the hell out of your face and stick to a set skin care routine to try to make your makeup look as good and last as long as possible – yet after a few hours it looks patchy. Trust me, I know the feeling. But did you know that the patchiness may not actually down to oily skin, or poor quality makeup products… it may actually because your skin is dehydrated. I had no idea either but once it’s explained a little more it makes perfect sense. This blog post is going to go through what dehydrated skin is (in comparison to dry), how it effects your skin and how to combat it – each section will be clearly titled so if you only fancy reading one or two sections then feel free to skip ahead and just read them.

What Is Dehydrated Skin And How Is It Different To Dry Skin?

Essentially dehydrated skin is a skin condition where the skin is lacking water (unlike dry skin which is a skin type where the skin is lacking oil). The good thing is, is that as dehydrated skin is a skin condition, generally it is temporary and can be easily treated. It can be caused by many environmental factors e.g. diet or can be caused by genetics, unlike dry skin which is purely genetic (causing the skin to produce less oil and/or sebum making it flaky or scaly). Because of this dry skin it isn’t ever going to completely go away and needs constant treatment whereas dehydrated skin can be ‘cured’. Right now the differences between dry and dehydrated skin may seem very small, but when it comes down to treating the two conditions they become very different which is why it is important not to get confused.

How Does Dehydration Effect Your Skin?

Patchy Makeup

And now down to the reason why you are probably reading this post… dehydrated skin means that your skin becomes desperate to absorb any moisture that it can. So, when you apply your foundation, your skin is just going to absorb all the hydration it can and leave you with whatever is left over, making your makeup look patchy – pretty gross right?

Irritation And Uneven Skin Texture

Hydrated skin flushes out toxins and maintains its natural barrier which results in the skin having a much more even texture and reduces any irritation or sensitivity unlike dehydrated skin which is damaged and so can’t flush out toxins or maintain its natural barrier.

Breakouts And Oily Skin

When your skin is dehydrated it often produces more oil to compensate for the lack of hydration in the skin.  As I said earlier, when your skin is dehydrated it is in need of water not oil so this excess oil builds up and makes your skin oily and congested (which makes you more susceptible to breakouts). The annoying thing about this is, is that people then often treat the oily skin and acne with harsh products meant to combat these issues that then worsens the dehydration which then worsens the oily skin and acne.

Flaky, Blotchy or Redness

Dehydrated skin can often become flaky which can cause the skin to look blotchy and have areas of redness due to the lack of hydration.

How To Combat Dehydrated Skin

Water, Water, And Yes … More Water!

This may seem like the most obvious thing in the world but staying hydrated is really important to keeping your skin hydrated. On average, you should be drinking 2 Litres of water everyday to keep properly hydrated. My trick to making sure I drink all this water everyday is by getting a 500 ml water bottle and drink two before lunch and two before I go to sleep. Unfortunately drinking plenty can’t completely solve the problem but it can make it a LOT better (plus keeping hydrated isn’t just good for your skin it’s good for your whole body so it’s a win, win).

Make Changes To Your Skin Care Routine

One of the main causes of dehydrated skin is people with acne prone or oily skin using really harsh skin care products that get rid of all the hydration in the skin. Instead of using products to combat oily skin or acne start off by changing your routine to treat your dehydrated skin and then adding products to combat any other issues your skin might have once your skin is hydrated again.

Make Changes To Your Everyday Makeup Routine

When it comes to the makeup you put on your face, oil free products makeup products can also be a little harsh on the skin and stop it from being properly hydrated. Anything with the word ‘hydrating’, ‘radiant’ or anything along those lines is your new best friend. They won’t go patchy throughout the day as they’re specially designed for people with dehydrated skin and they’ll help keep your skin as hydrated as possible.

Hyaluronic Acid

Adding a little bit of hyaluronic acid to your skin care routine can make a huge difference to dehydrated skin. It can hold 1000 times it’s weight in water so as I’m sure you can imagine, this really can make all the difference.

Aloe

Aloe has a huge water content and so is great if your skin is dehydrated aloe can also make a huge difference.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I hoped it helped if your makeup has been going patchy and you haven’t known why or if you have dehydrated skin and need a few tips to try to improve it. As always thankyou for all your support, if you liked this post please like it and follow this blog.

Until next time,

Bethan x

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