Dry and dehydrated skin can feel the same. Tight, dull, uncomfortable. They are not the same thing.

Dry skin is a skin type. It produces less sebum and fewer surface lipids, so it loses water more easily.

Dehydrated skin is a condition. The skin is short of water, not oil. It can come and go with weather, travel and over-exfoliation. Oily skin can be dehydrated too, which is why it is so often missed.

SIGNS YOUR SKIN IS DEHYDRATED

Tightness after cleansing
A dull complexion
Fine lines suddenly more noticeable
Makeup sitting unevenly

Dehydrated skin needs water drawn in and held there.

SIGNS YOUR SKIN IS DRY

Rough or flaky patches
Tightness that returns quickly after moisturising
Coarse to the touch
Improves with richer creams, not more serum

Dry skin needs lipid-rich moisturisation to reduce water loss and support the barrier.

Many people have both.

Dr Ellie Sateei
Cosmetic and Regenerative Doctor