Water it’s the elixir of life.

From the minute our primeval ancestors ventured from ocean to land, prevention of dehydration has been the key to our survival.

Fortunately we have evolved a lot since then.

And today our bodies have formed an exquisite network of physiological controls, that help us maintain our body fluid.

However that’s not the case when it comes to our skin.

A healthy clear skin, requires a water content of 15 to 20% to remain supple and intact, which contributes to plumpness, elasticity, and resilience.

There are many factors involved such as ageing, which can deplete moisture, leaving skin severely dehydrated.

The overlapping cellular structure of the stratum corneum and lipid content serves as “waterproofing” for your skin, without this it is susceptible to a number of conditions:

  • Tightness
  • A feel of roughness
  • Itchiness and irritation
  • Severe redness and inflammation
  • Cracks that can sometimes bleed
  • Slight to severe scaling and flaking
  • Inflamed breakouts, papules and pustules
  • Fine lines, visible signs of premature ageing

These are all signs your skin lacks hydration.


Hydration should not be determined by the number of blackheads or breakouts you have.

This is because the sebaceous oil activity in your skin can still be normal, or even overactive with dehydration.

I find my clients often get confused with OIL PRODUCTION and HYDRATION.

It is important to note that ANY SKIN TYPE can become DEHYDRATED.

Dehydration is to do with the lack of water in your skin, somehow it has been altered and affected and lost its ability to retain moisture.


Lets take dehydration one step further for a minute, and focus on structures within the epidermis that are responsible for moisture retention and balance:

If you want clear skin, then all tissue must maintain sufficient water balance for proper functioning, including the ability to adjust within your environment.

Therefore balanced hydration is based on the following:

  • Relevant ambient humidity in the environment
  • The retention powers of the outer layer of skin, the stratum corneum
  • The transit time and amount of water, which is transmitted from the dermis to the stratum corneum


To fully understand dehydration I need to do a recap on skin anatomy, so please bear with me.

Your skin the truly amazing organ it is has several functions, which you can read all about in the article awesome skin facts.

But it is your skin’s ability to create a barrier to water loss, which is one of its most crucial functions.

The stratum corneum is responsible for maintaining appropriate water content, a superficial wafer thin layer that is an effective water barrier, due to three characteristics:

  1. Cells referred to as corneocytes are surrounded by waterproofing lipids, they prevent evaporation of water from the skin. Common lipids are fatty acids, ceramides and cholesterol.
  2. Water soluble compounds within the corneocytes make up our natural moisturising factor (NMF). They absorb water from the environment and the skins lower layers, helping to keep it adequately hydrated. Our NMF is comprised of amino acids including urea, lactic acid, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA) and urocanic acid.
  3. Desmosomes are tiny protein bridges that hold the corneocytes together; their role is to keep skin hydrated, making water evaporation difficult.

When these mechanisms don’t function correctly cells can’t shed effectively, adequate water content is impaired and skin becomes dehydrated, causing many of the conditions discussed above.

This is why including gentle exfoliation in your home care regime is key.


Let’s take a minute to look at your skins natural exfoliation process, referred to in the beauty industry as desquamation.

Your cells constantly migrate from the bottom layer of the epidermis, to the most superficial layer and finally shed.

The enzymes responsible for this shedding “desquamation of corneocytes” are dependent on adequate hydration.

If this process gets disrupted, your skin enters a “dry skin cycle” which gives it a rough scaly appearance.

This imbalance of your skins water barrier can be characteristic of eczema, scaly dry skin, fine lines and ageing.

Gentle regular exfoliation stimulates cellular renewal, boosting your skins own metabolism, helping you to achieve clear skin.


Phew it seems dehydration really is tricky to treat.

This is because so many things are involved, when it comes to keeping the correct balance of moisture in your skin.

Dehydration may be a temporary condition within your body or it may be a deeper issue, concerning lack of free water in your skin, which can cause trans epidermal water loss (TEWL).

So understanding the underlying cause of the condition is essential, for healthy clear skin.

This is why I feel it is extremely important, that you begin to get a thorough understanding of your own skin type and skin conditions.

By doing so, it will help you to manage or correct any concerns you may have, related to dehydration.


What this tells us is in order to get that clear skin difference; we need to achieve correct hydration within our skin cells.

This all depends on a functioning natural moisture factor, the skin barrier and balanced sebum.

Below are some of the classes of ingredients, responsible for moisture retention and balance:

Humectant products for hydration: These are critical for clear skin and hydration; they work by attracting water from below the epidermis and the atmosphere, drawing it into the stratum corneum. Hyaluronic acid, glycerin, urea, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA), lactic acid and sorbitol, are all great examples of these ingredients.

Occlusive ingredients for skin protection: These contain wonderful rich phytosterols for skin healing, which have natural water barrier effects. Shea butter, avocado, sunflower oil, cocoa butter, macadamia, jojoba, squalane, evening primrose and baobab oil, are all lovely rich emollients, that will keep your skin soft and supple.

Skin identical ingredients: These are acid mantle restoring ingredients, which contain compounds found in our natural moisturizing factor (NMF). Ingredients such as copper peptides, urea, lactic acid, and pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA), all help to keep moisture balanced in our skin.

Barrier restoring ingredients: Another range of skin identical ingredients that mimic those found in the stratum corneum are lipids. They are essential building blocks found in skin’s outermost layer, and include ceramides and oils rich in linoleic acid like sunflower oil, safflower, shea, baobab, rose hip seed oil, and evening primrose.

Hopefully this gives you a better understanding of what to look for in a formula.

Your skin is greatly influenced by ingredients that support its own environment, which help it to return a more balanced state.

Learn how to ....


Transform ordinary rituals

into the extrodinary, with beautiful skincare and expert advise.

You have Successfully Subscribed!