Adult Acne in the Presence of Dehydration: Part 1

As an online Esthetician and a virtual skincare coach through my Eval by Email® Online Skincare Consultation program, I don’t often get a chance to feel the skin of a client. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see what’s going on! Even without the use of a magnifying lamp - you’d be surprised what can be seen in a good web or phone cam photo. 

Since I have over 17 years’ experience giving facials I know very well what dehydrated skin is like, what it feels like, what it looks like, and what causes it to occur. 

In cases of Adult Acne and Sensitivity, which are my specialized focus, dehydrated skin appears in the vast majority of my clients. If it seems like a contradiction - acne in the presence of dehydration - remember that there is a difference between having “dry” skin that doesn’t produce enough oil and having dehydrated skin where there is plenty of oil but too much water loss. 

If you have large (or large-ish) pores and acne, you don’t lack oil by any means. The last thing you need is more oil. On the other hand if you remove too much oil from the surface of your skin, you can have a bear of a problem. In fact, most of the time when acne and/or oiliness occurs with dehydration, the culprit is usually harsh cleanser since it can strip away a great deal of your skin's protective barrier, which then creates more water loss while causing the skin to produce more oil to rebalance its acidity level.  

The condition of your skin can get even worse with damage accumulated through simple living creating more problems for the age 30+ acne sufferer, whose been plagued with acne products treating skin like it’s 16 and anti-aging products treating skin like it’s genetically dry and clogging it up! I’m not here to talk about how to tell if your skin is actually dry or just dehydrated. Nor am I here to talk about how to deal with a dehydration problem.  

What I am here to talk about is the role that dehydration can play in the formation of adult acne.

A good way to understand what happens when skin is dehydrated is to imagine a pile of mostly deflated rectangular water balloons that are all attached to each other to make a multi-layered quilt.  Over time more and more of the water leaks out of the balloons on the top layer, until all you have left is empty bits of rubber. Eventually, these balloons detach from this cover and fall off the quilt.  With dead skin cells, this translates as flaking.

What also happens with dehydrated skin is it kind of gets pulled a little, almost like the skin is shrinking a bit.  It gets quite stiff, shrink wrapping around pore openings making it more difficult for pores to empty themselves.  

In addition, because of how much is falling off and how much other substances that the skin makes keep getting stripped away, the barrier of the skin gets broken up making it more possible for irritants to bother the skin and create inflammation.  

Both of these scenarios are where acne formation comes into the picture. ...Keep an eye on this blog because I'll be going over how these issues lead to full blown breakouts in Part Two!

Want to learn more about how dehydration might be playing a role in your acne breakouts?

Please email me or comment below with any questions whatsoever, or fill out my Eval by Email® Online Skincare Consultation form. Remember, this service is available to anywhere in the USA and is designed for adult acne sufferers ages Gen-X to Baby Boom, especially those who are also dealing with aging issues.

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