Hydration and moisture may seem synonymous. However, when it comes to skincare, implementing just one is not a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone situation.

Both are vital to good skin, but bring something different to the table. Hydration and moisturization needs have to be met separately in order to achieve optimal skin health and appearance.

What's the difference?

Dry skin lacks water (hydration) and oil (moisture). Hydration makes our skin soft, but it won’t stay that way if there isn’t moisture keeping it locked in and conversely, applying a moisturizer to dry skin will eliminate flakiness, but it won’t feel soft and supple without proper hydration.

Your skin is your largest organ.

It’s important to remember that our skin is an organ – and the largest organ at that! – and what we drink and eat does affect it.

Like all organs, proper hydration is key to keeping everything healthy and operating as it should. From a health standpoint, this is number one and depending on your level of activity, it may be even more important to stay well-hydrated. Even if you don’t feel thirsty, your body is expending more liquid than usual, so aim to get at least eight glasses a day.

How do I hydrate my skin?

In addition to drinking water to hydrate the skin, there are also products that hydrate, specifically anything with hyaluronic acid, such as this HylaActive Serum. Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced by our body and its main function is to retain water and keep skin tissue moist

As we age, hyaluronic acid production slows. Using products with hyaluronic acid will assist in hydrating the skin from the inside out and help fight signs of aging.

When it comes to skin’s appearance, dehydration will worsen a dry skin condition, which can also promote breakouts, but good hydration habits will not fix it. We need water to keep our skin healthy and doing its job, but drinking enough water will not miraculously clear your skin. For this, you need something topical…which brings us to moisture.

What you must know about moisturizers.

One of the biggest misconceptions about moisturizers is that anything with oil is bad and leads to acne. So, many people choose “oil-free” moisturizers which is an oxymoron, like “fat-free” cake! We need the oil! Oil is necessary to effectively moisturize the skin and will not cause acne. In fact, restraining from using oil will dry out your skin and induce breakouts and aging because your skin will go into fight-or-flight mode and overly-produce oil to compensate. Skin also heals faster in a well-moisturized environment.

Moisturizers also don’t always mean a greasy lotion.

Serums are very effective moisturizers because they deeply penetrate the skin. The molecules found in serums are much smaller than those found in lotions and creams, making it easier for performance ingredients like hyaluronic acid and essential vitamins to reach deeper layers of the skin.

In conclusion, hydration and moisture are essential to skin health both in function and appearance and you need to tackle each separately. Drink lots of water and use hyaluronic acid to hydrate and a serum or cream to moisturize.

Dp Dermaceuticals HylaActive Serum uses hyaluronic acid as its main performance ingredient for optimal skin hydration after micro-needling treatments.