Dry Flaky Skin

Is dehydrated skin messing up your glow?

Any skin type can get dehydrated - think feet! For more details on what systemic health factors contribute, what ingredients to look for in skin care products, and how we can help in the Spa, just look below. 

Information helps, but for your individual plan to lovely soft skin, visit us at Pulsar Health by calling to book a consultation.

Dehydrated flaky skin

Does your skin feel more like the Mojave desert than a soft smooth silky surface?

This probably didn't happen overnight.

Whilst some babies develop skin irritation and eczema due to immune system imbalances, most children make it to adulthood without excessively dry skin. What happens? How did your skin go from supple to stiff over time?

Dehydrated skin isn't just a lack of moisture; it's a breakdown of the skin barrier and a problem with both oil and water in the skin. Dry skin is a condition where you just don't make enough of the oil - called sebum - but dehydrated skin can happen to any skin type. At Pulsar Health, we talk about beauty based on health, and dehydrated skin is a classic example of issues inside the body and on the surface causing a result that needs intervention, possibly at several levels, in order to heal it long-term, rather than just slapping some cream on it and calling it a day.

Systemic health factors

Looking holistically, consider if you could do with an adjustment in these areas:

• Hydration - drinking water or equivalent beverages and consuming water-rich foods like fruits and soups makes a difference to many systems in the body including the skin, which is officially the largest organ in the body (it makes up about 1/7th of your body weight!). Per the United States National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the recommended daily intake for men is 3.7 liters (15.5 cups) and for women is 2.7 liters (11.5 cups). Basic requirements will go up if the temperature is high (sweating) or there is a lot of activity (more sweating).
• Environment - being out in the sun and wind can do a number on your skin. Wearing sunblock is a no-brainer, even if it's not a sunny day. Physical sunblock ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are still effective if they don't get lost from sweat or being rubbed off, so at least put some on at the start of the day. Cowboys wore hats and bandanas for reasons other than just to look cool - protect your skin if possible. An overly heated indoor environment can also be very drying, so humidifiers can help reduce the toll on your skin in these situations. Travelers know that airplanes are notoriously dehydrating.
• Irritants - we're not talking about people here lol. Allergens like dust mites and mold can contribute to skin inflammation and dehydration. Harsh cleansers, excessive hand-washing and overuse of alcohol for cleaning your hands can dry up your skin. 
• Diet - nutrients are needed for healthy skin, so a balanced diet of fresh foods can make a big difference to the quality of your skin. Beta carotene, a precursor to Vitamin A, is necessary for healthy skin and mucous membranes, and helps in skin turnover so it doesn't build up in dry flakes. Vitamin C and E are antioxidants that protect the skin from damage from pollution and ultraviolet radiation, as well as contribute to collagen and elastin formation for a strong foundation to the skin. Potassium regulates the water inside cells, so depletion can result in dehydrated skin. Zinc and selenium protect from the damages of ultraviolet radiation (hence zinc oxide in sunblocks!!!) and can calm the skin, as well as help in wound healing. Omega-3 fatty acids, iron, chromium and flavonoids are all also helpful in skin health.
• Gut microbiome - your insides are linked to your outside, and when you get an imbalance in the gut or skin microbiome (bacteria), the resulting "dysbiosis" affects the immune system, and exacerbates skin inflammation including conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and acne. Probiotics can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.  
• Poor circulation - there’s a reason that feet tend to be the most dehydrated part of the body. Good blood flow is furthest away from these hard-working and often under-appreciated parts of us. They deserve extra attention with a good rub for circulation, and whilst you're there, why don't you rub something good for them in?
• Bathing - excessive showering, like excessive hand-washing, can dilute away the oils that are needed to keep your skin healthy. Hot temperatures make that worse. A short warm shower is therefore less dehydrating on your skin than a long hot bath.
• Lack of adequate sleep and rest - your body repairs and rehydrates when it can, and not giving it enough rest takes a toll on those repairs. Not only are cellular repair processes affected, but the whole hormonal and nerve balance in your body goes off kilter. You know your skin looks plumper and less sallow when you get enough sleep.
• Skin care products - many times we see dehydrated skin partly as a result of using products that are too harsh for the skin in its current condition. In a bid to look after their skin, inadequately guided people use retinols and retinoids which can further irritate a skin that isn't nourished enough, or has too beat up a skin barrier to tolerate them. Vitamin C is generally a good idea as an antioxidant but even this can be too harsh for a very dry skin to tolerate initially.

Skin Care Products for Dehydrated Skin

What you're looking for in skin care products are those that add both water - humectants - and oil - emollients - back in. It is important to calm down the now irritated skin as it has a broken-down skin barrier, and nourish the skin with what it needs to rebuild. Careful gentle exfoliation is part of the equation, but harsher exfoliation will make the situation worse. 

At Pulsar Health, we will guide you with skincare, but for those who are interested, skincare ingredients to look for in treating dehydrated skin are:

• Hyaluronic acid, Ceramide, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) and Panthenol (Vitamin B5) are all described in more detail in the sections on Why the Red Face and Pigmentation Problems. In brief, hyaluronic acid is an intense humectant (we especially like PCA's hyaluronic acid products) whilst panthenol is an emulsifier as well as humectant. Ceramide and niacinamide help repair the skin barrier and rebuild skin strength.
• Glycerin versus Petroleum Jelly - Glycerin is a humectant that attracts water from the environment to hydrate skin and improve its barrier function. It can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats or synthetically, and is usually well tolerated, not clogging pores. Petroleum jelly is water-repelling instead of water attracting, so it can form a protective barrier to stop the escape of water from the skin. It is made of mineral oils and waxes, and can clog pores / lead to breakouts. We only recommend petroleum jelly as a top layer where intense moisture is necessary, but be sure to hydrate the layers underneath first if possible. When adding a "moisturizer" to skin, it is always best to have slightly damp skin in order to "lock in" the moisture.
• Soothing plant products such as Aloe, Shea butter, or Squalane have emollient and soothing properties that can help treat dehydrated skin as part of an overall treatment plan

Spa Services for Dehydrated Skin

Having a facial at Pulsar Health will get your skin on the road to recovery. We can soothe the irritation and very gently exfoliate to have the products we are putting in penetrate better. The right home care skin regimen is essential in dehydrated skin, as well as addressing the more systemic contributors to dehydration. If you bring in your current home care products, we can give advice on what to use versus what to hold off on for now.

A Hydrafacial treatment deeply hydrates, as the name suggests. It used vortex technology to cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate in a comfortable refreshing manner. Very dehydrated skin needs great care to remove excess layers without irritating it, and to start the repair processes. We have a medical grade Hydrafacial machine at Pulsar Health, and adjust the solutions and tips we use to best accommodate your skin's current condition, and what would help it the most.

Using platelet rich plasma (PRP) from your blood can leap-frog your skin repair timeline. PRP deeply hydrates and repairs tissue, and can be applied on the skin surface after exfoliating treatments, but is much more effective if used with microneedling or mesotherapy (injected into the skin itself). Doing a series of PRP microneedling sessions in spa is comfortable because we use strong numbing medicine first on the skin. It also helps you absorb your homecare products at much higher levels in the subsequent few days to turn around the skin. If you choose not to use PRP, we do have stem cell products and brightening agents that are also very effective, and can create specific cocktails for your skin with hyaluronic acid and vitamins. Consistency of using your skincare regimen at home and regular spa treatments is the way to get the best results the most rapidly, like working out regularly.

Once your skin is stronger and more tolerant to interventions, we can then start to turn it over faster using peels and more aggressive facials. VI-Peels are virtually pain free and can have dramatic results on skin texture and tone. If you work with us, we will keep going until we hit gold by getting to that lovely smooth healthy surface we've been searching for!