Dear Reader,
Hello from the Rju stables! Welcome to this edition of the Rju Water Wisdom Blog, where our only endeavour is to help you move closer to your ideal skincare goals!
Take a look around you – be it social media, print, television or outdoors – you will notice that skincare is one of the buzziest topics around. However, despite being a much-discussed topic, most people have limited knowledge and advocate skincare tips without any proof backed by science.This also leads to many kinds of misconceptions among consumers regarding skincare and skincare regimes.
In this edition of the Rju Water Wisdom Blog, we discuss one such topic pertaining to the hydration and moisturisation of skin, and whether they are one and the same. People often use these two terms interchangeably, without realising the subtle difference between the two. But before knowing how they differ, let’s understand what they mean.
What is Hydration and why does your skin need it?
As many of us know, our skin is the largest organ of thehuman body and it consists of three main layers – the Epidermis or outer layer, the Dermis or middle layer and the Hypodermis or innermost layer.
Skin hydration is the ability of the skin to absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and help it get infused into the cells of the skin. This in turn helps the cells to better absorb nutrients for overall skin health.
Hydrating our skin is important as the first and outermostlayer of skin, the Epidermis, requires water to remain healthy, supple, and youthful. If the Epidermis does not get the required amount of hydration, skin suffers from dehydration. Dehydration of the skin can lead to skin problems like dryness, itchiness, flaky skin, wrinkles, premature-ageing, and various other skin complications.
Just as our body requires water in our system in order to function in a healthy manner, our skin also needs hydration so that it can glow and prevent signs of early ageing.
What is moisturization and how does it help our skin?
Moisturizing the skin simply means lubricating it in such a way that it prevents water or moisture from escaping. This in turn also helps prevent the natural oils present in the skin from escaping.
As we grow older, the glands in our skin that produce natural oils slow down, making it hard for skin to stay soft and moisturized. This in turn leads to skin becoming dull and dry, and losing its natural sheen or glow.
A moisturiser helps to lock in these natural oils and moisture into the layers of skin and helps to form a protective barrier to minimise their loss. This in turn helps keep skin healthy and nourished.
But how do you know if your skin is dehydrated or just dry?
Dry skin is a condition that occurs when there is an absence, or very low levels of natural oils in the skin. It is generallyaccompanied by a tight and dry sensation in the skin. Just asskin types are categorised as Normal, Oily or Combination, Dry skin is also a skin type and shows the propensity of a particular individual’s skin.
However, there is a difference between having dry and having dehydrated skin. Dehydrated skin visually results in dull, flaky skin and speeds up the ageing process. Anyone can get dehydrated skin, even people with oily skin. This is because dehydration occurs because of a lack of water in the skin cells, and not because skin isn’t moisturised. It is thus important to know whether our skin is just dry or dehydrated, because they require slightly different approaches to tackle the problem.
With thousands of skincare brands available in the market that claim to have the “best face moisturizer” or the “best hydrating face cream,” it becomes extremely difficult and confusing for people to choose the right product to treat their skin.
But there are some simple things that you can do before selecting a skin care product that’s right for you.
The first is to identify your skin type and use products that cater to your skin’s need. The second and very important aspect is to determine if you want the product to target any specific skin care concern. Thirdly, if you work in a profession or have any habits that directly affect your skin e.g., if you work in an air-conditioned environment for long hours, your skin will dry out faster and will need deep hydration. If you are in a field of work that requires exposure to the sun, then you need products that target sun damage and collagen production.
If all the above still don’t help you choose the most suitableskincare products, you can take our skin quiz, which will help you determine what regime and set of products your skin needs.
Hydrating ingredients in skincare products
In case you like to go through skincare labels and ingredient listings, but don’t know exactly what to look for, the following segment will help.
One class of ingredients that are very commonly found in skin hydrating products are humectants. Humectants are hygroscopic, or water-loving ingredients that draw water outfrom the atmosphere to the epidermis or the outermost layer of the skin to retain hydration levels. As a result, they help in the overall appearance of skin.
Some natural humectants include
1. Hyaluronic acid
2. Aloe Vera gel
3. Honey
4. Alpha Hydroxy acids
5. Marine extracts
6. Lactic acid
7. Molasses
8. Citric acid
Some synthetic humectants include
1. Glycerine
2. Urea
3. Propylene glycol
4. Sorbitol
5. Panthenol
6. Glyceryl triacetate
Look out for these ingredients in your products while making your purchases.
Moisturising ingredients in skincare products
While humectants are an essential element in skin moisturizing products as well, there are three other types of moisturizers that help to form the protective barrier that is required in a moisturiser. These are mentioned below.
Occlusives are moisturizing ingredients that form a protective layer on the surface of the skin and create a barrier to prevent moisture loss from the skin to the atmosphere. Since moisturizers containing occlusives are heavier in nature, they become the ideal choice for people with dry skin. For example, ingredients like beeswax, mineral oil, shea butter, coconut oil, almond oil, etc. are occlusives.
Emollients are best known to soften dry, rough, and flaky skin thereby improving its appearance and texture, while at the same time forming a protective skin barrier. Contrary to occlusives, face moisturizers with emollients can be light in weight, lending a non-greasy finish to skin that is oily. For example, moisturizers that have vitamin E, Ceramides, Jojoba oil, Rosehip oil, and Tea tree oil are emollient moisturizers.
Protein rejuvenators are very popular these days and are best suited to ageing or sun damaged skin. They replenish essential proteins from skin and deeply rejuvenate it, giving it a healthy and nourished look. Some examples of protein rejuvenators are collagen, keratin, and elastin.
This finally brings us back to the question - Skin hydration or skin moisturization – which one is more critical? And the answer is that a balance of the two are critical for a healthy skincare regime.
According to our experts at Rju, hydrating our skin must be the highest priority of any skincare regime. Hydrating skin ensures that it does not have any signs of dullness, dryness, flakiness, redness, itchiness, fine lines, and premature ageing. At the same time, the carefully crafted balance of hydrating and moisturising ingredients in Rju products ensures that skin is taken care of in the right way.
So always incorporate hydrating skin products that have water-inspired hydrating properties, just like the Rju ranges which have ingredients that are specially curated from exotic water-based eco-systems from around the world.
However, there is much more that can be done to ensure healthy and hydrated skin, which is not dependent on skincare products. Some habits to incorporate in your daily routine to get your skin hydrated are:
1. Increase your water intake
Hydrating your skin is all about increasing and locking the water in the skin and what better way to achieve it thandrinking water regularly and giving your skin direct access to hydration.
It is proven that drinking plenty of water helps with boosting skin’s elasticity and staves off premature ageing.
2. Give your body hydrating nutrients through food
Food is an amazing source to keep your skin hydrated. Having a balanced diet every day is a vital part of attaining healthy skin. In order to get the ideal smooth skin, consume foods that are rich in water and can provide anti-oxidants. Adding fruits and vegetables to your diet is a great way to begin.
Foods like beetroot, spinach, watermelon, mushrooms, oranges, kiwi, cucumber, apricots, cantaloupe, etc. improve hydration.
3. Exercising will improve your skin’s health
Yes, you read that right! Exercising not only benefits your body but will also do wonders for your skin.
The reason behind this is that exercising improves the flow of blood in the body and since blood carries oxygen and other nutrients it provides skin with the required oxygen which enhances the natural beauty of your skin, making it appear younger.
Take out a little time from your daily life and devote it to exercising to get nourished skin. Your skin and body will appreciate the effort.
4. Do not use harsh products on your skin
Your skin is one of the most sensitive parts of your body, especially the skin on your face.
Do not apply skin products carelessly or thoughtlessly,without understanding your skin’s needs and the contents of the product.
Stay away from products that have harmful ingredients. They might give you quick results, but they will be harmful in the long run.
5. Get 8 hours of beauty sleep
There is a reason it’s called “Beauty Sleep”. It is because during the sleeping hours the skin repairs itself.
Getting less than 8 hours of sleep will interrupt thisrejuvenation process, resulting in under-nourished skin. Less sleep also makes the skin look dull and tired.
These are some of the little things that can positively impact your skin’s health. Along with these, including skin products that are based on water and hydration in your daily regime, can be a game changer for your skin.
How Rju helps with Skin hydration?
Rju is a beauty brand that believes in providing skincare products that are pure, rejuvenating, and authentic in every form. Every product created at Rju is carefully researched and sourced from different exotic water-based eco-systems of the world.
Hydration is the core principle of the brand and all its products and every Rju SKU is designed to provide skin with a healthy dose of hydration that it needs.
Being a consumer-centric brand, safety has always been ourtop priority. All our products are researched and thoroughly tested before they reach our consumers.
To know more, reach us at 18008890458 or write to us at rjucare@riverinebodycare.com.
