Dry or Dehydrated Skin? What's the difference?

Pretty often the words moisturize and hydrate are used interchangeably when it comes to 

skin care. However, they mean two completely different things and why some people 

moisturize like crazy and still feel and look dry. It is important to distinguish between

the two so they can be treated properly.

DRY SKIN TYPE

Generally, dry skin is considered a skin type and means lack of oil
being produced in theskin. This skin type is characterized by smaller 
pores, parched skin and may have flakey patches. As we age our skin 
becomes dryer as we produce less oil. The use of topical skin products 
like prescription Retin-A or acne medications may also contribute to 
a lack of oil in the skin.

DEHYDRATED SKIN CONDITION

When the skin lacks water it is considered to be dehydrated. This is a
skin condition that any skin type can have including the oiliest. It is most
characterized by tightness, but alsomay be itchy or sensitive. Often fine 
lines and wrinkles may be accentuated and makeup may settle into those 
lines making the skin look older than it really is. You simply may just be
dehydrated!

If you have ever noticed your skin feeling shiny and oily, but tight at the
same time this is a clear indicator that your skin is dehydrated and lacking
water. 

Causes that contribute to the dehydration of the skin are many environment
factors such as lack of humidity in the air, flying on an airplane, hormones, 
steam rooms, overly stripping skin care products like many cleansers and 
overly exfoliating products.

MOISTURIZING SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

Moisturizing products make the skin feel softer and smoother. The function
of moisturizer is to form a protective barrier on the skin preventing moisture
loss. These types of products contain emollient ingredients such as pomifera
oil, sunflower oil, apricot oil, hemp seed oil, rose hip oil to name a few. These
ingredients essentially coat the skin to trap hydration in as well as provide
nourishing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

This means if your skin is truly dehydrated and needs hydration, applying
moisturizer really won't hydrate your skin much if at all. You first need 
water soluble humectant ingredients to lock in.

HYDRATING SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

Skin care products that hydrate the skin contain water soluble humectant
ingredients. They work by attracting water molecules to the skin like a
magnet. Some of these ingredients include vegetable glycerin, sorbitol and
my personal favorite hyaluronic acid. By far the gold standard in hydrating
ingredients is hyaluronic acid. This ingredient our bodies naturally produce
to lubricate our joints and holds 1000 times its weight in water! This tiny
molecule will also take a crinkled skin cell, plump it and make it nice and
round smoothing fine lines.

DRINKING WATER + HYDRATION

A common myth is drinking water will hydrate the skin. This is actually
FALSE! Only 1% of what you ingest actually reaches the layers of the skin.
This means when you drink water it has to pass through your entire digestive
tract which is pretty hostile and acidic, excretory organs and muscle tissue.
The process is too quick and you'll urinate it out before it ever reaches the skin. 

The myth comes from people seeing a difference in the skin after drinking
a good amount of water for a period of time. Well, you have your kidneys to
thank for flushing out all those toxins making the skin appear better. However,
it does not actually lubricate the skin and topical application of products is the
best most effective way to do so.

Here are my favorite clean hydrating products that have water attracting
ingredients! LimeLife by Alcone products - They have everything from
cleansers, serums (boosters), and moisturizers.

shop and browse my website: www.limelifebyalcone.com/rosanissenbaum

Phew. It'll be a week since I've returned from Minneapolis, MN to attend Spraguefest 2012 and Scrapfest 2012. Literally, when I stepped foot into my home I hit the ground running. It was as if I had never left... only it looked like a crumb/paper/dish/clothing bomb went off in my home!

This is the entrance to my laundry room... (I was just too embarrassed to actually post a photo of my kitchen... not that I should be embarrassed, I didn't make the mess, right?) Nearly a weeks worth of clothing piling up for me while away. Although, I must give some credit to the DH for doing one load of towels (left unfolded and thrown into the basket), and one load of dishes (still in the dishwasher), and a load of dishes in the sink (unwashed). However, he did manage to work, get them to school on-time, pick them up and get them to where they needed to be for their sporting events, and had them fed. He made it all work! I love this man!

This was my first time ever to Scrapfest and my second to Spraguefest. I have to say that they were both a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Jessica Sprague and her team were as warm as ever and so sweet. They are always, always a pleasure to meet and learn from whether in the real world or online.

I have enjoyed both Spraguefests that I have attended and will certainly go to more in the future!

My roommates were the best! We had a great time and got along well! Representing Maine, Utah, Florida, and Minnesota. I couldn't have asked for nicer people... They were the sweetest.

First of all, Mall of America, really?! Where I live we have a one story mall that you can walk through, end-to-end, in probably 5 minutes. No kidding. Mall of America? I got lost. I could never figure out which direction I was walking and even forgot where we parked the car, the first day. There were so many vendors, scrappers, shoppers, etc. Truly a sight to see.

I was lucky enough to be able to get into most of the classes at Scrapfest that I was curious about. I was able to meet the lovely and animated Heidi Swapp, for the second time ever. She couldn't be sweeter!

The very talented and creative Tim Holtz. I love his products, but really had no idea how to use them... the "right" way. Now, after taking one of his classes, I have a pretty good idea of at least a smattering of different techniques I can put to use.

The very pretty, creative, and talented Maggie Holmes was my last class during my Scrapfest stay. Loved learning her layering techniques because this is so different from how I scrapbook. I dare say I may try some of her techniques on some of my scrapbook pages.

Did I mention to top the trip all off I went on a "bull ride" for the first time ever... It ended up being nerve wracking, but  a whole lot of fun!

Hybrid Project - Heidi Swapp and Jessica Sprague

Okay, as promised (back in April), I've uploaded the photos from the hybrid book project I made for Father's Day this year. I have to say my husband absolutely loved it. I used many of the same quotes and sayings that Heidi had, but changed up some others to fit our family. It's a project that will be saved forever and will always be cherished by my husband. It brought tears to his eyes. You really do have to make it. It's something very special and personal. The papers are all included as a download.

You print the papers out at home or at your local printing store. I also used lots of neat ideas from the class and even "actions" (provided as a download) in photoshop that made photos all uniform in color. It's hard to tell in the photos, but the actions really made the photos look kind of dreamy. Beautiful, really. Plus, some talk about using different fonts, different font sizes, colors, and more. I loved this hybrid project. Which is why I have bought all the other Mouse, Paper, Scissors classes to boot! (there is one for mom, one plain, one for dad, and the upcoming one this November, Mouse Paper Scissors, Give).  The class that i made this book in can be found here.  Mouse Paper Scissors, Give can be found here.  CLASS STARTS ON NOVEMBER 14th and CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED!!! GRAB A SPOT!

*Note: the second page has a photo of my early cut-and-paste photoshopping capabilities.  You can laugh. We all did. My husband wasn't able to make it on this hike with us so we had the idea of placing him there for fun. Without further adieu, here are the photos.

Photo Pocket Pages by Becky Higgins

I am soooo excited! After having my bi-weekly yoga session and lunch date with my friend, I came home to my lovely amazon box of yumminess of Becky Higgins Photo Pocket Pages! Yay! Did I mention I was excited? I have so much to catch up on! I have plans for these pocket pages and realize that I have not ordered nearly as many as I should have. I am excited to catch up on my childhood photos and memories as well as my kids.

Okay, I realize my photo is upside down, but you can see the pocket pages. Such a variety! I LOVe it!

I also got my goodies from JessicaSprague.com the upcoming class with Heidi Swapp and Jessica Sprague of Mouse, Paper, Scissors, Give. Also very excited about this class. I've taken the other variety of Mouse, Paper, Scissors classes and have loved each and every one of them. It's great if you're up for a great hybrid project. The top photo is a shot of all the goodies that were included to  make the project and the bottom photo is a shot of all the goodies I got for being one of the first 200 to sign up for the class! (a Jessica Sprague bag, a cozy to hold my mountain-dew, a mouse pad with Jessica's wise words, and a Jessica Sprague "grow your skills" pin. Woot-woot!

And a photo of one of the first Mouse Paper Scissors class. I was going to give this little one away, but decided I just couldn't part with it. So cute, don't you think?

AND these are the goodies I got last week from Whippy Cake! LOVE them! So worth the money and the cuteness factor is priceless.

Blessings and have a wonderful day!