We all know that skin needs hydration in order to preserve its beautiful appearance for longer. However, hardly anyone knows what TEWL is. Check out below why is it good to know more about transepidermal water loss.
Our skin is like a living organism and we need to take care of its health by implementing the right skincare. However, before you got for the first moisturizing cream, face mask, or mist you can get, you should learn more on why is water so important for the skin to preserve its good condition and what is the mystery TEWL.
The role of moisturizing in skincare
Our organism is in over 65% water! Your skin is the main barrier that keeps it from escaping. The skin itself is also partially made of water – dermis is made not only with collagen and elastin but also proteoglycans, which is a substance binding water in the skin. And so the epidermis is made with barely 13% of water, but when we go deeper to the dermis, it is made with 70% of water.
Unfortunately, the skin is not an impenetrable barrier, especially considering how many various factors may weaken it, e.g. the sun, free radicals, toxins, or even poorly chosen cosmetics. For this reason, it is so important to moisturize the skin on a regular basis. Thanks to it you will supply the skin with constant and proper hydration level and prevent TEWL.
TEWL (Transepidermal Water Loss). What is is?
What is the mysterious TEWL you need to protect yourself from? The full name of the term is Transepidermal Water Loss. Even though the name sounds like it’s some complicated occurrence, the truth is that it is simply water escaping the epidermis.
The TEWL phenomenon comes from the difference in osmotic pressure in different layers of the skin and in regard to the environment. It is causing the TEWL – water escapes dermis and moves to the epidermis and then evaporates. It is an entirely natural phenomenon, but sadly when left without control can be harmful and cause dryness to your skin.
How to moisturize the skin and protect yourself against TEWL?
There are a few different ways to protect your skin against dryness. The natural factor protecting the skin against TEWL is a hydrolipid coat. Its components (water and fat) create an occlusive layer which makes it impossible for the water to escape. Thanks to it, the skin preserves moisture for longer and doesn’t suffer from dryness.
However, it happens that sometimes our hydrolipid coat weakens and skin loses the water. Then dry skin patches appear as well as irritations or dullness. You can protect yourself from it with proper skincare focused on preventing TEWL, i.e. preserving the right hydration. You can:
- provide humectants, such as hyaluronic acid which is substance binding water in the skin,
- strengthen the hydrolipid barrier with emollients and the best one in this category are natural oils,
- use of products, such as creams with ceramides that repair the intercellular cement in the epidermis.
