Fixing oily but dehydrated skin without overdoing it

There’s something deceptive about monsoon skin. It glistens. It feels sticky. It practically screams hydrated. And yet, every August, a familiar contradiction returns: oily skin that’s still parched, flaky or tight. In other words, your face is producing enough oil to coat a samosa, but it’s still begging for water.

This is the season when moisturiser suddenly feels optional, especially if your T-zone is putting in overtime. But skipping it is often what sends skin spiralling into that weird, uncomfortable state of oily but dehydrated skin. And oily skin type isn’t exempt.

“This is what we refer to as the ‘oil-well in the desert’ syndrome,” Dr David Orentreich, Clinique’s guiding dermatologist, tells Vogue India. “Though sebum may be plentiful, the surrounding skin may be dry. Sebum alone is not enough without a humectant to retain moisture.”

Wait, how can you have oily but dehydrated skin?

The distinction comes down to skin type vs condition. “Dehydrated skin can happen to varying skin types: dry, oily skin, combination or even sensitive skin,” says Dr Geetika Mittal Gupta, founder and medical director, ISAAC Luxe.

Where dry skin is a lack of oil, dehydration is a lack of water. And during monsoon, it’s easy to confuse surface slickness with actual hydration. But that shiny layer can be compensatory; your skin’s SOS signal, flooding your face with oil because it doesn’t have enough water.

If your skin feels tight, looks dull and has exaggerated wrinkles or redness, it could be a sign of dehydration. That uneasy feeling of being both greasy and flaky at once. Moisture has left the building, but oil is doing its best to keep up appearances.

Why the monsoon makes it worse

High humidity tricks your brain and your barrier. You skip moisturiser, maybe over-cleanse to feel ‘fresh’ and spend more time in artificially cooled environments. On muggy monsoon days, it’s tempting to ditch moisturiser, especially when your skin already looks slick. But that sheen, paired with redness or irritation might be a sign that your skin’s not oily, just dehydrated.

And unlike winter dehydration, which feels obvious and itchy, monsoon dehydration is sly. It shows up as patchy makeup, tight cheeks, breakouts that overstay their welcome and a telltale lack of glow.

How to fix it (without clogging your pores)

Let’s start with what not to do: