As an Expert Esthetician for nearly four decades, I believe the best way to get results is being part of my clients’ journey both with hands-on professional treatments and a focused skincare routine for their skin type (what I like to call an “Action Plan”) to continue the results at home.
In my series called “How I Did This,” I’m spotlighting a client who thought her skin was dry when it was actually dehydrated. Over 30 days, this client only changed one thing in her at-home Action Plan and got these incredible results. Let’s dive in.
Meet Dede!
Dede Brown, 62, came to see our Expert Esthetician, Maddie in Dallas. Dede spends a lot of time outdoors gardening in the heat and swimming in her pool, and her skin showed it.
Salt water, sun exposure, and dry Texas heat are a recipe for dehydrated skin. By the time she laid down in the treatment bed, her skin looked dull, tight, and shiny (key dehydration signs to look for). She wanted plumper, more youthful-looking skin and wasn’t sure if skincare alone could get her there.
Assessing Dede’s Skin
Renée Rouleau Expert Estheticians are trained in what I call Fingertip Forensics™. Because if you think about it, estheticians are like detectives. They touch, feel, and ask a lot of questions to get to the bottom of what’s really going on with someone’s skin. Because what you can see with the naked eye and what you can feel are rarely the same thing.
Maddie could feel right away that Dede’s barrier was compromised and her skin was lacking water, not oil. She looked dull and had noticed more fine lines and crinkles appearing that hadn’t been there before.
What Dede thought was happening: her skin was dry and she needed to use a richer moisturizer.
What the problem actually was: her skin was dehydrated, which is a completely different problem that requires another solution.
The Difference Between Dry and Dehydrated Skin
Dry skin is a skin type. It means your skin doesn’t produce enough oil. Dehydrated skin is a condition. It means your skin is lacking water and it can happen to any skin type, including oily and breakout-prone skin.
All skin needs water, but not all skin needs oil. And no matter how good your moisturizer is, it can only lock in hydration that’s already there. If you haven’t put the water in first, then there’s nothing to seal.
When skin is dehydrated, invisible cracks and crinkles in the surface become more visible. Fine lines look more pronounced. Skin looks flat and dull instead of plump and dewy. Reintroducing deep hydration helps soften the appearance of those lines, restore elasticity, and bring back that full, healthy look that most people assume only comes from fillers.
Dede’s At-Home Action Plan for Plumping Lines
As a skin type #8, here’s the Action Plan Maddie had her follow:
In the Morning
Cleansing and treating your skin in the morning is essential for glowing, healthy-looking skin throughout the day.
Step 1: Mint Renewal Cleanser
Step 2: HyperFix Fading Toner
Step 3: Skin Drink I.V.
Step 4: Vitamin C + E Treatment
Step 5: Weightless Protection SPF 30
In the Evening
Washing your face and applying the right products at night removes the day’s buildup and sets your skin up for optimal repair while you sleep.
Step 1: Better Than Balm
Step 2: HyperFix Fading Toner
Step 3: Skin Drink I.V.
Step 4: Bright Now Oil Serum
Step 5: Hydraboost Rescue Creme
Step 6: Intensive Firming Neck Creme
Plump Skin Starts with Water
Skin cells are like fish and need water to live. Skin Drink I.V. is an electrolyte-infused super hydrator that floods skin cells with deep, lasting hydration. It combines a proprietary blend of electrolytes with four molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, so hydration reaches every layer of the skin versus just sitting on the surface. The electrolytes support and enhance the hyaluronic acid, helping it absorb deeper and hold moisture where it needs to stay. As a result, lines appear plumped up and skin looks smoother.
For Dede, who was spending so much time outdoors in the heat, swimming in salt water, and living in a dry Texas climate, this was exactly what her skin had been missing. Her moisturizer was doing its job, but there was no hydration there to lock in. Skin Drink I.V. gave it something to work with.
What I Want You to Take From This
If your skin looks flat, dull, or has more lines than it used to, don’t just assume it’s dry. Ask yourself if it could be dehydrated. And if plumping fine lines is your goal, then identifying this is the key to seeing results. And sometimes all it takes is one product to see a difference in your skin.
If you want to take it further, find a Renée Rouleau PRO Partner near you. A hands-on assessment will tell you more about your skin than guessing at home or taking advice from a skinfluencer who has never touched skin ever could. Or schedule a virtual consultation with Maddie.
Love this series? Learn how I faded hyperpigmentation without lasers. And let us know what you’d like to see next!
Celebrity Esthetician & Skincare Expert
As an esthetician trained in cosmetic chemistry, Renée Rouleau has spent 35 years researching skin, educating her audience, and building an award-winning line of products. Her hands-on experience as an esthetician and trusted skin care expert has created a real-world solution — products that are formulated for nine different types of skin so your face will get exactly what it needs to look and feel its best. Trusted by celebrities, editors, bloggers, and skincare obsessives around the globe, her vast real-world knowledge and constant research are why Marie Claire calls her “the most passionate skin practitioner we know.”
