When Your Skin is Both Oily and Dehydrated: What’s Going On & How to Heal It You might think oily skin means moisturised skin but that’s not always true. It’s possible for skin to produce excess oil on the surface while still being dehydrated beneath meaning it lacks water in its deeper layers. This combo can be confusing, uncomfortable, and tough to manage if you don’t understand what’s causing it. Let’s break it down and build a plan to bring back balance. What’s the Difference: Oil vs Water in Skin Sebum (oil): Produced by oil glands (sebaceous glands). Offers some protection, keeps skin from being too dry, gives a sheen. Water content (hydration): Comes from internal moisture (drinking water, diet) + water held in skin cells. Helps skin stay plump, smooth, flexible. When your skin is oily but dehydrated, it's producing plenty of surface oil, but the inner layers are lacking water. This causes tension, tightness, flaking sometimes even breakouts alongside sh...