Dull skin
without shine
Dull skin reflects less light back. That usually comes from a build-up of dead skin cells, from too little moisture or from a combination of the two. The skin therapist has several treatments for it: medical peels, HydraFacial, OxyGeneo, dermaplaning and microneedling.
Which of those it becomes differs per person, because no two skins are the same. At the intake the skin therapist establishes where it comes from in your case and tunes the approach to that.
At Diba Clinics in Rotterdam we treat dull skin by removing dead skin cells and restoring moisture: with a HydraFacial from € 170, an OxyGeneo for € 150, dermaplaning for € 150 or a medical peel from € 140. A HydraFacial and an OxyGeneo have no recovery time. If you want the result to last longer, a series works better than a single treatment.
What we look at
The skin therapist assesses your skin in daylight and under magnification. Dullness is light scattering rather than reflecting, and you only see that at the right angle.
In daylight
The skin therapist assesses your skin in daylight from the side. Under a lamp from above every skin looks equally flat, and then you cannot see where the light scatters.
Under magnification
Magnification shows whether there is an unbroken shine across your cheekbone or whether it stays equally matt everywhere. That distinction decides the direction.
Measuring with the EVE-M
The measurement shows whether it is about built-up cells, about a lack of moisture or about colour. The skin therapist chooses the treatment on that outcome.
Four causes of dullness
Two of the four causes we treat in the clinic. With the other two the gain sits in your own care, and you hear that from us.
Built-up dead cells
delayed desquamation- How you recognise it yourself
- Does your skin feel slightly rough under your fingertips, and does more come off on a flannel than you would expect?
- What it is
- The top layer renews more slowly than it used to, so cells stay behind that scatter the light rather than reflect it. This is the most common cause.
- What we do
- Getting the renewal going again, with a facial treatment or a light peel. Here the effect is visible straight away.
This sits in the top layer of your skin and can be influenced. With dullness the effect is often visible at the first treatment.
Too little moisture
dehydration of the horny layer- How you recognise it yourself
- Do you see fine lines that differ from day to day, and does your skin feel tight shortly after washing? That can happen with oily skin too.
- What it is
- Skin with too little water in the top layer does not lie smooth, and an uneven surface looks dull. Regardless of how much oil you produce.
- What we do
- First restore the barrier. If the skin stays dull, then microneedling: that gets the renewal of epidermis and dermis going, and that is where dehydrated skin gets its glow back.
This sits in the top layer of your skin and can be influenced. With dullness the effect is often visible at the first treatment.
Uneven colour
diffuse hyperpigmentation- How you recognise it yourself
- Do you see no clear patches in the mirror but an uneven tone, and does it show up more in photos than in real life?
- What it is
- Pigment spread unevenly. Your eye reads an uneven tone as tired, even though there is no patch you can point to.
- What we do
- This is not a matter of a facial but of tackling pigmentation, and that runs over months. The pigmentation page explains that.
This calls for a different programme or for a habit. A facial masks it for a few weeks at most.
Sleep, smoking, dehydration
external factors- How you recognise it yourself
- Is it clearly worse after a bad week and better after a holiday? Does it change with your sleep and how much you drink?
- What it is
- Blood flow and repair drop off with lack of sleep, smoking and drinking too little, and you see that in your face first.
- What we do
- We are not selling anything here. We name it, because a treatment that works against your habits is money thrown away.
This calls for a different programme or for a habit. A facial masks it for a few weeks at most.
Then dullness is the effect and pigment the cause.
Your eye reads an uneven tone as tired, even without a clear spot anywhere. That cannot be solved with a facial treatment; a pigment programme running over months belongs with it.
What helps and what we advise against
With dullness the effect is often visible quickly and lasts a number of weeks. That is why this treatment is often repeated.
This works
- Working out first whether it is about cells, moisture, colour or lifestyle, because that saves a whole programme
- Getting the renewal going with a peel or microneedling, at a pace your skin can handle
- Saying honestly that the effect of a facial treatment on dullness is often temporary
- Sun protection, because uneven colour is the slowest of the four to turn around
- Saying when sleep and water give more than anything we can do
We advise against this
- Scrubbing daily. You take the barrier away, and a damaged barrier looks duller
- Starting a long programme when a change in care or habits may be enough
- Drying out oily skin to make it less dull. It answers with more oil
- Promising the shine stays. A facial treatment gives an immediate effect and that effect fades again
- Peeling ever more strongly because the previous effect wore off
Shine can be measured.
That sounds odd for a complaint with no medical term, and it is exactly why it is useful here: dull is an impression, and impressions shift with your mood and the light in the room. The EVE-M records how your skin reflects light, under fixed light and from a fixed angle.
That way, after a series, it can be seen whether something has really changed or whether you were having a good week. With this concern that difference is larger than with any other.
More about the skin analysisWhat we measure here
- Texture
- How smooth the surface is, because that is where the shine starts
- Moisture
- What the top layer holds on to
- Evenness
- How even the colour is across the whole area
Every axis is measured again at each check-up, under the same lighting. That way a difference later is something you see rather than something you have to take on faith.
What we use for this
HydraFacial
from € 170Cleansing, exfoliation and hydration. In one pass, visible straight away and with no recovery time.
OxyGeneo glow
€ 150Exfoliating and bringing oxygen into the skin, in one treatment.
Dermaplaning
€ 150Dead skin cells and fine hairs removed with a blade. Works without acids, so it suits sensitive skin too.
Medical peels
from € 140From light to strong. The strength decides how deep it goes and how much you flake.
Herbal peel
from € 150A peel of finely ground herbs, without acid. It calms the inflammation and works against bacteria.
Microneedling with the SkinPen
from € 180Medically certified microneedling. It works on the layer where the structure of your skin sits.
Dermapen 4
from € 180Microneedling with vibrating needles that pass through the skin evenly.
Microneedling with salmon DNA
from € 250Microneedling in which polynucleotides from salmon DNA go into the skin with it. For repair, texture and hydration.
A superficial laser peel for smoother skin and more shine.
Fotona Resurfacing
€ 180Skin renewal with laser, for pores, texture and smoother skin.
Full Face Brushing
€ 170A light laser pass across the whole face. Fresher skin without taking time out.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my skin look duller in the morning?
While you sleep you lose moisture through your skin and the blood flow runs lower. Across the morning that recovers. If it stays all day, it is not in your night but in your horny layer.
How long does the effect of a facial treatment last?
With dullness the effect is often visible straight away and usually noticeable for a number of weeks. That is not a shortcoming as long as you know it: buying shine every so many weeks is a legitimate choice. It only becomes a problem when you think you are treating a cause.
Does drinking more water help?
If you habitually drink too little, yes. Above a normal intake, no: extra water does not make your skin extra moist. What does matter is what your skin holds on to, and care does more for that than a bottle.
Is dull the same as dry?
No. Dry is about too little oil, dehydrated about too little water, and dull about how your skin reflects light. You can have oily skin that is dull. The page about dry skin works that distinction out.
What does a treatment for dull skin cost?
A HydraFacial costs from 170 euros, an OxyGeneo 150 euros and dermaplaning 150 euros. A medical peel starts at 140 euros. Which treatment suits your skin, you hear during the consultation. It costs 50 euros; if you have a treatment in the same appointment, that amount comes off again.
Working out which of the four is yours
At the skin consultation we work out which of the four is yours. If it turns out to be mostly your nights, you hear that, and then there is nothing to book.
Book a consultationNot sure yet? Ask your question