Dry Skin types are the typical clinical issues of the skin. It tends to be an irritating condition, particularly in winter. It will flake, crack, itch, and even bleed.
It occurs when the topmost layer of our skin which is called the Epidermis loses its ability to retain water/moisture inside itself. So basically it has a reduced capacity to store natural moisture. This causes the natural water moisture in our skin to vanish quickly hence making the skin dry out.
Sorting out the ideal Dry Skincare routine might be more diligent than it sounds. Today I will be revealing for dealing with your dry skin and how you can treat dry skin both daytime and nighttime.
While your Daytime skincare focuses on forestalling the harm caused to your skin by pollution and UV rays, night skincare is for fixing the harm and allowing your skin to restore while you rest.
Reasons/Causes for Dry Skin:
Your skin naturally produces oil called sebum which keeps your skin hydrated. When your skin is not able to produce sebum then it can become dry.
Also, our skin contains a natural moisturizing factor which is a natural humectant of our skin. They absorb water and maintain the water level of the skin.
Our skin also contains a lipid bilayer or a lipid barrier that protects our skin. When our skin is exposed to pollutants, drugs, or stress then it can damage the skin’s moisture barrier and decrease the water content and hence leading to dry skin.
Dry skin occurs in men, women, the elderly, the young, as well as in children. Dry Skin can also be a genetic problem due to which an entire family may suffer from a dry skin condition.
Besides these people have a deficit of Thyroid Hormone which is known as Hypothyroidism. As well as people who have skin issues like Atopic Dermatitis or Eczema and also people who suffer from Psoriasis. These people are usually more prone to dry skin.
People who suffer from skin inflammation and thus use Vitamin A or Vitamin A derivatives which are medicines such as Isotretinoin also tend to suffer from Dry Skin. Individuals who suffer from Kidney issues likewise normally have dry skin.
Many times people use Diuretic medicine to control their Blood Pressure and remove water from the body thus leaving skin dry.
As our age progresses the number of oil glands in our skin progressively decreases. That is the reason our skin starts to induce thinness. It also begins to lose its ability to retain natural moisture/water and due to these reasons, as we age our skin starts remaining dry or simply dries out.
Likewise, people who consume a lot of Coffee, Cigarettes, and Alcohol have dry skin because of dehydration.
Environmental factors cause dry skin such as the cold, dry air during the winter months and a habit of bathing for long periods in hot water.
Another reason is always staying in air-conditioned rooms during the summer months and spending a lot of time in rooms with heaters during the winter.
People who often swim in pools with chlorinated water can also experience extremely dry skin.
When skin becomes too dry and begins to crack then it can develop bacterial infections which often happen in winter to peoples’ heels, causing them to crack.
When skin becomes dry it starts developing fine lines and wrinkles easily and at an early age which causes people to start looking aged in their youth itself.
However, there is good news for people with Oily Skin types even though that oily skin can result in many problems, they will seldom suffer from the problems of wrinkles and fine lines. But, oily skin can have dehydrated skin.
Dry skin in summer:
People may not just experience dry skin in winter but they can even experience it in summer. There are various reasons why you can experience dry skin in summer.
- A decrease in humidity or an increase in temperature
- Exposure to sunlight for long hours
- Exposure to pollution
- Drive winds during summers
- Exposure to air conditioner indoors for long hours
- The decrease in water intake
- Increase in caffeine and smoking
- Washing your face a lot of times with harsh chemicals
- Going to the pool and getting exposed to chlorinated water multiple numbers of times
Treatment of Dry Skin
Everyone should have a proper daytime and nighttime skincare routine depending on their skin type. So, To pamper and maintain flaky skin, you need a personalized daily skincare routine.
The following tips are basic that should be followed by everyone who has dry skin.
1. Drink enough water daily.
Our superficial layer of the skin known as the epidermis contains 30% water. When the water content of our epidermis becomes less than 10%, it leads to dry skin.
This decrease in the water content of our skin can cause the sloughing of cells. This dehydrated skin leads to flaky, itchy, dull, and lustreless skin.
That is why, even during winters, you must at least consume 2 liters of water during the day and avoid caffeine as it is a dehydrator.
You can even make your detox water at home that is infused with antioxidants. Take a bottle of water to add some slices of cucumber, mint leaves, and lemon. Take this bottle of water with you every day to work and make sure you finish the bottle before the day ends. This is the easiest way of having a boost of hydration.
2. Avoid harsh soap for baths.
Dry skin normally happens more in those people who scrub their skin daily with a strong soap and utilize heated water for bathing.
Soap washes away the layer of defensive oil that our skin delivers naturally and leaves our skin dry and unprotected.
Just bathing with plain lukewarm water cleans up 85% of the skin. The neck, underarms, and private parts can be cleaned daily with mild soap. However, the face, arms, legs, back, and frontal areas do not require a daily wash with soap.
3. Moisturize your skin.
The most important and very obvious step to treat your dry skin is to Moisturize. It is an absolute no-brainer if you dry your skin just by applying moisturizer to your skin.
However, there are various key ingredients and additives in a moisturizer which include occlusive (moisture sealers), humectants (moisture absorbers), emollients (lubricates skin), and rejuvenators.
Occlusive: It helps in the ceiling in the moisture. The venus occlusives are petroleum jelly and mineral oil.
Humectants: They absorb moisture from the environment which includes honey, hyaluronic acid, and glycerine.
Emollients: They lubricate your skin and improve your skin’s softness. For example- jojoba oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and beeswax.
So basically a good moisturizer is not just lubricating your skin but also helps in absorbing moisture from the environment. It is not only good for dry skin people but also essential for oily skin and acne-prone skin people.
Which Moisturizer should you be using?
Moisturizers with ceramides are ideal for dry skin. Also, Aloe vera is a natural healer and acts as a lightweight moisturizer. You have to use a thicker, cream-based moisturizer and try to look for these components in your moisturizer.
Ingredients in a moisturizer:
- Glycerol/glycerin
- White soft paraffin
- Light liquid paraffin
- Propylene glycol
- Shea butter
- Cocoa butter
This tends to occlude the skin hydrated for longer and also reduces the loss of moisture that occurs via evaporation. So when it should you use this moisturizer you have to moisturize your face and neck and entire body at least twice a day.
How to use moisturizer?
The first time you moisturize your whole body after taking a bath in the morning. Make sure that you apply this moisturizer when the skin is still a little damp.
So after taking a bath, you’re going to gently dab up a towel on your entire body, and when it is still damp apply a liberal amount of moisturizer to seal this water.
So keep a bottle of moisturizer in your washroom and as soon as finish bathing you can apply a moisturizer.
If you sleep with the heater on that tends to dry out your skin even more. So, applying essential oils or moisturizers at night before sleeping allows them to properly hydrate skin as well as heal skin in the most effective manner.
Before going to bed at night apply on the face, as well as hands and legs, Vaseline or Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream, or even virgin coconut oil could be used. Also, after a bath, you can apply coconut oil to your whole body.
If you need to avoid the smell of coconut oil then you can use glycerine on your body. Mix equal parts of glycerine and water in a bottle and store it. Shake it before use and apply it liberally on your entire body. This will decrease the stickiness that accompanies glycerine and is better tolerated.
If you work in a condition where you have to be in an ac environment throughout the day in corporate offices and cabins then make sure that you carry your cream along with you even to work. Apply it at least twice a day on your face and neck area. This will prevent drying and fleeting of skin.
Moisturizer is the most important aspect of skincare when it comes to taking care of dry skin. So make sure that you’re using a liberal amount of good moisturizer. It does not only help in maintaining smooth supple skin but also reduces any kind of itching irritate and stealing that can occur as a result of dry skin.
4. Clean your face using a mild face wash.
Use a gentle cleanser that is hypoallergenic preservative-free and fragrance-free. Try to use a soap-free cleanser and don’t go for any kind of harsh face washes.
Use a creamy formulation of a face wash like a cleansing lotion. The Non-foaming cleanser includes a hydrating formula for all skin types.
Do not use a face wash more than two times a day. You can wash your face only once in the evening at the end of a day’s work. This is sufficient to eliminate any sort of dirt or grime that might have aggregated throughout the day.
You can simply wash your face with plain water in the morning and use a mild face wash only in the evening. Remember frequent washing of the face even with just plain water tends to strip the oil out of your face.
People tend to feel that if they use just water, it does not dry out the skin. No even if you use only water even that can irritate your skin. Frequent use of water on your face can also irritate and make your skin redder.
So please try to avoid washing your face frequently if you suffer from dry skin. You have to use a liberal amount of moisturizer on your face every time you wash your face.
After washing your face using a gentle skin cleanser, gently dab with a towel and then applies a moisturizer immediately to seal in the moisture. Don’t stay up for your skin will turn out to be totally dry before you apply a lotion.
5. Always use sunscreen before you step out in the Sun.
The UV rays not only damage your skin but also report moisture from your skin. So, use sunscreen regularly whenever you use a cream with alpha-hydroxy acids formula.
If you have very dry skin and you feel that any kind of vitamin E cream is irritating your skin then stick to a hyaluronic acid cream. This is better tolerated and soothes inflamed skin.
Hyaluronic acid tends to hydrate the skin by absorbing moisture and water from the deeper layers of the skin and keeping the surface of the skin smooth and supple.
This will smooth out the fine lines and wrinkles on your face and help to minimize the appearance of dark circles. So try to look for a component of hyaluronic acid in your creams.
A creamy formulation of sunscreens is available in the markets which also has moisturizing benefits in it and provides sufficient sun protection.
So, look for ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in your moisturizing sunscreen. The great option that I recommend is the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel.
I would suggest that a moisturizer with SPF 30 is good enough, especially for the winter season. Just apply it regularly in liberal amounts at least two to three times a day.
This will help in offering better sun protection rather than going for a higher SPF and just applying it once if you have dry skin.
6. Toners on the face.
Toners contain alcohol which pretty much removes all the natural oils from the skin and scrubs cause abrasions on dry skin.
Alcohol-free toners are good for extra hydration and prepare your skin for better absorption. You can use a sheet mask for some extra hydration.
7. Avoid using any kind of scrubs or exfoliators.
Exfoliating the skin can address dullness by removing dead skin cells. If you do want to use any kind of an exfoliator, you can go for a salicylic acid or a glycolic acid wash, or a face wash just once a week.
These chemicals won’t cruelly scrape your skin. There is only going to gently exfoliate the top dead skin layer of your skin and expose the fresher skin.
This will help in making your skin fresher and also help in better penetration of whatever active ingredients you apply on your face. So if you do want to exfoliate your skin use a chemical exfoliator.
But, An exfoliating serum can be the right choice if you struggle with flaky and dull skin. Also, retinol serum will help get rid of a dull complexion or dark spots.
8. Avoid BB creams and CC creams.
These creams tend to have talc and powder in them to give a matte finish and a foundation-type finish. So, this will cause the skin to become even drier.
9. Use fragrance-free products.
People with dry skin tend to also complain of very sensitive skin. They say that whatever they apply on their face tends to react and they are not able to tolerate the products.
So don’t use any moisturizer, face wash, sunscreen, or body lotion that has fragrance in it. So try to avoid the use of fragrance products and color products in your daily skincare routine. Fragrances are notorious for causing sensitivities so you need to dodge them if you have got dry skin.
10. Use a humidifier.
You can use a humidifier because all these air conditioners will remove the moisture from your skin this is especially advisable for babies and for people who have sensitive skin.
During cold weather, use a humidifier in the rooms, or you could also just fill a big bowl with water and keep it in your room which normally keeps the dampness levels adjusted noticeably all around, and shields our skin from drying out.
11. Wear cotton clothes.
People who suffer from very dry skin should cover their bodies with good quality cotton clothes and they should protect their skin from the sun, as well as wind exposure.
Even during winter, you should wear cotton liners under your winter clothes because if woolen material is in direct contact with the skin then it makes the skin dry out, and causes aggravation of the skin.
Home tip for Dry skin
You can make a mix of avocado and honey. Avocados are rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids and honey have soothing properties.
Also, it helps in reducing your wrinkles and it also hydrates your skin significantly. However, avocados are expensive and not very easily available in the market.
So, a very good alternative for this is using raw milk on your face. It significantly helps in soothing and treating dry skin.
Milk contains lactic acid which helps in exfoliating your skin and also moisturizes dry skin. when applied at night olden days it significantly helps in moisturizing your skin. Also, you can use any DIY moisturizer for treating your dullness.
Overview
Therefore, These are some daily skincare regimens for dry skin types. I believe that beauty begins with a good skin care regimen. So, Take care of your skin by following some simple and easy tips and enhancing your healthy-glowing skin.
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