Skin Care For Dry Skin
- theskincarepantry
- Oct 22, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 28, 2018
Hormonal changes, excessive cleansing and exfoliation, neglect to properly moisturise, dry climate, or the ongoing management of a pre-existing skin condition are all reasons why at some point in time some of us will suffer from dry skin. There are others who have dry skin not caused by any of the predisposing factors mentioned above. As a point of reference for the most part, this post refers to excessively dry skin.
When skin becomes chronically dry it can be pretty hard to ignore. The cracking and the flaking can often be accompanied by itching and for those who wear makeup it can cause the makeup to appear cakey.
Caring for dry skin starts with identifying the root cause assuming a predisposing factor exists, treatment follows. Moisturising is a safe start for your treatment plan and should reduce any discomfort and feeling of tightness that often accompanies the condition. Your choice of moisturiser is important. Click images for details
Moisturises work in one of two ways, preserving the skins existing moisture level and drawing moisture from the environment to the skin. The latter moisturisers will contain one or more humectants which are most effective in humid conditions. Unlike the moisturisers that rely on the protecting the skins existing moisture levels, moisturisers where the key ingredients are humectants are normally non-greasy. Personally I prefer moisturisers with natural humectants such as hyaluronic acid, honey, and aloe, but synthetic humectants glycol, silicones, urea and PEG (polyethylene glycols) are equally as effective. Whatever type of moisturiser your skin needs, it will serve you well to apply it on clean damp skin, preferably straight after a shower.
On cleansing and exfoliation, be gentle, avoid soap rich products and alcohol based cleansers. The last thing you want to do is to further irritate your skin or compromise its protective barrier and after a face wash, do not rub your towel on your face, just pat gently to soak the water off. Sunscreen is essential, and if you choose right, your moisturiser of choice should provide you with protection up to SPF50. Be mindful of the temperature of water you use for your shower or for washing your face, warm water is ideal, too cold or hot can cause dryness.
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