Dry Skin 101: it’s causes and how to take care of it
Dry Skin could be challenging for many women and girls, not only as it could discomfort you, making you feel your skin is rough and cracked, but also for it negatively affects your life and mood. You can’t wear what you want as any rough texture clothes could make your skin itchy, any slight temperature increase would dry out your skin even more, and any temperature decrease would peel it out! a thing that could disturb you while wearing makes up.
Although Dry skin is not a drastic condition, it could negatively affect your skin's capability to protect your body. It's also known to be the common cause of skin inflammation, and, if kept without caring, it could lead to Atopic dermatitis (eczema).
Luckily, you can easily dodge your dry skin problems. All you need is little change in your daily routine and some sufficient moisturizing.
But First, you need to understand how easy it is to confuse dehydrated skin and dry skin as the same thing. Which is untrue.
Dry skin lacks sebum secretion, a thing that could happen to many factors we will discuss later. Dehydrated skin lacks water in the stratum corneum; the outer protective layer of the skin (epidermis).
How to distinguish between Dry skin type and Dehydrated skin condition?
Dry skin would be rough, cracked, scaly, and looks Dry.
Dehydrated skin would be pale, tight, sensitive, and develop fine lines.
Still doubtful? Here’s a test you can do at home.
The Blotting Sheet Test
Wash your face with water and wait from 10 to 15 minutes, then gently pat a blotting paper on different areas of your face. Hold the sheet up to the light to determine how much oil is visible. If the sheet picked up little to no oil, you most likely have dry skin.
What makes my skin dry?
If your skin is dry by nature you need to mind these factors as it is prone to more dryness. The more it gets dry, the more problematic it will be.
- Weather: skin dries out at low temperatures. This is why our skin gets flaky in winter.
- hot showers
- Soap and detergents: as they pull moisture out of the skin.
How to deal with my dry skin?
1- cleanser instead of soap
Use a lightweight cleanser, soap-free(nonfoaming). Stay away from drying harsh products.
2- Moisturizing is your secret weapon
It’s very important to moisturize your skin after using a cleanser directly. Don’t wait until your skin gets dry.
Lotions help in protecting the skin membrane by filling out its gaps. This would help your skin keep any moisture. Go for products containing hyaluronic acid as it’s known for retaining water in the skin.
3- less is more
To have dry skin doesn’t necessarily mean to exhaust it with lots of oil-based products, No need to mention that continuous exfoliation will irritate your skin. Avoid products with fragrance as it may make your skin itchy.
4- Retinol for wrinkles
As dry skin is more prone to cracking, this makes it wrinkle faster than other types of skin. That is why moisturizing is crucial for you. Try using retinol products as it boosts skin hydration.
Which ingredients should I look for if my skin type is dry?
If you have dry skin, looking through product ingredients will be a casual thing you do. stay away from fragrance containing products and avoid using soap. Instead, look for products contain natural moisturizers, such as Shea butter. You may also look for products containing Urea and Carbamide as they are known for their soothing effects.