Dry skin is a concern that as many as 3 out of 5 people deal with. In some cases, their dry skin may be mild and merely an aesthetic nuisance, while for others, their dry skin woes require medical attention. Dealing with persistent dry skin can be challenging— particularly during the winter months when dry skin related issues like eczema flare up.
And while often dry skin is hereditary, or a result of your environment, the good news is that you can take matters into your own hands. Managing your dry skin is possible and even overcoming dry skin can be a reality with the right regimen. Here are some of the best tips for achieving a radiant and moisturized complexion.
Drink More Water
Some people are so focused on hydrating skin from the outside that they forget how equally important it is to hydrate from the inside! Despite how many fancy creams you slather on your face, or oils you apply, nothing is going to penetrate your skin’s deepest cells like water.
Hydration supports your skin’s ability to retain moisture and will ultimately lead to a more radiant and plumper complexion. Drinking water regularly throughout the day is the number one step towards battling dry skin.
Choose a Mild Cleanser
One of the biggest culprits of dry skin is washing your face with harsh products that suck the moisture out. Harsh soaps will strip your skin’s natural oils and aggravate its dryness even more. Instead of harsh soaps, go for mild and gentle, ideally fragrance free. Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid which is your skin’s best friend when it comes to retaining moisture.
Moisturize The Right Way
Many dry-skin sufferers got dry skin as a result of prior acne woes. In an effort to ward blemishes away, they avoided heavy moisturizers like the plague. And while a light moisturizer may be appropriate for daytime use with makeup on your face, nighttime is when you should load on the moisture.
The nighttime is when your skin is ready to soak up all of the goodness and regenerate its cells. After cleansing, apply a nighttime oil or serum and massage it deeply into every crevice of your face. Following oil, always seal the skin’s barrier with a nighttime moisturizer. This will lock in the moisture for added nourishment while you sleep.
Exfoliate The Right Way
Any one who lived through the 90’s remembers the infamous drug store apricot scrub that was marketed to us. We would scrub our faces violently with it at night, thinking we were washing away all of our skin’s impurities thanks to the magic of ground up apricot pits. Yet we had no idea what we were doing was anything but good for our skin.
Whoever thought that something as abrasive as ground up apricot pits was beneficial for a radiant complexion was no dermatologist. In truth, these “exfoliants” that require you to rub your skin violently are doing more damage than good. They create tiny abrasions which can actually invite in bacteria and lead to breakouts. Which often means applying harsh products to counteract acne, which in turn leads to dry skin, and the cycle continues.
Exfoliation is definitely a good thing but overdoing it can and will worsen your dryness! Use a liquid exfoliant that causes your skin to shed its dead skin cells autonomously without harsh scrubbing, and minimize exfoliating to once a week. If you notice irritation, stop immediately and give your skin time to recover.
Use SPF
As much as you might love the way your skin looks after a few hours of sunbathing, the truth is that tanned skin is actually dried up dead skin cells. Just like a fried egg turns brown and shrivels up the longer it cooks, so does your complexion.
Applying SPF daily is a must if you hope to keep a radiant and young complexion that locks in the moisture!
