Is your skin feeling dry, cracked and irritable? You’re not alone. Dry skin affects all of us at one time or another, especially during the colder months, so it’s essential to learn to combat it and keep your skin hydrated and healthy. Whether you often suffer from dry skin or it seems to have come out of nowhere, there are certain lifestyle changes you can make and products you can use to minimise damage. See our recommended skincare routine for dry skin below.
Looking to make your skincare routine more natural? Check out our guide to the best organic vegetable oils for skincare and how they can benefit you.
Signs and Symptoms of Dry Skin
Dry skin can be uncomfortable and frustrating to deal with, whether it’s causing you itchiness, soreness, or you just can’t get your makeup to sit properly on your face. This condition comes in many forms, from minor flaking or tightness of the skin to cracking, bleeding and pain. Although the symptoms can be different for everyone, the following could be signs that your skin isn’t getting enough hydration:
- Peeling, flaking or scaling
- Redness
- Skin that feels tight
- Itching
- Cracked skin
- Skin that feels rough
- Skin that appears grey and ashy
- Red or white patches on the skin.
If your skin remains dry for a prolonged period, it loses some of its natural elasticity. This can, in turn, lead to other visible skin problems, such as an increased amount of wrinkles and stretch marks.
What Causes Dry Skin?
The skin’s structure comprises three main layers — the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous layer. The epidermis is crucial in forming a protective barrier against harmful external elements, but its outermost layers must retain moisture to function optimally. When there is decreased moisture in these top layers of the skin’s epidermis, the appearance of your skin is affected, and you may start to notice some of the symptoms listed above.
Several external elements commonly cause dry skin, including:
- Environmental changes — especially low humidity or exposure to wind
- Too much heat
- Excessive washing
- Hard water
- Using harsh cleaning products
- Swimming pools — particularly if your skin is sensitive to chlorine.
Tips for Preventing Dry Skin
Keeping your skin hydrated and healthy means maintaining the right moisture balance in the top layers of the skin. This can be achieved by combining a consistent skincare regimen with some minor lifestyle changes. Here are some simple things you can try to keep dry skin at bay:
Drink Plenty of Water
Even the best of us forget to drink enough water sometimes, but drinking six to eight glasses per day is one of the best ways to keep skin hydrated and maintain good health.
Use Cooler Water When Washing
We know they feel great, but regularly taking long, steamy showers could be stripping your skin of moisture. Help your skin out next time you wash by turning the temperature down a little.
Go Easy on the Heating
If you regularly have the central heating on full blast or sit for hours by the fireplace on a winter’s night, you could be drying out your skin. Limit damage to your epidermis by throwing an extra jumper on instead.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Are you staying up late or struggling to sleep? If so, this could also be contributing to your dry skin. Getting a good night’s sleep gives your body time to rest and allows your skin to repair itself.
Wash Clothing and Bedding Regularly
Any material that regularly touches your skin — whether a face mask, scarf, hat or pillowcase — should be washed often to kill any bacteria and reduce friction against the face. Otherwise, your skin may become drier and could also develop acne.
The Ultimate Skincare Routine for Dry Skin
A consistent skincare regimen can help to improve dry skin. Use the following skincare products for dry skin to keep your face feeling smooth, soft and supple:
1. Start with a Cleanser
Any good skincare routine should start with a cleanser, but if your skin’s feeling dry, make sure you avoid anything too harsh. A gentle, hydrating cleanser will do the trick to keep your skin fresh and free of impurities. Why not make your own nourishing cleansing cream to give your skin the moisture it needs?
2. Use a Hydrating Toner
Once you’re done cleansing, the next step is to use a toner. Choose one that provides added hydration and soothing properties to help your skin glow. A good toner will rebalance your skin after cleansing before you apply any more products. We love this hydrating toner recipe containing gentle ingredients, such as aloe vera and witch hazel.
3. Remove Dead Skin Cells with a Chemical Exfoliant
A chemical exfoliant may sound harsh, but it’s a very effective method of removing dead skin cells from dry skin. You may find that when suffering from dryness or sensitivity, your skin reacts better to a chemical exfoliant than a scrub. Our exfoliating cleanser recipe is gentle enough to use daily. This cleanser uses AHA Natural Fruit Extract, which contains natural peeling agents glycolic acid and lactic acid for a smooth, fresh visage.
4. Deeply Hydrate Your Skin with a Face Serum
Face serums contain a high concentration of active ingredients to give your skin an extra boost when it needs it most. Our instant dry skin relief serum contains a rich blend of oils to hydrate your skin and can be used before your regular moisturiser.
5. Nourish the under-Eye Area with an Eye Cream
If the area around your eyes is dry, you’ll want to use a specially designed eye cream to restore moisture as this area is particularly delicate and sensitive. Make your own regenerative eye cream to combat dryness, formulated with argan oil, which is known to help moisturise dry, flaky skin.
6. Use a Rich Facial Moisturiser to Boost Hydration
Of course, you don’t want to forget about moisturiser when working to combat dry skin. To ensure you’re giving your skin the moisture it needs, try a richer moisturising cream rather than a lighter gel. Our moisturiser for dry skin contains extra rich, conditioning oat oil and is a great choice of beauty product to make at home.
7. Get Super Soft Skin with a Facial Oil
For an added dose of luxury in the winter months, a facial oil is a fantastic way to relieve dry skin and seal in moisture. Try layering this rich nourishing face oil for dull and dehydrated skin over your other skincare products to leave your face feeling extra smooth.
8. Always Protect Your Skin with Sunscreen
No matter what time of year it is, it’s crucial to include sunscreen in your skincare routine for dry skin. Finish off your skincare regimen with a sunscreen that’ll leave your skin soft and moisturised while offering a good amount of sun protection.
Sunscreen should be used in any skincare routine regardless of your skin type as it protects against premature ageing as well as the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
If you’re looking for more ways to nourish dry skin and make your beauty routine better tailored to your individual needs, learning how to make your own beauty products is a fantastic place to start. Discover our professional skincare courses online to get started.