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Tips To Relieve Dry Skin

With cooler weather on the horizon, it’s a good time to start prepping to avoid dry skin! Dry skin can cause flaking, dullness and red patches that make fine lines and wrinkles more noticeable. Here are few helpful tips to help heal dry skin and prevent its return.

FACE

Use Cleansers That Moisturize

If your skin feels tight after cleansing, you’re using the wrong product. Switch to a gentler one that leaves you feeling moisturized. Avoid cleansers with detergents like sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) that can damage the skin’s vital moisture barrier. Instead, look for ingredients like shea butter, sunflower oil, olive oil or beeswax that soften and moisturize the skin and are known to help reduce inflammation. For more insights on ingredients that can help Get Rid Of Dry Skin On Your Face, check out hellobeautiful.com.

Apply Moisturize While Your Skin Is Still Damp

Apply moisturizer immediately after washing while the skin is still damp. Ointments, creams and lotions work by trapping existing moisture in your skin. Once you’ve let your skin completely dry, it’s already dehydrated.

An oldie but goodie product is Vaseline, says allure.com. Apply it at night right after you wash your face. It may feel thick and heavy, but the skin-softening petrolatum locks in moisture, and by morning, it will be fully absorbed.

For very dry skin, use pure plant oils such as olive oil or jojoba seed oil.  Apply them after your moisturizer over dry areas, says How To Care For Dry Skin.

Use A Facial Mask

Twice a week, use a soothing facial mask. A mask containing rosewater or rose extract tones and boosts skin moisture. And, shape.com suggests a hydrating mask containing emollients, humectants and moisturizers that deliver water molecules on to the skin surface. For the ultimate organic experience, apply the sap of a fresh aloe vera leaf to your face. Leave it on for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating twice a week will allow moisturizers to penetrate more deeply and rejuvenate your skin more effectively. Use an exfoliant that contains rich emollients, so it multi-tasks and moisturizes. In How To Exfoliate Your Skin we recommend choosing gentle mechanical exfoliants. By removing the dead cells and debris, moisturizer goes on smoother for more effective skin hydration. Spend no more than 30 seconds per session exfoliating your face. Any longer than that, and you are most likely over-doing it.

Dry Skin Under The Eyes Emphasizes Signs Of Aging

The skin on your eyelids is the area on your face most prone to dryness, according to totalbeauty.com. If your eyelids are red, scaly, or itchy, use a thick eye cream that contains some urea or lactic acid which can help dissolve flakes as well as moisturize or with hyper sensitive skin, opt for olive oil or rose water.

Beauty Sleep

Lack of sleep can affect the skin’s natural barrier function, which can lead to dryness, says dailymakeover.com. Skin goes into repair mode while you sleep and is more reactive to products applied right before bed. You can enhance the effectiveness of your nighttime skin care by allowing it be absorbed into the skin for at least ten minutes before retiring. This effect can be further enhanced by sleeping on your back to avoid the treatment rubbing off on the pillow. If you have trouble staying on your back, JuveRest® The Sleep Wrinkle Pillow helps prevent your face from being smushed against bedding and allows for comfortable back and side sleeping.

MAKEUP TIPS FOR DRY SKIN

After gently exfoliating and applying moisturizer, refinery29.com suggests applying a hydrating cream or lotion foundation using your fingers, a technique that allows you to work the product around dry patches.

To prevent eye makeup from settling into nooks and crannies, first apply a primer on the lids, then use a cream-based eye shadow followed by powder shadow to contour.

Cream is once again the name of the game when it comes to cheek blush, which gives skin a natural, dewy glow, and disguises dry skin. If you’re also wondering how to avoid accentuating age-related facial wrinkles while using cream blush, check out How To Use Makeup To Also Deemphasize Facial Wrinkles.

BODY

Soaking in a long, hot bath may relieve the day’s stress, but according to womenshealthmag.com, sitting in a bath actually breaks down the body’s natural lipid barriers (or oils), causing dehydration.  Prevent this by keeping the water lukewarm and adding a few drops of pure almond, wheat germ, grape seed, or apricot kernel oil to your bath. The oil will create a comforting, moisturizing layer on the skin that locks in hydration.

Dermatologists with aad.org say showers should be no more than five or 10 minutes. Wash with a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser. Blot your skin gently with a towel, then immediately slather on the moisturizer.

If dry, irritated or flakey skin still persists, it’s best to consult with your dermatologist, who is well-equipped with skin soothing advice and remedies.