Relieving Dry Skin - Top Dermatologists' Tips
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Dry skin can be such an uncomfortable thing to deal with. Sometimes caused by skin conditions and genetics, and sometimes provoked by insufficient hydration, dry skin is a treatable issue that you can fix on your own with these amazing top dermatologists' tips.
However, if you are experiencing some other skin condition, see your dermatologist first before experimenting on your skin.
Here are some everyday tips for soothing dry skin care that you can apply starting tomorrow.
- Replace Hot with Warm Showers
- Always close the bathroom door to keep humidity in.
- NEVER use hot water that is too hot, it dries your skin.
- Shower or bath for a maximum of 10 minutes.
- Use a gentle shower gel or cleanser, fragrance-free.
- Use enough shower gel to remove dirt and oil, but not too much.
- Blot instead of rubbing your skin dry with a towel.
- After drying your skin, immediately apply a moisturizer.
- Moisturize Your Skin Right after Washing
Whether you're showering, washing your face or hands, or having a bath, your skin will become dry after using even the gentlest soap.
Use cream, lotion, ointment, or any type of moisturizer that suits your skin type right after drying post your shower/bath or after washing your face/hands.
This will help keep the much-needed humidity on your skin instead of letting it crack-dry.
When washing our face/hands/body, besides removing dirt and oils, we also remove the protective moisture layer, therefore, we need to apply a cream/ointment/lotion as soon as we dry.
- Ointments and Creams are Less Irritating than Lotions
Lotions often come with strong fragrances that can irritate dry skin even more. If struggling with cracked fingertips, lips, face, and more, choose a soothing cream or ointment based on the following skin renovating ingredients
- Jojoba oil
- Almond oil
- Mineral oil
- Aloe Vera gel
- Lactic acid
- Shea butter
- Dimethicone
- Glycerin
- Hyaluronic acid
- Petrolatum
- Lanolin
- Lip Balm For Cracked Lips
Some people always have cracked lips even when hydrating enough. Lip care must also come from the outside as lips are the most sensitive skin on our face.
Exposure to hot and cold food/beverages, wind, bacteria, and other factors, make lips crack much more than other skin parts. Wearing a lip balm can be a quick solution to this uncomfortable problem, although it's also necessary to allow peeling when the lip balm doesn't help.
Extra tip: Mix a tsp of sugar and lime juice, dip your toothbrush in the mix and gently rub the mixture over your lips until you feel that all the excess skin sticks to the toothbrush bristles. Rinse and apply lip balm.
- Use Fragrance-Free Soaps for Sensitive Skin
When shopping for skin products, always search for sensitive skin labels, even if you don't have sensitive skin. Maybe you are temporarily suffering from dry skin due to some allergy, so it's better to use gentle and fragrance-free skin cosmetics.
Never buy products containing the following ingredients - they are dry skin's worst enemies:
- Alcohol (except for hand sanitizer)
- Retinoids
- Alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA)
- Fragrance, including soaps
- Wear Gloves
Dry skin is the most common condition on the hands. Whether sunbathing, skiing, walking in the park, doing dishes, gardening, or bathing your dog, you MUST always wear gloves.
Our hands suffer from the sun, cold weather, dish and clothing detergents, dirt fungal infections, and basically everything else that surrounds us.
Having a spare pair of gloves according to each activity is the greatest favor you can do for your hands and prevent premature aging, drying, and fingertip cracking.
- Hypoallergenic Clothing Detergents
Search for the “hypoallergenic" word when shopping for a clothing detergent. When the skin is dry it becomes even more sensitive than usual, so it dries and cracks even more affected by harmful chemicals.
Baby and hypoallergenic clothing detergents tend to be softer and suitable for sensitive skin people and people with allergies.
- Avoid Sunbathing for Too Long
Sun is great and gives our bodies vitamin D, but too much of it dries and burns our skin. If you live in a sunny part of the world, you must be careful throughout the year and always wear sunscreen protection.
Our skin can burn even on cloudy days due to high UV radiation. Protecting your skin from drying and cracking is vital if you enjoy spending hours on the beach. Better be safe than sorry and protect your skin from the sun by wearing sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. No worries, you'll get tanned anyways.
Final Word
Dry skin needs to be moisturized frequently after the early signs before it starts cracking. Avoid hot showers, fragrance-free creams and ointments, shop for hypoallergenic soaps and detergents and use gloves whenever possible.
Do not expose your skin to the sun if not necessary, and wear lip balm and sunblock at all times.
If your dry skin doesn't smoothen after a week of these practical skincare changes, seek professional help and a detailed skin examination.
