Dry skin care. 10 rules you need to know and follow!

I have been dealing with dry skin since I can remember – that will be a good few years now. I am not sure whether it is a genetically determined tendency to losing moisture or I just haven’t found the right set of cosmetics that would answer the needs of my complexion. I get the feeling that the care of dry skin is much more difficult as there are so many things that could have adverse effects on it, for instance, dehydrate it even more. At the same time, the number of products that are truly able to improve its moisture level is very limited. Hence, maintaining the balance is not an easy task.

That is what I’d like to discuss in today’s post, because I am aware that I am not the only one struggling with dry complexion. Since it is a common issue, I hope that my words od advice will be useful to some of you. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Dry skin. What exactly does it mean?

Thin, sensitive, susceptible to any irritation. Dryness is simply the lack of proper hydration. If the skin lacks water, then it becomes more tight, matte and rough. But that is not enough, dry skin ages the fastest of all four basic types of skin (the slowest one to age is oily skin, but it has to deal with a whole lot of other problems, such as acne).

Interestingly, it is more likely for blonde girls with fair skin to have dry skin. Also, women over 40 years of age, because the skin, unfortunately, loses its moisture with age. It’s completely natural, although it’s problematic for us. Because, sadly, dry skin requires a completely different type of care.

How to take care of dry skin?

Since it is dry, it requires hydration. And I’m not going to argue with this because it’s obvious. How to moisturize the skin – I will tell you about it a little lower (you can scroll down). At this point, I would like to emphasize that dry skin care should not be based only on moisturizing cosmetics!

There are two types of ingredients:

• humectants, or components that bind water in the skin,
• and emollients – substances that retain water inside.

Anyone who has trouble maintaining proper skin hydration should keep this in mind. What to moisturize the skin with a load of humectants for, if this water will escape quickly from the skin due to lack of protection. Naturally, this function is performed by the hydro-lipid barrier, which, however, we wash down with makeup removal and during everyday face washing. We need to rebuild it, and it’s best to do it using emollients. You will find a list also a bit lower.

What to hydrate the skin with?

With the above-mentioned humectants – in other words – hygroscopic substances that can bind water molecules and retain them in the skin. We can find them in many face creams, masks, mists, as well as ampoules and other more specialized cosmetics. The only problem is that, most often, we have no idea what really works in favor of moisturizing our skin in a given cosmetic. It’s time to thoroughly explore the composition of cosmetics, which we reach for, because it all depends on the ingredients intended for moisturizing our skin.

Moisturizing ingredients that are worth looking for in cosmetics:

•  aloe vera, e.g. juice extracted from its leaves,
•  natural honey,
•  hyaluronic acid,
•  urea (often found in hand creams for winter),
•  d-panthenol in pro-vitamin B5,
•  glycerine, although some people are against using it for such purpose,
•  sodium pyroglutamate (PCA),
•  lactic acid,
•  propylene glycol.

What ingredients prevent moisture loss?

Of course, emollients, substances that form a protective layer on the skin and prevent loss of moisture. One can say that they work best in a duet with the above-mentioned humectants – first, moisturize with hyaluronic acid, and then retain effect using emollients. How to look for emollients in cosmetics? In the INCI.

Ingredients of cosmetics responsible for preventing loss of skin hydration:

•  fatty alcohols (Cetearyl / Cetyl / Stearyl Alcohol),
•  silicones,
•  waxes, e.g. bee,
•  natural vegetable butter, e.g. shea, mango,
•  over 100 types of vegetable oils,
•  triglycerides.

Some agents used in cosmetics to lubricate and soften the skin, and indirectly to maintain proper hydration are sometimes referred to as emollients. They are all kinds of oils, lotions, creams, and ointments. Anything that has a slightly greasy consistency probably contains emollients.

10 rules of dry skin care 

To sum up, I will give you a list of or the principles of proper skin care in a nutshell. I know that most people search blogs for such summary lists, so here it is. If you have dry skin, be sure to remember these rules.

How to take care of dry skin? You must keep in mind that:

1.  You need to moisturize the skin and protect it against water loss on a daily basis.
2.  Adjust the care to the season of the year (in winter, protection is more important).
3.  Cleansing cosmetics should be gentle so as not to dry ou the skin.
4.  Do forget about the application of a body balm or lotion or cream after bathing or showering.
5.  You need to protect the skin from the sun because it can also dry it up.
6.  It is sometimes worth going to a beauty salon for some hydrating treatments from time to time.
7.  Natural oils can help poorly moisturized skin.
8.  If you are a fan of exfoliating scrubs make sure to go for the gentle ones, not coarse.
9.  Hot baths can accelerate skin dehydration, so it is worth limiting them.
10.  The way of nutrition and hydration of the body from the inside is also of significant importance.