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Dry Skin Care Tips

Dry Skin Care Tips That Work!

How do I know? I’ve been a lifelong sufferer of dry skin. Maybe you’re like me; your skin always feels tight, stretched, can look flaky and seems to just suck up any moisture you put on it and go right back to feeling dry. Even your poor lips are suffering!

Dry Skin Defined

Dry skin lacks the natural oil and sebum produced by your skin. It can be caused by genetics, an overexposure to the elements (sun, wind, cold) or even poor diet.

Wrinkles, blemishes and skin discolorations show much more quickly on our skin than on oily or normal skin. Elasticity drops faster and we get the “crepey” look around our eyes and mouths faster.

Our skin acts this way because it is missing the essential natural oils to lubricate and keep it looking and feeling its best. Glowing, radiant, nourished-looking skin isn’t a dream, though. We just have to take a few extra steps each day to help our skin out, and there’s no better time to start than now.

Now is the time to learn skincare for dry skin!

The Basics

Ok, my first dry skin care tips are going to be painfully obvious, but so very important.

1. Drink Water

I know. You wouldn’t think this would make much of a difference, but I can tell you from experience it does. Keeping yourself hydrated helps your body do its natural job of hydrating your skin. And obviously, our skin needs help from the inside and the outside.

2. Non-Drying Cleanser

Many of us with dry skin feel that tightening of our skin after we cleanse it. Avoid cleansers that contain any alcohol, tea-tree oil, tea-laurel sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate as these will futher dry out your skin. I like plant oil based cleansers (ie. jojoba oil, avocado oil, mango butter, shea butter, etc.) and glycerin soaps. Non-foaming cleansers are usually a good bet too; the foaming agents are very drying to skin.

3. Hydrating Moisturizer

Again, totally obvious, right? But, these aren't your usual dry skin care tips.

This is the one where it’s easy to get misled. Your moisturizer needs to have a good humectant quality; that is it attracts moisture to the skin so that your skin has a chance to absorb it and benefit from it.

I like products that use glycerin in the top 2 ingredients, but there are many others. You may also find vitamin e (tocopherol), elastin, jojoba, collagen and panthenol to be suitable for your skin. I apply once in the morning and once in the evening, before bed.

I find that water based products are absorbed too quickly and don’t hydrate my skin enough, but they may work just fine for your skin. It’s all a process of trial and error to see what your skin responds the best to.

4. Sunscreen

Many dry skin care tips don't address sun damage, even though it can make dry skin more severe. Wearing sunscreen daily will help prevent your skin from burning. When your skin is damaged from the sun it will be dryer and tougher, not soft and supple. Slather it on daily!

Ingredients To Avoid

When dealing with dry skin, there are plenty of “fillers” that may sound great, but either don’t produce the best results or are just plain ‘ol ineffective. My dry skin care tips include a list of those.

1. Mineral Oil

Commonly found in body creams, this ingredient covers the skin like plastic wrap and the skin is unable to “breathe” and rid itself of toxins. Baby oil is 100% mineral oil!

2. Isopropyl Alcohol

In addition to being alcohol, which is incredibly drying, it is a petroleum derived, industrial waste product.

3. PEG (Polyethylene Glycol)

Also commonly found in creams because it thickens them, this product actually strips the skin of its natural moisture. This makes you use more product which leads to a vicious cycle.

4. Petrolatum

This, like mineral oil, completely coats the skin with a barrier, leaving skin unable to “breathe” and take in oxygen or respire out waste.My Routine

My dry skin care tips also include a routine that I have developed that works well for me. Feel free to modify or change it as you see fit. After all, this is something you’ll be doing every day; make it work for you!

1. Cleanse

I like to cleanse with glycerin, milk or castile (made from olive oil) soap twice a day (morning and night), and every couple days I switch for a soap with an exfoliator in it. One of my favorites is Lush Leaves & Figs.

2. Hydrate

I follow up each cleansing with a rich moisturizer to nourish my thirsty skin all day. I always try to find a moisturizer with SPF in it to save me time on step 3.

3. Sunscreen

If I'm not lucky enough to have moisturizer with SPF, I apply my SPF 15 once my moisturizer has had a few minutes to absorb.

4. My Lips

My skincare for dry skin has to include my lips. My lips are always dry and flaky, so every couple of days I mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 1 teaspoon of sugar and massage on my lips. I wash it off with a warm washcloth, let my lips dry and apply a soft wax lipbalm. I do ok with beeswax, but it can be too drying for some people.

Now, It's Your Turn

You are armed with some great dry skin care tips to help you as you search for the perfect routine for your skin.

Don't worry if something doesn't work for you; we're not all the same and not all products will give us identical results. Try, try and try again!

And if you find something that works, let me know about it.

I Hope These Dry Skin Care Tips Work For You! Want To Read More?

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