5 tips to soothe and nourish dry skin

We can recognize dry skin when we see fine lines of dehydration, when the complexion becomes dull and this can go as far as a rough feeling to the touch, flaking and extreme cracks.

You may also experience tightness and itching which is medically called pruritus.

The aggravating factors of dry skin

First, the season, with the winter and the cold the sebaceous glands are put to rest and the ambient air which drier aggravates the state of the skin.

The good hot baths, the prolonged showers increase the permeability of your skin as well as the important heating which reduces the ambient humidity.

The use of certain cosmetics, in particular retinol and exfoliants

And of course age! Over time the skin becomes increasingly dry and this phenomenon begins in the mid-thirties.

Dry skin or dehydrated skin

It is very easy to confuse dry skin with dehydrated skin, dry skin and a skin type just like oily skin and normal to combination skin.

To sum it up roughly, dry skin lacks oil and dehydrated skin lacks water.

When we say that dry skin lacks oil, it means that it does not produce enough sebum and that there is a defect in the intercellular lipids. Intercellular lipids are the lipids found between the keratinocytes at the level of the most superficial layer of our epidermis, which is called the stratum corneum.

On the other hand, the keratin that covers the keratinocytes can also be of poor genetic quality in people with dry skin. This lack of “oil” causes an insensible loss of water! So certainly the pores are small, the imperfections rare but the lack of radiance and the wrinkles which appear more quickly are the reverse of the medal.

Dehydrated skin Dehydrated

skin lacks water, i.e. it can be oily or combination skin that has no sebum production problem but is dehydrated because of environment or unsuitable skin care, results, you feel tightness but your skin is shiny because dehydration will cause excessive sebum production.

In this case, use more humectant-rich products such as glycerin, natural moisturizing factors and hyaluronic acid to take care of your face.

Other tips

A diet rich in organic fruits and organic vegetables will provide many vitamins essential to the proper functioning of your skin.

Avoid the sun at all costs, because sun damage to the face and body has the effect of drying out your epidermis and destroying the collagen, hyaluronic acid and elastin present in the dermis. On the other hand, it has been proven that the inflammation caused by the sun destroys subcutaneous fat and aggravates the phenomenon of dehydration.

Adapt your beauty routine to the season, winter cold has the effect of reducing the activity of the sebaceous glands which aggravates skin dryness. In winter, I recommend ultra-rich treatments that will create a protective film and reduce the signs of discomfort. For this I recommend products that contain occlusives such as shea butter or mineral oil.

In summer, basic skin care is sufficient, with the exception of applying an anti-UV cream SPF 50 plus every day.

Reynertson KA, Garay M, Nebus J, Chon S, Kaur S, Mahmood K, Kizoulis M, Southall MD. Anti-inflammatory activities of colloidal oatmeal (Avena sativa) contribute to the effectiveness of oats in treatment of itch associated with dry, irritated skin. J Drugs