COMMON CAUSES FOR DRY SKIN

Winter Weather

Dry skin is very common in the winter months.  The harsh winter weather conditions can leave our skin looking and feeling dry and chapped.

Wearing protective clothing such as gloves and scarves will help shield your skin from the elements.  Apply a rich moisturiser that contain ingredients like glycerine that helps to lock in moisture, paying particular attention to your hands, feet, elbows and knees.

Central Heating

Indoor heating dries out our skin and our mucous membranes, leading to dry, chapped lips and dry throats.

Using a humidifier, especially at night, will replace the moisture in the air and help to hydrate our skin and sooth chapped lips and dry throats.

Hot Baths Or Showers

As lovely as it sounds, soaking in a hot bath can strip your skin or its protective oils and leave you looking shrivelled up!

Try not to bathe (or shower) in water that is too hot and limit yourself to 10 minutes in the bath or shower.  Pat – not rub - yourself dry with a soft towel.

Harsh Soaps

Many soaps contain detergents that are harsh on the skin and remove your skin’s natural oils, thus leaving your skin dry and sensitive.

Use a fragrance-free body wash that is kind to the skin and doesn’t strip it of its natural oils. 

Not Staying Hydrated

Even it if is cold outside or you simply don’t feel hot we still lose water through our skin every day, especially if you spend a lot of time in dry, indoor heat.  If we don’t drink enough our skin and body becomes dehydrated, which can leave us looking and feeling unhealthy.

Drink plenty of water, avoiding drinks containing caffeine as these will make you lose even more water. 

Not Eating Correctly

Our cells are wrapped in protective fats that help keep them soft, plump and flexible.  If we don’t eat enough fatty acids our body won’t have enough building blocks to maintain this protective wrap.

Eat plenty of foods containing “good fats” like oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel that are rich in Omega-3. If you don’t like fish, try incorporating walnuts, tofu or flaxseeds into your diet.

As dry skin is caused by a lack of production of natural oils, dry skin sufferers should use daily moisturisers that are oil-based. Ingredients such as petrolatum and lanolin, form a barrier on the skin to stop water being lost, whilst humectants, such as glycerine, urea and alpha hydroxy acids, attract water to the skin cells. This means that humectants are a more natural and suitable way to relieve dry skin. Avoid alcohol-based formulas and fragrances as these irritate the skin