Treating Dry Skin

Weather can be one of your skin’s worst enemies, especially during the
winter season. As we go through this dilemma, we should remember
that there are numerous factors aside from the one mentioned above
which put your skin to the normal condition of wear and tear.



Effective skin care and treatment are way to keeping your skin
younger-looking, supple and full of moisture. The purpose of putting


yourself to an effective skin regimen is to minimize the incorrect habits
of skin treatment and the factors that injure the skin and causes
irreversible damage.



Xerosis

Dermatologists use the term “xerosis” to describe dry skin. In more
severe cases, skin moisture is nearly absent thereby resulting to
characteristic cracking, scaling and itching called pruritus.



The above conditions are brought about by the skin lacking the
required moisture to prevent the aforementioned results. The skin
needs a relative amount of moisture to maintain smooth or
suppleness, flexibility and protection.



If the skin is a not sufficiently moisturized, harmful UV rays get into
the skin easily and travel all the way down the delicate subcutaneous
tissue and subsequently make you skin vulnerable to damage.



Causes of Dry Skin

In order to avoid the many activities that jeopardize your skin’s health,
it is important to identify the many factors which results to the
unwanted condition.




Avoid Using Soaps with Harsh Ingredients – Regular soaps such as
anti-bacterial and deodorant soaps, which are non-moisturizing,
dehydrate the skin and rob your integument with essential oils which
locks moisture from your body.



Products containing alcohols also dissolve skin lipids and cause the
skin’s moisture to evaporate resulting to skin dryness. Water and oil-
based products are perfect for your skin. Use Dove Olay and other
soap substitutes available at your local drugstore.



Washing with Hot Water – Although water is an effective
moisturizing agent, it also strips your skin with valuable oils or lipids
which are responsible for retaining moisture from your skin.



Frequent bathing, especially with hot water, removes valuable oils and
exposes your skin to infections by destroying your body’s first main
line of defense.



Once this is lost, your skin will become more prone to organic attacks
by pathogens and sometimes cause irreversible damage to your skin.




If you are used to bathing with hot water and cannot resist the
temptation, try replacing it with lukewarm water to lessen the effect of
skin dryness.



Frequent Washing – Frequent washing and bathing, usually more
than once a day depletes your body with moisture and natural oils.
Also, limit your bathing time within 15 minutes.



Weather – Winter is one major factor in the development of a dry
skin. The use of humidifier, in most cases, solves the problem of the
effect of the climate. It compensates for the insufficient humidity
needed for the preservation of skin moisture.



This is because cold air cannot afford to hold adequate amount of
water to serve skin’s moisture demands. Warm air on the other hand
holds enough humidity to keep the skin moisturized at a certain level.



Patients under medication – People taking diuretic drugs remove
water from a patient’s body because the kidney will less likely
reabsorb the water filtered through it. In this case, frequent intake of
water is needed.




Genetic Disease – People afflicted with a rare genetic disease called
ichthyosis are likely to develop dry skin. This genetic disease has no
cure and the goal of treatment is to secure the symptoms that
manifest along the way.

Effective Treatment



The skin deserves much attention for it manifests your overall health
or state of well-being. It provides you with valuable clues as to how
you take care of yourself and how much attention your skin gets in
your daily physical management.



One way to maintain that youthful glow is to subscribe to a skin
treatment regimen that will help your skin restore moisture when it’s
needed.



Most reasons for dryness are bacterial and fungal infections, which do
not go away until proper prescription drug treatment is administered.
But in reasons not tied up above, products available in the market will
help you achieve that goal and maintain a skin that is envied by
everyone.



Alpha hydroxyacid lotions are best for dry skin. Oil-based are more


effective than water based lotions for they “lock-in” the moisture
stored in the skin.



Effective moisturizers are dependent on your immediate and long-
term needs. If you want to relieve itching caused by dry skin, ordinary
moisturizers will serve your purpose.



Humectants such as lotions containing glycerin, propylene glycol
promotes moisture retention and allantoin and urea are effective for
promoting healing and stripping damaged cells on top of the skin.



Barrier creams are effective for people who are in a habit of washing
their hands frequently. For individuals with advanced dry skin
condition (pruritus), anti-pruritic agents such as oatmeal and tar-
based pine oil are beneficial.



Balanced-diet and exercise cause your skin to produce more oil and
maintain a relative amount of oil that keeps moisture in your skin.
Drinking plenty of water is also important.



If these and other treatments are not effective in alleviating all the
symptoms of drying skin, it is best that you consult a professional


dermatologist so they can closely monitor the cause of dryness.