Not only is dry skin a nuisance to deal with, it is uncomfortable. It is tight, itchy and painful. Sometimes, it can even crack and bleed leaving the way for infection to set in. You see, skin care is not always just about looking good, it is about staying healthy. If you fail to take care of your skin, you may set yourself up for a host of diseases and complications. After all, your skin is the largest organ of your body. It is responsible for numerous bodily functions that all work together to keep you healthy. This is why you should always strive to take care of your skin the best that you can.
Skin care should be a part of your daily routine no matter if you have dry skin or not. Having a good skin care regimen will prevent your skin from drying out in the first place. And since prevention is worth a pound of cure, it is in your best interest to start a routine if you don't currently have one. If you do have a routine, you may need to adjust it just a bit to achieve the best results.
\"Dry Skin\"
To understand how to take care of your dry skin, you first need to understand how your skin remains moist and healthy. Skin tissue is moisturized from the inside out, meaning that your body produces the moisture that is encased in the layers of your skin. It is not absorbed by the skin. While moisture is not absorbed into the layers of your skin, it can be evaporated from your skin by the sun, hot water, extreme temperatures, and other external factors.
To help hold moisture in, your hair follicles produce oil which is called sebum. This oil wells up in the hair follicles until it spills over creating a layer of sebum on the skin. It is this layer of sebum which is responsible for protecting your skin from the elements and holding in moisture. Most cases of dry skin are caused by some sort of failure in this system. In some cases, the body just does not produce enough oil to keep skin moist due to genetics or a medical condition. In other cases, the oil may be removed through excessive bathing.
Bathing and Dry Skin
The one thing that you do that can really zap moisture from your skin is bathing. Not only do you remove sebum from your skin with soap while bathing, you also dehydrate your skin with hot water. Here are just a few ways that bathing causes dry skin and how to correct them:
* Length of shower - You would think that water would cause your skin to become moist, right? Wrong! Water that is absorbed into your skin during a shower only goes into the first layers of the skin resulting in a wrinkly, water logged appearance. This water is immediately evaporated once you leave the bath. In fact, a long shower or bath may even dry skin out.
* Water temperature - Hot water does a great deal when it comes to removing moisture from your skin. Be sure to use lukewarm or tepid water for your shower or bath.
* Soap - Harsh soaps can remove all of the oils from the surface of your skin resulting in dry, unprotected skin. Be sure to use a gentle soap that does not remove all surface oils. You may even want to use a moisturizing soap that will replace some of the oils removed from your skin through bathing.
* After shower - If you roughly dry your skin after you bathe, you may further dry it out. Gently pat skin dry and apply a moisturizer.
Soap for Your Dry Skin
You need to be careful when choosing the right soap for your dry skin. Not only does the soap need to be gentle and full of moisturizers, it should also be lightly fragrant. This is because heavy fragrances can irritate skin that is already raw from itching and scratching. Certain fragrances may even cause an allergic reaction which will only cause your dry skin to become worse.
When looking to purchase body soap for your dry skin, look for pure, gentle cleansing products that contain a lot of moisturizers. Be sure to read the ingredient label. Avoid products that have high alcohol content. Remember; product ingredients are listed according to how much ingredient is in each product. The ingredients listed first are the most abundant. Make sure that these are moisturizers.
Choosing The Best Soap For Your Dry Skin
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