The Skincare Space

Waking up to that stretchy, dry, and flaky skin every morning is not pleasant at all. The easiest way to fight dry skin is by including a quality moisturizer in your everyday skincare routine. Now, finding the perfect moisturizer that caters to all your skincare concerns, including dryness and flakiness, can be a task. With every brand promoting their moisturizers on the internet, it can be tricky to find the one that fits your budget and helps you keep the dryness at bay. Here is everything you need to know about finding the perfect moisturizer for dry skin!

First, check if your skin is just dehydrated or permanently dry
While both dry and dehydrated skin may present pretty much similar symptoms, they are quite different from one another. In simpler words, dehydrated skin can be defined as a temporary state where it lacks moisture in the upper layer. This temporary lack of moisture can affect the skin barrier, causing it to look dry, dull, and slightly flaky. On the other hand, dry skin is a skin type that does not produce enough moisture to keep it moisturized.

Second, know the moisturizer types
A moisturizer works by adding moisture back into your skin and preventing the natural water content in your skin from leaving it. There is a varied range of moisturizers out there which come in different forms such as gels, creams, lotions, and ointments.

While all these moisturizer types do the job of fighting dryness and flakiness, there are subtle differences among them. A gel-based moisturizer usually has a higher water content and tends to feel lighter and slightly cooling on the skin. A cream moisturizer is slightly thicker than a gel-based moisturizer and contains a high oil content, which makes it more hydrating. A lotion has a lighter consistency than a cream moisturizer but feels quite hydrating too. Lastly, an ointment is the thickest of them all and can help to a great extent in fighting extreme dryness and flakiness.

How to choose moisturizer for dry skin?
Searching on the internet for a “dry skin moisturizer” will bombard you with a huge variety of options. Here is what you need to look for in the moisturizer to ensure it hydrates and nourishes your dry skin:

• Humectant
  A humectant is an organic compound that attracts water from the air or deeper layers of your skin. It helps in shedding dead skin cells from the outermost layer of the skin, thereby improving its overall appearance. You can look for these humectant types in the moisturizer when considering one for your dry skin – Hyaluronic Acid, Glycerin, Urea, Sorbitol, or Lactic Acid.

• Emollient
  An emollient is a medical ingredient that helps relieve dryness, patchiness, and scaling. It gently smoothens and softens skin, while making it appear more nourished and hydrated. Some emollient types that can help people with dry skin include Mineral Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Fatty Acids, Coconut Oil, or Squalene.

• Occlusive
  An occlusive works with a humectant to create a physical barrier on the top layer of the skin. This helps in preventing further moisture loss from the skin while it heals from dryness and scaling. When selecting a moisturizer for dry skin, look for these occlusive ingredients – Dimethicone, Lanolin, or Petrolatum.

Moisturizing tips for dry skin
Making simple changes to your skincare routine can help keep your skin moisturized, hydrated, and nourished in the long run. While your skincare routine may change as per the weather of the city you live in, these basic tips will remain the same throughout.

• Use a gentle cleanser
  A face cleanser is one of the most important steps in every skincare routine. Now, the key to giving your skin the hydration it gives right from the beginning of the routine. It is essential to opt for a gentle, non-foaming, alcohol and fragrance-free cleanser. It will help get rid of any dirt, sweat, or other impurities from your face, and make it squeaky clean! Also, it is important to invest in a cleanser that does the job of cleansing without stripping your skin of its natural moisture.

• Gently pat the skin
  If you have been harshly rubbing your face with a towel, stop it today! It surely does the job of wiping it clean, but can cause damage in the long run. Harshly rubbing your face can irritate the skin as well. The best way to dry your face is by gently patting it with a clean towel to get rid of the excess water. In addition, make sure that you use a clean towel every time you wash your face and pat it dry!

• Apply skincare products on damp skin
  When your skin is slightly damp, it is already a bit hydrated. This is when you need to apply all your other skincare products. Applying your serums or moisturizers on damp skin helps seal moisture in more effectively. This also helps keep your skin soft and supple for a long time. Another thing to keep in mind while applying skincare products is to use lighter products first. For instance, you can begin with a serum first, then go in with a day cream for dry skin, then a facial oil, and lastly, a sunscreen.

• Use a thick moisturizer
  As mentioned earlier, a moisturizer or cream that contains either humectants, emollients, or occlusives is the right one for dry skin types. These ingredients are dry skin-friendly and can help get rid of dryness and flakiness. Also, look for day creams for dry skin that are fragrance-free as fragrance can do more harm than good and also irritate the skin.

• Exfoliate regularly
  While exfoliation may seem like a scary term, it is quite an easy process that helps get rid of the dead cells and dryness. Exfoliating your skin regularly can help remove the dryness from the top layer so that the hydrating ingredients of your other skincare products can penetrate deep within the skin easily. It is also important to slowly introduce an exfoliator into your skincare routine. Now, there are two types of exfoliators available in the market – chemical exfoliators and physical exfoliators. Physical exfoliators, also known as face scrubs, consist of tiny granules. On the other hand, chemical exfoliators contain mild acids that increase cell turnover, thereby causing the dead skin cells to shed. Both of these can be effective in removing dead skin cells, however, it is important to stick to the one that works the best for you. Also, avoid using both types of exfoliators together or on alternate days as it can damage the skin barrier.

• Use SPF – every day!
  Sun damage can cause a number of skin problems and is known to make dry skin even drier. For dry skin, moisturizing sunscreen is the best option! Furthermore, when it comes to sunscreen, more is more. It is important to apply and reapply sunscreen every 2 hours if you are going to be outdoors for a long time.

Body moisturizer for dry skin
As much as dry skin on the face might bother you, itchy and flaky skin on the body is equally disastrous. Nobody wants to feel those sandpaper-like dry patches on the body, right? To avoid this, it is important to take good care of your body as well. While you cannot use all your face moisturizers on your body, there are many body creams for dry skin available in the market that you can choose from. The key to having smooth and supple skin is applying the cream on your body every day after a shower. Again, as you would for your face, apply your body cream on damp skin too. This will help retain the hydration and lock the moisture in more effectively!

If you experience severe body dryness, a heavy moisturizer or body butter will be the right choice for you. However, if your skin only gets dry during certain times of the year, you can invest in a lightweight, hydrating body lotion or cream that effectively moisturizes your skin. Even better if you can invest in a body moisturizer for dry skin with SPF for that added protection against sun damage.

Wrapping up
It is no secret that dry skin deserves a little extra care. Understanding if your skin is dry or just dehydrated is the first step towards giving your skin much-needed care. Then, find the right type of moisturizer that suits your dry skin and effectively works for you. Once you figure out which moisturizer works the best for your skin, the key is to use it religiously to get rid of dryness and flakiness.