Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Care for Dry Skin


When I was younger, I thought that having dry skin is better than having oily skin because the former would only require more moisturization while the latter would require blotting papers, antibacterial and pore minimizing products and whatnots. Now that I know better, I realized that I was wrong. No one skin type is better than the other. All you have to do is find out the best routine that would work for your skin type to bring out the most beautiful you!

Moreover, for a person who has very dry skin, everything else would be practically dry too...hair and lips included. Now you wouldn't use the same moisturizer for every part of your body would you? At the end of the day, it's as rigorous a task to keep your skin moisturized as to keep it oil-free!

I have already posted about keeping the hair healthy instead of dry. Now I'd like to share a few things I learned about moisturizing skin...

1. Stay away from moisturizers that contain mineral oil or mineral oil derivatives like paraffin and petroleum jelly. While some would work for certain skin types, it's not really advisable to use, especially for excessively dry skin. Mineral oil acts as plastic that traps water inside your skin, making it seem moisturized.

2. Use products that are plant extracts and essential oils based rather than water-based products. Come to think of it, it's not a very pleasant sight if your skin absorbed water while you're swimming eh? While most of the water will evaporate, plant extracts such as aloe vera gel and oils such as emu oil will definitely get into the skin as well as all the other important ingredients that come with their products.

3. Exfoliate before moisturizing. I'm sure most of you would agree that it's not very flattering to apply lip balm on broken and extremely chapped lips. Same goes for moisturizing dead skin.

4. Time your moisturization. You can't just apply moisturizer when you want to. You must know when your skin would absorb the products more, and that is when it's damp. Apply body lotion/oil right after you pat your skin dry from the shower...lip balm after you drink water...facial moisturizer and eye cream after you wash your face...and so on. You may want to turn to this post to find out which products should come first in your routine.

5. Don't over-cleanse your skin. This tip also goes for the oily skinned ones. Whenever your system notices that your skin had been washed off it's natural oils, it would make double effort to let more oils out. On the other hand, if you have dry skin, your system will have a very hard time replenishing the naturals oils you washed away.

6. Try to avoid the sun especially during the peak hours 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. And never forget to apply sunblock with a minimum SPF of 15. The sun's heat will dehydrate your skin, not to mention the harmful uva and uvb rays you're at risk of.

7. Avoid products that contain alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate that may aggravate the condition of your dry skin. Find alternatives that are more organic or natural. To find out what certain chemical ingredients may cause to your skin, click here.

8. Some dryness may be caused by your skin's reaction to an allergen. Avoid the things you are allergic to either by isolating the issue or consulting an allergologist/dermatologist.

In line with that, did you know that your baby's skin is more prone to dryness than your skin? That is because baby skin is thinner and more sensitive than adult skin. If you notice that your baby's skin easily bring out dark spots after an insect bite, it's time you apply these tips on him or her too!


Love lots,


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