Welcome Back! So your skincare routine is going well and you are clearing up those pesky acne problems. Now, how do we fix dry and itchy skin?
The first question to ask is what happens at a cellular level for your skin to become dry?
The answer is simple: think of your skin cells as a brick well arranged in a way that is held together by a lipid rich mortar. The mortar’s job is to keep the skin cells in a tight, compact, and solid arrangement. When water loss occurs due to different factors, this mortar becomes loose and the result is dry, cracked, and itchy skin.
Dry and itchy skin can be categorized into two different categories:
Non-pathological: determined by different environmental factors
Pathological: caused by some kind of other skin disease
Today, we will cover the non-pathological reasons. Pathological reasons will come at a later time so stay tuned!
The “non-pathological” factors are for more common than the pathological. We all just went through (in my opinion) the worse season of the year….yep winter. I live in an area where it gets cold but does snow that often so the only thing that winter typically brings me is dry and itchy skin. But why does this happen during the winter??
The main reason is because during winter there is simply less moisture in the air!
The explanation is rather simple as seen above. Less water = dry skin. But did you know that too much water can also cause dry and itchy skin??
That’s right. To all of you who love hot showers I am not telling you to stop. I repeat hot showers = good. Okay, now that we got that out of the way lets talk about what I mean by “too much water”.
Excessive and repetitive use of hot water will strip away the body’s natural oils that leave it defenseless. The usual result of this is…you guessed it…dry and itchy skin. If you are like me and enjoy hot showers after a cold winter day then simple moisturizing after the shower will compensate (we will talk more about treatment in a bit) for this problem.
Other non-pathological factors that can affect this include age, dehydration, exposure to other chemicals, and use of certain medications. It is hard to predict what may be your specific reason but start with those listed above!
How do we fix this problem?
Thank you for sticking with me. This is the question everyone wants the answer to and I am happy to say that spending 5 minutes a day using proper moisturizers can transform your skin.
General Principles to follow:
Try to limit excessively long hot showers (I know this one is lame)
Pat dry your skin out of the shower leaving it damp and use moisturizer immediately
Using a humidifier in your room at night can help to replenish moisture lost in the air due dry indoor heat.
These principles are not rules but mere suggestions. Changing small things about your daily routine can have massive results. I personally follow these things and have found that it does make a difference. Try it out!
What ingredients to look for in moisturizers?
Humectants: in short, they pull water from the dermis of the skin up to the epidermis
- Examples: hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and ceramides
Emollients: create a thin layer of oil on the skin to retain moisture
- Examples: petrolatum, silicone, lanolin, and mineral oil
It seems simple right. Use these ingredients, practice these principles, and your dry and itchy skin will clear up. Well, I am here to tell you that it really is that simple. As I mentioned in previous posts. Keeping it simple is the best way to approach a lot of dermatological problems including this one.
Do not let the winter blues turn into red and itchy skin. You will be amazed how including these things into your daily life will make a big difference. I hope this post was informative for you and that we can continue on our journey through all things skincare.
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Have a great week, everyone!