The Ultimate Guide for a Dry Skin Moisturiser

Skin free of enlarged pores and breakouts
It might sound like heaven to many
But your skin relies on oil to hold moisture

We all want that smooth, glowing complexion.

So, having flaky skin on your face doesn’t make things easy.

Have you ever experienced foundation clinging to dry patches?

It can interfere with your makeup and erase that youthful glow.

Finding the perfect dry skin routine can mean the difference between that tight feeling and supple skin.

Fortunately, we have put together this handy guide to help you manage dry skin.

To help you take your skin from parched and flaky to plump and dewy.

Guide to Dry Skin 

Many skin care manufacturers appear to have a blanket approach to dry skin, often categorising it under the umbrella of normal skin types.

However, as a medical esthetician, I find this rather alarming; dry skin can be extremely challenging to treat and presents many complex conditions.

When your skin’s equilibrium is out of whack, this dryness can cause a cycle of events to occur:

• uneven texture
• tightness or tautness
• slight to severe flaking and scaling
• severe redness, inflammation, and sensitivity
• Severe itching occurs in xerotic eczema, a condition of dry skin that can lead to infection.
• tiny cracks accentuate fine lines. These cracks can deepen, forming fissures, and if they enlarge, they reach the dermis and capillaries, causing bleeding.

True dry skin produces little to no oil, as this research demonstrates. Since there is no oil in your skin to enlarge the pores or breed bacteria, your dry skin will likely have tiny pores and rarely break out.

While skin free of enlarged pores and breakouts might sound like heaven to many, our skin relies on oil to hold moisture; without it, it can appear rough and flaky, and wrinkles might seem more pronounced.

The role of sebum is to provide a protective fatty layer over the skin’s surface.

When your skin becomes oil-dry, sebum is not functioning correctly, allowing water to escape and allowing irritants and pathogens to enter quickly.

Bottom line: if you don’t have oil in your skin, you likely have dry skin.

And if you have flakiness and irritation, you can feel even more confident about your diagnosis, not to mention sensitivity and rosacea.

3 Types of Dry Skin

• Xerosis is the most common dry skin complaint
• Ichthyosis is a moderate dry skin condition
• Ichthyosis vulgaris is the most severe dry skin condition, characterised by scaling.

Dry, Winter Skin Treatment

Now we hear you. You folks with dry skin want something that’ll always keep potential flakes buckled down and inside your vehicle. Right?

Your idea of a moisturiser is undoubtedly thick and white; while that is the case for many, we at the Naked Chemist like to mix it up a bit.

First up is Fortify Barrier Repair Cream. It feels thick but sinks in quickly, and dries with a deceptively matte finish. It’s packed with skin-loving ceramides.

Next is a gorgeous orange Xcell skin shot, which offers the perfect relief for dry skin and seals in moisture; it is ideal for those with sensitive skin and eczema.

Xcell skin shot can be layered under Fortify Barrier Repair Cream, making it the ultimate solution for dry skin.

Barrier Repair Balm bridges the gap for that ever-so-dry skin where a moisturiser might sink in too quickly.

It has a rich, creamy consistency and is steeped in “miracle broth.” The proprietary blend of ingredients that makes it so good is its gorgeous butters and blue tansy.

Skin Dries with Age

As if that is not enough to contend with, cellular renewal slows as we age.

When we’re young, our skin cells are constantly being shed, replaced by new cells from the dermis, which keeps our skin moist, plump, and healthy.

As we age, cellular renewal slows, and the production of intercellular lipids that form our protective barrier also slows.

There is also a notable gender difference in skin sebaceous activity; in males, it remains robust with age.

Still, women’s levels drop significantly as they age: women aged 60 have around 50% of the sebaceous activity they had in their youth.

Fortunately, most cases of dry skin are treatable with topical moisturisers, which can help facilitate cellular turnover.

To Conclude. The naked truth

In our professional opinion, no dry skin guide would be complete without noting that dry and dehydrated skin can cause similar concerns.

When your skin feels tight, it is easy to assume it is dry and lacking in oil, but it can also mean it is dehydrated and lacking water, a subject we cover in more detail in the article ‘Causes of Dry Skin’.

We like to think that dry skin is an inherent condition that people will sustain for most of their lives.

While dehydrated skin is a skin state, it can be improved.