What can be worse than the dry skin condition that robs the skin of its glow and the radiance? But many women come across this miserable condition and look for various skin care regime to overcome it. Dry skin condition is specially observed in hands, feet and face when the skin loses its moisture balance, becomes flaky and rough giving a dull appearance.
Our body's epidermal cells contain a soft protein keratinocytes that lie at the base of the epidermis. These epidermal cells undergo many changes as it comes to the surface of the skin. The cells become dead containing keratin, which requires sufficient water and moisture to remain soft otherwise, they crumble and become flaky. The water or moisture replenishment is always necessary to keep the cells hydrated preventing dryness. Cold conditions, low humidity constantly eliminates the moisture form the cells resulting in dryness of the skin.
1. Lukewarm water should be used for bathing as hot water robs the moisture from the skin making it dry. After shower, rubbing the body with towel should be avoided. Instead the body should be softly patted while drying.
2. Soaps containing higher percentage of fatty acids must be used during shower. Glycerin soaps serve the best for this purpose.
3. One should use the right type of moisturizer depending upon the dryness of the skin and that should be applied immediately after shower when the skin remains hydrated. The moisturizer helps in retaining the moisture of the skin but can't replace the lost moisture. Coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter are good natural moisturizers for dry skin. These also contain some skin friendly elements like essential oils, vitamin A, C, D and E and proteins that are beneficial for the general health of the skin.
4. Too much washing of the face or frequent showers also depletes the natural oil from the skin making it dry. It is better to clean face with toners, cleansing milks that hydrates, tightens the pores and leaves the skin soft and supple.
5. Vigorous exfoliation must not be carried out in dry skins. Using oatmeal soap once in a week helps in gentle scrubbing and removes the dead cell layers without being harsh on the skin.
6. Inclusion of essential fatty acids in the diet augments the lipid layer of the skin. Codliver oil and omega 3 fatty acids from fish are rich sources of these oils.
7. Drinking sufficient water is also necessary to keep the skin cells hydrated and preventing them from drying.
