What is Dry Skin
During the fall-winter season, when the humidity is low, the skin tends to dry out. The surface becomes dry and white powder may blow. As the skin becomes dry, the barrier function that protects the skin deteriorates, making it more susceptible to irritation and causing itching. Scratching the surface of the skin causes inflammation. When it gets worse, it cracks like a turtle shell and becomes reddish, causing sebum deficiency eczema.
Layers of the Skin
The skin is composed of three layers, the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis, which are layered from the surface. When the outermost stratum corneum of the epidermis has less than 30% water, the skin dries. Ceramide, an intercellular lipid in the stratum corneum, protects about 80% of this water. As the name implies, it is a lipid that fills the gaps between cells in the stratum corneum and connects cells and water like an adhesive. In addition, sebum and natural moisturizing factors (amino acids, urea, etc.) are also important substances that keep the skin moisturized.
As you get older, the amount of ceramide decreases mainly, and in the fall and winter, dry skin appears on the lower legs (below the knees) and around the waist. It progresses every year so that the whole body is dry all year round. Not only in the dry season, but also age-appropriate moisturizing is needed.
Before we go any further, if you need any kind of help with you skin issues consult with a Skin Specialist in Islamabad.
Be careful of the eyes, nose, mouth area, and U zone for dry face!
Of the skin on the face, the areas around the eyes and mouth, where there are few sebaceous glands and the skin is thin, are especially prone to dryness, and when the barrier function is reduced, they are more susceptible to irritation. The area around the eyes is cosmetics and eye drops, and the area around the mouth is where cosmetics and food are prone to inflammation. Furthermore, compared to the T zone from the forehead to the nose, the U zone such as the cheeks also has fewer sebaceous glands and is easier to dry.
Tips for washing your face and moisturizing your face
It is important to avoid over-washing and rubbing so as not to impair the barrier function.
・ Lather additive-free bar soap, wash gently, and rinse gently with lukewarm water.・
Remove moisture so that the skin is lightly pressed with a towel.
・Moisturize with oily cream or vaseline.
・Cotton is easy to damage the skin due to the irritation of fibers, so avoid it.
・ Toner is not always necessary because most of the ingredients are water.
・ Emulsion contains moisturizing ingredients such as ceramide.
・Cream has a lot of oil, so use it mainly on dry areas.
Also read: 3 Healthy Habits to Get Rid of Sleep Apnea
Use gel or milky lotion to moisturize the makeup
Here are some tips for moisturizing your makeup at work or on the go. Most of the ingredients of mist lotion are water. Although the dryness is temporarily improved, after a while, the moisture of the skin evaporates along with the moisture of the lotion, and there is a risk of further drying. On the other hand, gel cosmetics and milky lotions contain all of water, moisturizing ingredients, and oils, and are suitable for moisturizing from the top of makeup.
Makeup with a waterproof function repels moisture, so it cannot be moisturized within 3 to 4 hours after makeup. If you want to moisturize your makeup, choose cosmetics that do not have a waterproof function.
Is shampoo the cause of itching and dandruff on the scalp?
People with dry skin should also be careful about scalp care. In autumn and winter, not only the humidity drops, but also the use of heating causes further drying, which causes dandruff and itching. Using shampoo with strong detergency or washing hair with hot water of 40 degrees or higher will remove excess sebum from the scalp and cause dryness. Also, if you wash your nails with your nails upright, your scalp will be damaged, so wash it gently. Please note that the hot air from the dryer also takes away moisture.
Shampoo / dryer tips
・ Choose a shampoo that is not too strong in detergency, such as soap and amino acids.
・ Do not apply it directly to the scalp . If any ingredients or stains remain, it will dry the scalp, so check the washing.
・ Wipe off the water thoroughly with a towel before the dryer to shorten the drying time.
・ Keep the dryer 10 cm or more away from the scalp and heat it to the same place. Apply heat evenly while shaking so that it does not hit too much
For dry back and nipples, review bathing and underwear selection
The back and nipples are areas that are deficient in sebum and tend to dry out. Nipples, in particular, have thin skin and bulges that are susceptible to frictional irritation. Let’s review how to take a bath and how to choose underwear.
Bathing tips
・ Do not scrub with a towel when washing or wiping the body.
・ Rinse thoroughly because cleaning ingredients such as soap may cause itching and drying
・Choose additive-free bar soap because body soap has strong detergency.
Avoid nylon towels and body brushes and choose cotton towels. Sufficiently just stroking with your hands
・ Lather soap well with a lathering net and gently wash with lather without rubbing
・ Too hot water or long bathing will remove sebum, so set the bath temperature to 38-40 degrees However, it should be soaked for up to about 15 minutes.
・ After bathing, sebum will fall off and dry, while skin cells will contain water and become softer, increasing penetration and absorption. Protect with a moisturizer while moist.
Tips for choosing underwear
・ Because the barrier function deteriorates due to the friction of underwear, choose the one that fits the size perfectly.
・ Chemical fibers such as acrylic and nylon deprive the skin of water and induce allergic reactions, so they are moisturizing and soft to the touch. Choose a good cotton one
It’s easy to overlook in autumn and winter! Sweat also causes dryness
It’s easy to overlook in autumn and winter because the temperature drops, but I’m sweating unexpectedly due to heating. If left sweaty, the pH value on the skin surface will shift from weakly acidic to alkaline, making it easier for germs to grow. In addition, the skin becomes soggy and the barrier function deteriorates, and in addition to germs, the invasion of salt and urea contained in sweat makes it easier for skin problems to occur.
In addition, when sweat evaporates, it is deprived of moisture from the skin, causing dryness. If you sweat, gently wipe it off with a squeezed hand towel or hold it down with a soft handkerchief. Avoid sweat wipes and wet wipes that contain alcohol, as the water on your skin will evaporate along with the alcohol, or moisturize each time.
I want to be careful now that the corona is bad! Measures against dryness and rough skin
As the new corona infection control measures have increased the opportunities for hand washing and alcohol disinfection, dry hands, cracks, and cracks are especially common. Finger pain interferes with work and daily life. Protect the affected area with a special external agent such as an ointment, liquid bandage, or bandage while moisturizing by applying a moisturizer or hand cream.
Masks can also cause dryness and rough skin!
It is an indispensable mask for infection control, but when it is removed, the moisture inside evaporates at once, and the moisture on the skin is also deprived, causing dryness. In addition, irritation caused by friction during attachment and detachment and detergent components remaining after cleaning may cause redness and rashes, and the temperature and humidity inside the mask may rise, causing acne-causing bacteria and acne bacteria. It causes proliferation and rough skin. Keep your skin healthy by choosing the material for your mask and taking diligent care.
*If there is still no improvement, go consult a dermatologist as soon as possible.