What's Causing Your Dry Skin?

Is your skin actually dry, or are outside factors causing it?

Whether it’s caused by aging, an underlying skin condition, or environmental factors, having dry skin can be uncomfortable and itchy.

True dry skin does not produce any oil or sebum; it has tiny pores and never breaks out.
External influences such as unprotected sun exposure, washing too frequently, using the wrong products, and using water that is too hot can damage your skin. An unhealthy diet, stress, a lack of sleep, not enough exercise, dehydration, smoking, and particular medications can all impact the skin’s ability to operate as an effective protective barrier.

Either way, dry skin damages your moisture barrier. It creates tiny, invisible cracks in the layers of the skin that are supposed to keep moisture in and irritants out. These cracks can make your skin sting and appear flaky. It can eventually lead to the breakdown of collagen and elastin and an impaired skin barrier.

Five tips to fight dry skin:

1. Use a gentle cleanser that doesn’t strip the skin.
2. Serums – these concentrated bottles of ingredients are your powerhouse! For extra hydration, apply a few drops of a lightweight serum before your moisturizer.
3. Moisturize Day + Night – always use a day moisturizer with an SPF to protect and hydrate your skin! But don’t skip on your night moisturizer! At night our body loses more moisture called trans-epidermal water loss.
4. Exfoliate – 1-3 times a week. If your skin is dry + irritated, only exfoliate once a week.
5. Masque – Eminence sleep in masques are great to help lock in moisture while you sleep and wake up to hydrated skin!

Step one – determine if your skin is actually is dry, or it is dry due to the wrong products.

Step two – make adjustments to your routine.

Step three – don’t forget that topical products are only half the battle! Make sure you’re getting enough water and eating foods rich in nutrients!

See my go-to products for dry skin below!