In today’s world, we all are concerned with our look, whether we are attractively noticeable to other people or not. While there is a myriad of arenas to look great in the eye of others like dressing sense, communication, etc. the most important area that we should look for is how our skin looks. Yes, the skin is the most important part of our body. Whether our body is healthy or whether we are properly hydrated, whether we consume healthy food every day, everything is reflected upon our skin. That is why skin is like a mirror to our body. That is why maintaining a healthy skin condition is important.
Table of Contents
What do we mean by dry skin?
Yet we often find our skin dry and full of cracks. If your skin is healthy then remember that your skin has a barrier of natural lipids that lock the moisture within your skin and keep any skin irritations away. Now if your skin is dry then you will find little cracks in your skin and those cracks cause the moisture to get away from your skin. It makes your skin itchy. This can occur in a localised area of your body or it can be the overall condition of your body. Sometimes it also occurs because of any underlying health condition. You might find lesions like rashes, redness or blisters in your skin which cause an irritating itchy sensation. So now the next question is why this happens. Well, the answer is complicated and multi-layered. But we will try to talk about some basic causes of dryness of the skin that occurs to the majority of the people.
What are the causes of dry skin?
Taking hot showers:
If you have a habit of taking long hot showers and you are suffering from the dryness of your skin then immediately stop taking hot showers for a prolonged time. So why does this happen? You might ask. The answer is very simple, simple science. As the water is hot, the amount of water evaporating from our skin is greater than the water added to our skin. Also, hot water drains oil from your skin, resulting in the dryness of your skin.
Swimming in highly-chlorinated pools:
If you are a swimmer then you must know that to keep the swimming pool clean using chlorine is very popular. But if the concentration of chlorine is high in the pool then swimming in that highly-chlorinated pool causes the dryness of your skin. It drains the water out of your body.
Dry or cold weather:
Most of the people always finds that if the weather is changed to winter, their skin starts to get dry. Even if they travel to cold and wintery place then they will find their skin has become very dry. The cause is very simple. In wintery cold weather, the humidity is very low in the atmosphere. That means the air will suck your moisture from your skin.
Deficiency of vitamin:
Even after maintaining a healthy diet we often find that our skin is very dry. The main cause of it is that we are not having sufficient vitamin A. That is why people who are suffering from this condition should include those foods that contain vitamin A, for example, fish like salmon, tuna, cheese, etc.
Health problems:
Many skin problems cause dryness of the skin. Dermatological problems like lichen amyloidosis, biphasic amyloidosis makes your skin dry. Sometimes diabetes or hormonal changes cause dryness of the skin.
What are the remedies?
Drink sufficient water:
Yes! The first and foremost solution is as simple as drinking enough water in a day. While drinking sufficient water has several benefits for your health, it can also have a positive effect on your skin. Drinking more water causes toxic materials and metabolic wastes to be drained from your body. Less toxic materials in your body, more your skin will be healthy. The ability to lock water in your skin will also increase.
Avoid long hot water bath:
Now if you have a dry skin problem then either you have to totally avoid taking a hot water bath or if you love hot water bath then you might limit yourself in 5 to 10 minutes hot water bath in a single day. You can also take a bath in lukewarm water. The choice is yours.
Moisturize after a shower:
Try to moisturise your skin just after a bath. After taking a bath, tap your whole body with a towel to soak the water but enough to keep your skin moist. Then apply moisturises. It will make the job of your moisturiser easier. Thus your moisturiser locks the oil in your skin more efficiently.
Exfoliation:
We all know that new skin cells have a better ability to lock the moisturiser in your skin and as the skin ages, this quality of locking oil within the skin decreases. That is why exfoliation with sugar or salt scrub can remove dead skin cells from your skin and helps in resurfacing new youthful skin cells underneath. So keeping your skin cells youthful and healthy through exfoliation is another great way to keep your skin away from dryness.
Use milk in dry itchy areas:
Now, who needs moisturiser or cleanser if you have milk in your fridge. Are you feeling itchy and dry in your skin? Just pour some milk in a bowl. Dip a cotton ball in it and apply to the dry itchy areas in your skin and leave it for five minutes. Milk has a soothing quality and the lactic acid it contains is great for your skin.
Follow a proper diet:
As we have mentioned earlier, lack of vitamin A in your body can cause the dryness of your skin. So you have to include foods like salmon or tuna fish in your diet. But for vegetarians, getting vitamin through food is not easy, so they can take vitamin A supplements. Whatever may be your way, the main focus is to not suffer in malnutrition.
Apart from all these hacks to keep your skin less dry and less itchy, also avoid soaps or moisturises that contain a lot of chemicals. Instead, try to use natural soaps or moisturiser or cleansers.
So now if you minutely follow this skincare regime then you might get away with the dryness problem of your skin.
