Dry skin (xerosis) is an increasingly prevalent issue that has multiple causes. While some cases could indicate serious illness, dryness typically comes down to environmental factors that dehydrate skin cells – here are six strategies you can try in order to alleviate dry skin symptoms.
Heat, hot showers, dry environments and harsh soaps can all exacerbate dry skin symptoms. Luckily, natural therapies exist that can alleviate these symptoms and restore moisture back into the skin – continue reading to discover more.
Ways To Improve Your Dry Skin
1. Coconut oil
Coconut oil has excellent hydrating properties. Emollients work to obliterate spaces between skin cells to produce a silky surface for improved moisturization and smoothing, providing moisturization without drying out skin cells. With all its naturally-occurring saturated fatty acids present in coconut oil, its skin care properties become even greater.
Coconut oil has many uses in skin care, from softening lips and under eyebags, to healing skin issues and increasing flexibility. As it does not require mixing or special applications for use, it makes this oil easily usable in regular practice.
2. Petroleum jelly
A study revealed that petroleum jelly-containing products can aid the skin healing process for older adults. Mineral oil, commonly referred to as petroleum jelly, protects and moisturizes skin layers below while trapping moisture beneath, which allows healing of dry or inflamed patches on skin surfaces.
3. Oatmeal baths
Oatmeal is an effective natural skin-sensitivity therapy. Colloidal oatmeal has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which may help relieve discomfort according to one 2015 study, making this an effective method to combat itching. After taking an oatmeal bath, make sure that you moisturize to preserve its protective barrier effect.
Homemade oatmeal baths can easily be created. Simply combine warm water and processed oatmeal powder until a fine powder forms, or buy one of the many commercial preparations on the market that provide this soak.
4. Omega-3s and antioxidants
Dry skin results from your body’s inability to quickly repair damage caused by external stimuli.
Photo by Leohoho
Foods high in antioxidants may help counteract pollution-related damage, while helping your body produce healthier cells.
Salmon and other omega-3-rich foods may help promote glowing skin.
5. Hand Gloves
Your hands often come into direct contact with environmental irritants that could potentially aggravate skin conditions and infections, including soap and laundry detergent products. Protecting them with gloves could help ensure an enjoyable, healthier lifestyle and better protection from these agents of harm.
Make it a routine to wear gloves whenever water gets on your hands as working outside in cold conditions can do substantial harm to them. When temperatures drop significantly, your hands suffer great harm as temperatures continue to fall and temperatures decrease significantly.
Insulated gloves can help to keep skin from becoming dry and itchy when performing household tasks or venturing outdoors in bitterly cold weather.
6. Adapt the temperature of your shower
Though most people enjoy taking hot showers, doing so may actually damage their skin.
As well, certain soaps marketed as skin moisturizers and healers could have the opposite effect, possibly weakening skin barrier function and leading to allergic reactions.
Shower briefly with warm, not hot, water. Also look for fragrance-free soaps which are better suited to skin health than standard options.
Also Refer :- Basic Skin Care Advice
The bottom line
Dry hands are often an everyday part of life and typically easy to treat with moisturizer. However, medical help should always be sought if home treatments don’t seem to help and you experience symptoms such as bleeding or infection.