Is your dry skin feeling itchy, flaky, cracked, or just downright uncomfortable? Whether it’s the season, or you simply fall into the dry skin category, we have a few simple lifestyle and skincare tips to help you feel your best again.
Consider your daily ritual
Most daily rituals would see a shower in the morning to freshen up, and again in the evening to cleanse and wind down. But it's how you shower that matters - because this ritual could be drying out your skin. Remember to keep your shower time short and use lukewarm water to prevent your skin becoming dry. Wash with a gentle cleanser for your face and body that won't strip away precious natural oils. After your shower, dry yourself by gently blotting your skin and then replenish your skin with a hydrating and nourishing skincare routine as soon as possible. This could simply be a hydrating toner, a hyaluronic acid serum and a moisturiser.
Dress for the occasion
If it’s winter time, avoid exposing your skin to the harsh degree of an open fireplace or an electric heater. Instead, dress for the occasion and enjoy your evenings in your comfiest, warmest clothes. If you’re heading outside for work or running errands, ensure you have your layers and gloves on to lessen the chance of wind chill against any exposed areas. If you find that your clothes are rubbing against your dry skin, ensure that your laundry detergent is gentle and ‘hypoallergenic’. Even better, go for organic!
Enjoy your good fats
What excellent news. Increasing your daily intake of (good) fats can be linked to helping with dry skin. So, try a diet that is rich in nuts, oils, avocados, etc. to help boost your skincare efforts along. And, as always, stay super hydrated.
Exfoliate and dry brush
Unfortunately, dry skin will stay dry without some gentle exfoliation. Why? Because with layers of dry skin and dead skin cells, serums and moisturisers cannot properly penetrate the skin to do their thing.
We encourage you to use a gentle exfoliation formula with a mild, natural acid (e.g. hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, citric acid, salicylic acid) to remove the dead skin cells for you, without manual exfoliation. We recommend Canvas: Resurfacing AHA & BHA Treatment. Leave this on for 10 minutes or more, and your skin will be baby soft and ready to absorb the rest of your skincare products. If you’d rather do it yourself, find an exfoliant powder and gently exfoliate your skin without abrasiveness. We recommend Polished: Refining Exfoliant as it’s simple and easy to use. One pinch of Polished mixed with a cleanser and your skin will feel silky smooth.
You might also like dry brushing. Dry brushing is a great way to exfoliate away dead skin cells on the body, while also increasing the circulation too. It’s a win-win.
Remember, you only need to exfoliate a couple of times a week to keep dead skin cells at bay. Over-exfoliating can cause the skin to react by producing excess oil.
Antioxidants are your friend
The skin can be attacked and affected by free radical pollutants no matter what season. Free radicals are created from pollution such as smog, dust, smoke and UV rays. If your skin is already suffering, free radicals are only going to make it feel worse. So be sure to keep an antioxidant product in your skincare routine. Choose a product high in vitamin C to help combat the appearance of ageing (e.g. fine lines and wrinkles that are heightened in visibility with dry skin). Vitamin C, derived from citrus, is known to help increase collagen production which enhances elasticity, while also brightening the skins complexion. Our favourite antioxidant serum is Eternal: Plumping Deep Sea & Malachite Collagen Serum due to its high volume of vitamin C ingredients (Kakadu Plum, Desert Lime and Finger Lime). You might also like The Foundation: Smoothing Retinol & Vitamin C Lotion, too.
Restore your skin
After all is said and done, it's time to nourish and restore your dry skin. We recommend Luna Vitality: Restoring Moisture Cream paired with Yesteryouth: Regenerating Facial Oil.
Luna Vitality is the perfect combination of butters (cocoa and shea) and oils (coconut, camellia and jojoba) to assist in hydrating, softening and restoring your skin to feel smooth and plump. Plus, with hyaluronic acid (a naturally-occurring humectant) moisture is locked in and retained within the skin. Yesteryouth is a lightweight facial oil that assists to regenerate, soften and revitalise skin for a glowing complexion (without the clogged pores). With camellia, jojoba and rosehip oils this is the perfect addition to apply after Luna Vitality, to further provide and lock in that vital moisture.
Taking care of dry skin requires a combination of lifestyle adjustments and a dedicated skincare routine. By following these simple tips and incorporating them into your daily rituals, you can help alleviate dryness and restore your skin's natural moisture balance.
