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Introduction
Half of the people in the world are unaware of their skin type. In the race to figure themselves out, they completely forget to figure out their bodies.
It is common knowledge that not treating an issue is bad, but treating the issue wrongly can be worse.
The products you use on your skin, unaware of whether they truly suit you, can be as dangerous as poison when it comes to the most sensitive organ of your body.
The products you use on your skin, unaware of whether they truly suit you, can be as dangerous as poison when it comes to the most sensitive organ of your body.
Before we get into cures and healing, let’s understand all the types of skin and how to identify your skin.
Types of Skin: What’s My Skin Type
When it comes to skin, there are 5 most commonly known skin types: dry, oily, combination, normal, and sensitive. Let’s briefly understand what these names mean.
Dry skin: When you sense a stretchy feeling on your skin or cracks and flakiness are visible, you have dry skin.
Oily skin: If you can see a reflection of light, making your skin gleam, and when you touch it, you can feel a slipperiness on your fingers, you have oily skin.
Combination skin: From the region around your brows down a perpendicular line crossing the bow of your lips to the chin, including your nose is called the T-Area. When the T-area of your skin has an oily layer to it but the rest of your face feels stretchy and dry, this means you have combination skin.
Normal skin: When you neither feel stretchy nor oily and there is no irritation on your skin, you have normal skin.
Sensitive skin: When there is a constant fluctuating irritation on your skin, like itching, burning, etc., you have sensitive skin.
How To Know Your Skin Type?
Finding out your skin type is easier than treating it; all you have to do is follow these 3 steps, and you will know your skin type in less than a minute.
- Wash your face with a cleanser and towel dab dry it.
- Don’t apply anything on your face for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes analyze how you feel on your skin and you cross-check with the list given below, to know where you fall.
Three steps, and you already know what your skin type is! easy right?
Dry Skin
Dry skin, also known as Xeroderma or Xerosis, is a common skin condition mainly due to loss of moisture, seen in every fourth person globally.
Symptoms:
There are many cures in the form of products like dry skin creams, serums, etc. in the world, but before we get to the cures, let’s first understand what the symptoms of the same are.
- Your skin feels rough and has a scaly or flaky texture to it.
- There must be a tight – stretchy feeling on your skin.
- You may experience slight itchiness due to the stretch feeling and flakiness as well.
- There may be fine lines visible and even cracks in the most severe of cases.
- You would feel an increased irritation when using products not made specifically for your skin.
- A dull appearance.
Causes:
- Environment factors: Vulnerability to low levels of humidity, cold weather, excessive heat, etc can lead to your skin losing moisture and becoming dry.
- Aging: Aging tends to lead to low production of oil causing your skin to get less moisture than required, making it prone to dryness.
- Harsh soaps and detergents: Harsh soaps and detergents rid you of your much-needed natural skin oils, leaving it dry.
- Hot showers or baths: Prolonged exposure to heated water can strip off your skin’s oil again, leaving it dry.
- Certain medical conditions: Some skin conditions like eczema etc. can dry your skin, in fact, some of the medicine’s side effects into leaving dry skin.
- Genetics: Having a genetic predisposition to dry skin is very much possible and is common among humans.
Natural Elements to Cure Dry Skin
There are a variety of products and other things to cure dryness, but when it comes to leaning on natural skincare, the best 5 elements to cure dry skin are mentioned below.
- Sunflower seed oil: Sunflower seed oil has proven to store moisture when used as a moisturizer. It is one of the best body lotions for dry skin.
- Coconut oil: Coconut oil is known to work as effectively as petroleum jelly, it improved skin hydration as well as increases the number of lipids on the surface of the skin. The saturated fatty acids in coconut oil have emollient properties.
- Oatmeal bath: Powdered oatmeal when added to your bath or when oatmeal cream is applied to your dry skin inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties and heals your skin.
- Honey: Honey is one of the most commonly used solutions to cure dryness at home, it has moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties.
- Petroleum jelly: Also known as mineral oil, petroleum jelly has been in use for years. The results acquired by petroleum jelly have been the most effective and efficient.
Besides these, there are many other face oils for dry skin that you can use to cure dry skin at home.
Elements to Avoid in Products
When purchasing a product to use on your skin, you must always make sure it is manufactured to suit your skin type, but if the product has not specified it, you may look for the following 5 most harmful elements to avoid severing your already dry skin.
- Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES): Are mostly found in soaps, cleansers, and shampoos, These chemicals can remove all of your natural oil. While It can be a helpful ingredient for people with oily skin, it is a bad element for people with dry skin.
- Alcohol: Ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and denatured alcohol are names of some of the alcohols generally found in products. The alcohol has a warm heated nature and can strip you of your moisture and lead to dry flaky skin.
- Fragrances: Artificial fragrances are one of the most commonly used ingredients in products. To give a better sense of attraction to the customers for the product. But although it is very common, it is also one of the most harmful ingredients to use, not only on dry skin but on any skin in general. Besides irritating, it can also cause disease.
- Synthetic dyes: Dyes can be a cause of dry skin as well as a trigger for severely dry skin, one should always try to avoid synthetic dyes in the products they use.
- Parabens: Parabens are preservatives commonly used in skincare to extend the shelf life of the product. They are one of the main causes of side effects, dryness, irritation, etc. due to the growth of bacteria and mold.
Elements to Look for in Products to Heal Dry Skin
Every coin has two sides, just like there are some elements you should avoid when buying a product. There are some you should look for when buying the same product.
The 5 most effective elements are as follows:
- Dimethicone: This is a silicon-based ingredient found mostly in lotions and moisturizers that forms a shield above your skin locking all the moisture inside.
- Panthenol: This is a humectant that attracts moisture and holds it for the better enhancement of your skin and healing of dryness.
- Niacinamide: Also known as vitamin B3, this element helps in various ways to heal dry skin, from reducing water loss to strengthening the skin barrier.
- Ceramides: Mostly found in creams, ceramides help in the restoration and replenishment of the skin barrier and reduce water loss to heal the dryness of your skin.
- Hyaluronic Acid: Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant that holds and attracts moisture. It can hold about 1000 times more moisture/water than its weight.
Natural Facemask to Heal Dry Skin at Home
Natural facemasks can be extremely helpful, especially when you need to rest and your skin needs time to heal.
Use this facemask once or twice a week for best results.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. of honey
3 tbsp. of milk
1 tbsp of coconut oil
¼ tbsp of turmeric
1 sash of coffee powder
Recipe:
Mix honey, milk, coconut oil, and turmeric in a bowl and let the mixture heat up for 3–4 minutes. Let the mixture boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat off.
Mix the sash of coffee and stir well.
Application:
Apply it to your skin and let it sit for 30 minutes With a towel, scrub the mask in an upward direction to get it off. Once you are done, rinse your face with tap water and towel dry.
Benefits:
- Cleanse your face
- Heals dryness
- Removes impurities
- Gives a healthy glow to your skin.
- Removed suntan
Conclusion
Dry skin is a common issue among people, and this information should be too. We have talked about all there is to say about dry skin.
From what the symptoms and causes are to what you must look for when buying products to apply to your dry skin, we have also added a natural facemask that can help you cure your dry skin.
If you still have any queries regarding this, please leave a comment below in the comment section, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
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