It’s getting to be that time of year again: the leaves are changing, the weather is getting colder and if you’re like millions of women, your skin is getting drier. This isn’t much a problem for women with normal or oilier skin. However, if your skin is naturally dry, then it can prove to be both annoying and painful.
Dry skin is characterized by its flaky appearance. When the top layer of skin, the epidermis, lacks moisture it sheds faster than moisturized skin. This leaves skin looking visibly dry and dull, which makes you look tired and older. Excessively dry skin can also be painful because it can crack and bleed if chapped enough.
Luckily, you have options. Dry skin is such a common problem that skin care companies are constantly developing products designed specifically to cure it. When shopping for dry skin care products, it’s important that you look for a few key ingredients that are proven to help heal dry skin from the inside out.
First, look for products that contain oils or are oil-based. Oils create a barrier and prevent moisture from leaving the skin. Almond, avocado, lime and olive oils are naturally occurring oil that work wonderfully for dry skin and are in many widely-available skin care products.
Another ingredient in some of the best skin care products is shea butter. Shea butter comes from the ‘fat’ of the shea tree and works much like an oil, but it absorbs easily into the skin and isn’t greasy.
If you find that your skin isn’t healing after using skin care products, then it’s time to visit a dermatologist. A dermatologist can determine if you suffer from a skin care problem like psoriasis and prescribe medications that can help heal the problem for good.