September 26, 2019
Do you have dry or sensitive skin and struggle to find products that work for you? I’m going to break down the essential products you need to have in your skincare routine. We will also talk about one of the best treatments out there for those of you who are looking for a bit more hydration. Let’s get into it.
By: Kaitlyn, NP
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If you have dry skin, you may wonder why you are actually experiencing this dryness. This can occur for many reasons, but the most common is that you actually may be using too harsh of products on your skin. Another reason may be that you are over-exfoliating. Perhaps you’re using a facial cleanser too often, or more likely, for too long. Lastly, hormones can play a role in the condition of your skin. As we age and our hormone levels decrease, dry skin begins to develop.
I’m going to take you step-be-step through the most basic skin care routine for dry skin. While there may be other steps you could add in to make this routine a little more robust, it’s not always necessary. Sometimes starting simple is the way to go and the best way to ease your skin into a new routine.
When you have dry skin you’ll want to avoid cleansers that lather or foam. There are a lot of cleansers on the market that are lotion based and they are going to be very gentle on your skin; these are the ones that you’re looking for.
Lotion-based cleansers are going to cleanse your skin while adding and maintaining hydration at the same time. Since lotion based cleansers have a creamy base, we can avoid excessive dryness. With these lotion cleansers, I recommend cleansing your face for anywhere from 30-60 seconds.
Recommendation: SkinBetter Daily Enzyme Cleanser, Revision Skincare Gentle Cleansing Lotion, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
After cleansing, you will want to avoid what would normally be the second step in a routine- toner. Toners work best for oily, acne prone skin and may strip your skin of its natural oil, leaving your skin even drier than what it was.
Since you’re skipping toner in your skincare routine, after you wash your face you’d want to apply a quality moisturizer. Look for ones that contain the ingredient hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is going to attract water molecules, which will increase the hydration levels in your skin.
Recommendation: SkinBetter Interfuse Face, SkinBetter Hydration Boosting Cream, Revision Skincare Hydrating Serum, EltaMD AM Therapy, Cetaphil
After moisturizing, your next step is to use a high-quality sunscreen. Something to note is that there are a lot of sunscreens on the market that also act as a moisturizer. So if you are extremely dry, you could use your moisturizer and then pair that with a very moisturizing sunscreen afterwards.
Check out our previous blog on why you should avoid chemical sunscreens and look for those physical and mineral sunscreens; read it here!
Recommendation: Revision Skincare Intellishade TruPhysical, EltaMD UV Elements
In the evening, your routine should look a little something like this:
In addition to using good skin care products, you may find that some treatments help to increase the hydration level of your skin as well. One of my favorite treatments for dry skin is the HydraFacial. The HydraFacial uses a variety of serums, ingredients, antioxidants, and peptides to clean, exfoliate, and hydrate your skin.
If you have dry skin, this is a safe treatment for you. A lot of times people will be hesitant to try treatments because they feel like it’s only gonna make their skin more dry. With the HydraFacial, it will actually rebalance the pH of your skin and will add a lot of hydration that you will not be able to get from skin care products alone.
When you’re searching for products, you want to avoid ingredients such as the alpha and beta hydroxy acids (salicylic, glycolic, and lactic acid). You also want to be careful how much alcohol is placed in the products. If you’re using a lotion-based cleanser, there should not be any alcohol in it.
The last ingredient that you will want to be careful of is retinol. Retinol is really great for anti-aging, lines and wrinkles, and pore size. While there are a few retinols on the market that have a very hydrating base in them (SkinBetter’s AlphaRet), retinol can be very irritating to dry skin so it’s best used in moderation.
So there you have it, a simple skincare routine to help you tackle that dry skin: lotion-based cleanser, moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, and a high-quality SPF. If you have any questions or want to schedule a free skincare consultation, give us a call at (513)-791-9474- we’d be happy to help.