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Dry Skin On Your Face?: 9 Reasons Why It Is Happening

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If you have dry skin, there may be a few simple changes you can make to help remedy the flakes.

In this article, we will cover some of the most common mistakes that can lead to dry skin on your face.

1. Long hot showers

If you are in the habit of taking 45-minute scalding hot showers, you may be drying out your skin.

Water itself can rinse off the protective layers of oil on your face, leading to dry, tight, itchy skin.

And when that water is way too hot, the oil stripping gets even worse.

Stick to less hot water temperatures, similar to a heated pool, and keep the length of the shower to 10 minutes or less to help keep those oils where they need to be.

2. Over-cleansing

Washing your face more than twice a day can remove all of those moisturizing natural oils and leave your face feeling dry.

Some dermatologists even recommend a once nightly washing routine, and letting your morning shower water rinse function as your morning wash for very dry skin.

3. Exfoliating too often

Even though it may be tempting to scrub those dry flakes away on a daily basis, over-exfoliating may be part of the dryness problem.

Aim for using a gentle chemical exfoliator once weekly (twice max!), to scrub away the dead skin but leave that protective barrier in place.

4. You need a winter moisturizer

You wouldn’t wear just a t-shirt and shorts outside when it’s snowing, so make sure you aren’t doing the same thing to your skin.

If it’s cold out, your lightweight summery daily moisturizer may not be cutting it.

During the cold winter months, you need to dress your skin properly - this means investing in a thick protective moisturizer for twice daily application on those chilly days.

5. Cosmetics are drying you out

Toner is a beauty must, but if you are still using a toner where the top ingredient is alcohol, you are not doing your dry skin any favors.

Alcohol quickly cuts through all of your natural face oils and strips your skin way too bare.

Find a gentle witch hazel alcohol-free toner as your go-to twice daily toner without the risk of overdrying.

6. Applying your moisturizer too late

Moisturizer is a bit of a misnomer, while it can lend a bit of moisture to your skin, what it is mostly doing is acting as a barrier to keep your skin’s moisture in.

So, the best way to lack in that moisture is to apply right after you cleanse your face or get out of the shower.

Some dermatologists think your perfect moisturization window is within 5 minutes of washing or showering.

7. Dehydration

If you're not consuming enough water, your skin will be one of the first places to let you know.

Applying all of the moisturizers in the world can’t help you if you don’t drink adequate amounts of water to moisturize from within.

You need to drink at least the recommended eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily.

And Mayo Clinic thinks that even more may be necessary, recommending about 11.5 cups daily for women, and 15.5 cups daily for men.

8. You live in a cold, dry climate

Sometimes the cause behind your dry skin is where you live.

The colder the air is, the less water it can hold on to. This is why most colder climates have pretty low air humidity.

And, since you may not want to up and move in the name of beauty, you need to be extra diligent about your beauty routine to keep that skin hydrated.

If it looks like you are in store for a long, cold winter - keep a thick moisturizer on hand, or pick up a household humidifier for your room to help avoid the dry skin blues.

Strut Brightly

If dryness is your main issue, you may want to look into a heavy-duty cream that contains ingredients known to lock in the moisture.

Our Strut Brightly Formula was formulated by doctors and pharmacists with Vitamin C, E, B5, and Hyaluronic Acid to give you that dewy glow.

Schedule an Online Visit with our doctors today to see if you need to add a little hydrated brightness to your skin routine.

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