How to hydrate skin that has become extremely dry.
Most people think that using moisturising creams more frequently will rehydrate your skin, and it will – but very short term and it will cost a lot.
It’s better to understand why the skin is dry and get to the root of the cause.
There are two types of dry when it comes to your skin.
- Lipid dry skin feels tight.
- Hydration dry skin looks crinkled.
You need both types of hydration for your skin not to do ‘dry’, but here’s the thing – one relies on the other.
Without a healthy lipid barrier on the very exterior of your skin, you won’t hold hydration in the mid layers – it just wicks right out.
Lack of water hydration often comes with chronological aging.
Mid layers of the skin have a reduced level of hyaluronic acid – the body’s natural power-hydrator.
Hyaluronic acid is produced in your skin naturally (in declining quantity from about 40 years onward).
It holds many-times its own weight in water.
Hyaluronic acid (and resultant hydration) gives you the glow of a younger looking skin.
It is mid layer padding and is an antioxidant, so choosing products that reintroduce hyaluronic acid is a good start.
Selecting cleansers or treatment products with gentle exfoliation properties is also a great idea, as the body’s natural response to regular gentle exfoliation is to rehydrate (note, this needs to be very mild).
A mild weekly lactic acid treatment is a great choice for boosting hydration, as not only does lactic acid give a mild exfoliation, it also stimulates hyaluronic acid production deeper in the skin.
Just bear in mind if exfoliating regularly that over summer you need to be careful to sunblock.
I recommend Circadia Amandola Milk Cleanser for people with dry skin, because it contains mandelic acid – the mildest of the alpha hydroxys. It provides a gentle exfoliation – you can even wear the cleanser as a mask for 10 minutes before removing it for more of a treatment.
Essentially though, if your lipid barrier is compromised you need to address this first, or you’ll not retain hydration no matter what you do.
I recommend using Baliba Moringa Healing Serum twice daily for fully stripped out skin.
It takes 3 or 4 weeks to restore the lipid barrier (and achieve significant antiaging at the same time), then move to building hydration.
You’ll find that skin is soothed, redness reduced and lines become softer.
Focusing on lipids first, then moving to restore the mid layers gives you a solid longer term approach to retaining hydration at an older age for both face and body.