Managing Dry Skin

The most important thing to know when dealing with this skin type is knowing if your skin is dry or actually just dehydrated. So many times I've seen  clients that think they have dry skin when they are just dehydrated and need to tweak their skincare routine just a little!

The Difference:

 Dry Skin:

~Dry flakes present on the skin

~No breakouts 

~red/ inflamed

~very tight even after moisturizer application

Dehydrated skin:

~no dry flakes present

~tight feeling

              ~some breakouts present (breakouts are signs

 of oil presence even if you cant feel it)

~skin absorbs products quickly

Now that we know the difference, lets get started!

Washing your Face:

Cleansers to avoid would be gel products(meant for oily skin), cleansers with mild exfoliants in them (the tiny beaded cleansers), and cleansers with salicylic acid or any other kind of acids. Those are not meant for dry skin and will only make it worse. 

Cleansers TO use on dry skin would be creme based cleansers to help re-hydrate, help with the tight feeling, and help with the redness/ irritation you could be experiencing.  

Philosophy Purity Creme Cleanser

Exfoliation:

Even when you have dry skin, it is important to exfoliate every week and a half or 2 weeks. This is to help get the built up dead skin off! The important thing is to not OVER exfoliate . This causes more irritation. redness, tenderness, and dries you out even more. I do NOT recommend using a clarisonic everyday with dry skin types. If you would like to use it as your form of exfoliation, I wouldn't do it more than once every 2 weeks. This is because depending on the severity of  your dry skin, the abrasive motion could be too much for your dry skin and cause more damage. I highly recommend a liquid exfoliant so your skin doesn't get annoyed! 

Botanical Kinetics Liquid Exfoliant

Toner:

A toner is important for all skin types. It's soul purpose is to balance the Ph of your skin and it also helps other products absorb into the skin better!

Moisturizers: 

When picking a moisturizer out for your dry skin, always go for cremes over lotions. Lotions aren't re-hydrating enough. If you feel a creme is too much for you, a trick I tell my clients is to pat your clean skin with a little water and then put your moisturizer on! You'll end up using half the amount of moisturizer than you usually do and your skin will get a needed drink of water as well :)

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Hydrating Rich Creme

Extras:

A good habit to get into especially in the winter months is to use a facial mask that you can leave on the skin for a good 10 minutes during your routine. Some of my clients do it twice a week if the air is really drying. Use a heavier creme mask so you can really re-hydrate your skin or an aloe mask to soothe extremely irritated/ dry skin! 

If you have ANY questions about today's blog or even questions about your skin please contact me!

I will be doing many brand reviews from cleansers, masks, and other products later on, so if you want me to try a specific one let me know! 

Until next post, make good choices XOXO