Many people suffer from dry skin, especially during the winter months, when air is dry and daily showers are long and hot. Heated air piped into offices and homes is especially drying to the skin. Your skin feels itchy when it has lost moisture.
Everyone has experienced the frustration of dry skin, though its appearance becomes more common as you age and your skin loses elasticity. To fight dry skin year–round, minimize the amount of soap and water your skin is exposed to. Reduce the length and temperature of showers or baths. Apply moisturizers. Thicker or oilier creams seal in more moisture.
Healthy skin also needs lots of water from the inside, so remember to drink at least three to eight ounce glasses of water a day. If your hands are very dry, protect your hands from water (e.g., when you do the dishes or clean) by wearing waterproof protective gloves. Cloth–lined gloves are best, but plain latex or vinyl gloves are fine if not worn for long periods of time. If specific areas of your skin are red or peeling, contact your doctor.
Sensitive Skin
Most anti–aging products are too irritating for people with sensitive skin. Some side effects that often occur are redness, burning, swelling, and even blistering. This is why it is so important for people with sensitive skin to use the right products.
Caring for Sensitive Skin
People with sensitive skin should use preparations of products containing widely used AHA’s, such as glycolic acid, citric acid, and lactic acid, contain small percentages of acid, to minimize the irritation.
Another option is Mandelic acid. Mandelic Acid is a revolutionary alpha–hydroxy acid that has a slightly larger molecule size. This results in a more even skin penetration, reducing or eliminating irritation. This allows people with sensitive skin to use mandelic acid in higher concentrations and experience faster results. For those with dry to normal skin, moisturizing skin creams that are gentle, fragrance–free and is safe for use on sensitive skin.
Oily Skin
The oil is produced by oil glands known as sebaceous glands. These glands are bigger and more active in many areas of the face. The amount of oil that an individual makes is determined by genetics. It is affected by hormones. The oil gland is considered the end organ because it is this gland that is acted upon by hormones. Many people have the same level of hormones, but make different amount of oil because their oil glands respond differently which stimulates the sebaceous glands, causing them to produce more sebum. The extra sebum produces fatty acids which in turn increases the amount of inflammation and can cause acne. For someone with oily skin, the best thing to do is to take measures to keep pores from getting clogged and forming acne lesions. If your main problem is blackheads, then a good beta hydroxy acid product will help. Beta hydroxy acids will help exfoliate pores and keep them free of clogs.
Caring for Oily Skin
There is no way to completely prevent oily skin from occurring, but hopefully these tips will help keep the oil and acne under control:
- Although dirt and oil on the surface of the skin do not cause acne, excessive oil on your skin may exacerbate the clogging of pore openings, so proper washing is often a good way to keep the situation from becoming worse. Washing with very hot water, harsh soaps or cleansers will not improve existing acne or prevent future flare–ups. In fact, these methods can dry and irritate your skin so badly that you will not be able to use effective acne medications in cream or gel form. Most topical acne medications have a drying effect on oily skin.
- Try a mild cleanser which should not dry.
- Do not use any oil–based cosmetics, which will only aggravate oily skin and create further blemishes. Water–based cosmetics are more preferable.
- Always remove your makeup before going to bed, but avoid cold creams and lotions, which may leave a greasy film on your skin.
- Check your diet. However, it is not chocolate or sweets that you need to look, some doctors believe that an increased consumption of iodine aggravates acne, and they suggest reduction or elimination of fish and iodized salt.
- Relaxation! Studies have shown that the body produces more androgens when a person is under stress. This increase may trigger acne flare–ups by stimulating the sebaceous glands to pump out more sebum. Even physical stresses, such as colds, allergies, surgery, or menstruation, can trigger break–outs.
- It is important to maintain a regular skin care routine to keep your skin from becoming too irritated or too dried during acne treatments.
- Oil skin types may not need the moisturizers included in the system, the cleanser, toner, and serum should be enough. It is also safe on darker skin types.
Combination skin experiences oiliness in what is called the T–zone area. This can include the forehead, nose, and chin. The cheeks are often dry or very dry.
Caring for Combination Skin
The trick for caring for combination skin is finding a product that will help prevent breakouts and control oiliness in the problem areas and keep the cheeks well moisturized. Mandelic product works well for balancing out combination skin. The mandelic acid works to keep the skin exfoliated, which helps keep dead skin from clogging pores, while the same exfoliating action allows healthier skin to replace the dead, dry skin. Removing the dead, dry skin increases the skin’s ability to retain moisture. The mandelic acid is also naturally antibacterial, killing the bacteria that is responsible for infecting clogged pores.