Dry Skin: Causes, natural remedies and tips to cure it
Dry skin is a type of skin with a thin and fragile appearance that tends to dehydrate and flake, and after cleansing, it ” pulls “: let’s see the causes and natural remedies to treat dry skin.
Our skin represents the largest organ of our body, and its hydration is a crucial step to keep it always toned, healthy and velvety. Unfortunately, it is also the most exposed to the external environment, to atmospheric pollution, ultraviolet rays, stress, temperature changes, wind, humidity.
It is necessary to take care of it always, not only by following a correct diet and with the right hours of sleep, but also by protecting and nourishing it with the appropriate natural remedies that do not alter any of its functions.
It is important to choose the right, natural and organic cosmetics, made up of ingredients that are not harmful to our skin, thus avoiding petrolatum, paraben, and silicones, which apparently improve the condition of the skin, but actually create a film that suffocates it and damages it over time.
Table of Contents
Causes of dry skin
Dry skin can affect various parts of the body, particularly the face, hands, and legs. Dry skin tends to flake as it contains little water on its surface or in the deeper layers. In the skin, water is linked to proteins or lipids found between epidermal cells; the lack of proteins and fats is a cause of the lower presence of water in the epidermis.
Dry skin on the face and body is particularly delicate and sensitive because it lacks an adequate protective barrier. If left unprotected, the stratum corneum will flake, and the skin will crack.
The low amount of lipids can depend on constitutional and hereditary factors or on the decrease in the activity of the sebaceous glands, which can be inhibited by hormonal imbalances or by the intake of diuretics, derivatives of vitamin A or hormone-based contraceptives.
Another cause of dry skin can be removing the hydrolipidic barrier through cleansing; the absence of natural skin protection causes it to become delicate and sensitive and tends to crack.
The causes of dry skin can also be related to environmental conditions: the lack of humidity in the air due to heating or wind increases water evaporation from the skin. Finally, nutrition plays a fundamental role; it seems that a diet low in liquids and proteins can worsen dry skin.
10 remedies for dry skincare
Now let’s see what are the 10 tips for hydrating dry skin naturally.
1# Bananas face mask
To keep our skin smooth and soft, it is necessary to apply a nourishing mask on the face at least once a week. But, first, wash, cut the half banana into pieces, extremely moisturizing and nourishing, put it in a bowl, and obtain a puree, crushing it with the help of a fork or blending it.
At this point, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to deeply nourish the skin and 1 teaspoon of whole, moisturizing and illuminating white yogurt. You can also add two drops of lavender essential oil, a valuable aid against dry, dull, and dehydrated skin. Next, apply the natural mask on the clean and dry face, leave it on for 10 minutes, and rinse with warm water.
2# Mix of precious oils
To ensure the health of our skin, a mix of nourishing oils will bring it back in a short time. Vegetable oils are among the best nutrients for the skin because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, essential for keeping the skin hydrated, elastic, and smooth.
Add 20 g of sweet almond oil, softening and nourishing, to 30 g of argan oil, rich in vitamin E, elasticizing, and antioxidant.
Transfer the liquid mixture into a plastic or dark glass bottle, spread a few drops on the skin of the face and body moistened with water, for example, after a shower or a relaxing bath, and massage gently until completely absorbed. The skin will immediately appear bright and smooth.
3# The right tonic
Before applying the moisturizer on the face and body, dab the skin with one or more cotton pads soaked in rose water or chamomile water, soothing, moisturizing, and soothing properties. This step will best prepare the skin to receive subsequent moisturizing treatments, making it appear immediately bright and healthy.
4# Essential oils
For each skin, its own essential oils. In a dose of 12 drops per 50 ml of cream, they can be added to give a good fragrance to the product and bring a lot of benefits to dry skin naturally.
Essential oils are purchased in herbalist’s shops or online stores, and those most suitable for dry, reddened. Chapped skin is real lavender, Roman chamomile, Matricaria (or German) chamomile, tansy, helichrysum, or ylang-ylang.
These essential oils are suitable for everyone, including pregnant women and children. Consequently, it is all a matter of dosing them correctly. But beware of women in the first three months of pregnancy because no essential oil is allowed during that period. After this period and during breastfeeding, only some essential oils are allowed and always at low doses. In these cases, always ask an expert for advice before use.
5# Choose creams with the right ingredients
It is important to treat dry skin with natural ingredients, which penetrate deeply, giving nourishment and softness. Choosing the right products makes the difference: you prefer natural and organic products, which contain soothing and emollient substances such as Shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, argan oil, olive oil, hyaluronic acid, wheat germ oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, calendula or chamomile extract.
6# Nutritional supplements
A valid help to keep skins hydrated, smooth and elastic, comes from nutritional supplements. Therefore, it is good to prefer omega-3 and omega-6 supplements, essential fatty acids with soothing properties, which protect and prevent skin dehydration; supplements rich in Vitamin E, zinc, and selenium, essential for fighting free radicals and that containing lycopene and Vitamin C, as they activate the production of ceramides, substances with the task of keeping skin elastic and smooth.
7# Aloe soothing lotion for face and body
Making an aloe vera cream will be useful in dry and chapped skin, which gives the sensation of the skin that ” pulls. ” We will use aloe vera healing, moisturizing and regenerating gel, and calendula oil with soothing properties to make this recipe.
Pour 45 g of aloe vera gel and 20 g of calendula oil into a bowl. Finally, put 6 drops of chamomile essential oil and 6 drops of lavender essential oil with anti-inflammatory and soothing action. Mix all the ingredients until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
Always shake before use because it is a two-phase product. First, use this lotion on the face and body, even several times a day. Then, you can keep the product in the refrigerator for a couple of months.
8# The water of the right temperature
Before thinking about applying specific cosmetics to dry skin, it is essential to take care of our skin even while we wash, shower, or bathtub. Everyone likes the jet of hot water in the shower to relax and, during the winter, warm up; let’s not forget to avoid too high temperatures, as they contribute to dry the skin.
9# Honey scrub
We can also consider honeying a good natural treatment for dry and sensitive skin; thanks to its hygroscopic action, honey absorbs and retains the water present on the skin, preventing evaporation. It should be applied pure on the skin of the face or body and rinsed with warm water after fifteen minutes.
In addition, a face scrub based on honey, avocado oil, and sugar is useful to eliminate dead skin cells and nourish them in-depth, protect them and reduce wrinkles, thanks to the antioxidant, emollient, and toning substances contained in the ingredients.
For this DIY recipe, take a bowl and pour 3 tablespoons of avocado oil, nourishing and elasticizing properties, and 1 tablespoon of liquid honey. Complete this recipe with 2 or 3 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir and massage the mixture evenly on the face, neck, cleavage, and the driest parts of the body for a few minutes. Then rinse. We advise you to do this treatment once a week.
10# Food advice
It is essential to conduct a healthy and balanced diet, knowing which foods are best suited to guarantee the health of our skin. In addition, to avoid having dry skin, keep our body hydrated, drinking at least 1.5 L of natural water every day.
It is necessary to include in our diet also foods rich in water, vitamins, and antioxidants, such as fruit, raw vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and shellfish, and ” fatty ” fish, such as salmon.
How to prevent dry skin
Those with dry skin should choose mild and non-aggressive cleansers. The washes should not be too frequent, and soaps, syndets, and detergents based on alcohol and other solvents should be avoided.
To keep the hydrolipidic film of the skin intact, it is better to choose micellar waters or gentle cleansing milk. Jojoba oil or almond milk can be used to remove make-up from the morning and evening. Alcoholic tonics can be replaced by natural hydrolats, excellent against dry skin, such as rose, chamomile, or orange hydrolat, purchased in herbal medicine.
As for the daily cleansing of the body’s skin, the rice starch added to the water of the tub gives relief to the skin and soothes itching.
Once a week, you can make a light exfoliation to eliminate any flaking of the skin of the face and body: a scrub with finely chopped almonds and sunflower oil delicately massaged on the face body will leave the skin smooth and homogeneous, moisturizing it.
To hydrate the skin of the whole body, butter or vegetable oils can be used. The most suitable are Shea butter, mango butter, sweet almond oil, argan oil, and avocado oil.
They are all easily available and can eventually be enriched and perfumed with a few drops of geranium, lavender, or Mandarin essential oil. To enhance the moisturizing and emollient action, they should be massaged on damp skin.