Bathing & Scrubbing
Bathing more than once a day or taking long showers or baths can remove the natural oils in our skin, causing dryness to rear its ugly head. The water and the scrubbing wipes away our natural moisturizers. Our bodies can only produce them so quickly, so it’s important to give your skin time to recuperate before scrubbing it down again.
Harsh Soaps & Detergents
Adding to the hazards of washing too much, soap itself can cause increased dryness in your skin. Soaps, detergents and shampoos are all designed to strip moisture from your body and wipe away oils. This is why it’s so important to let your natural oils have a chance to moisturize your skin a bit before bathing again.
Environment & Heat
Unlike most of our body, our skin is almost always exposed to the world around us. The environmental extremes that we experience can have an effect on drying our skin. Hot temperatures like standing next to a campfire or stove can dry out your skin, but so can windy days in the winter where you can barely feel your cheeks. Both of these extremes reduce humidity, which is how our bodies naturally moisturize.
Aging
As we get older, our skin grows with us. Our skin begins to thin and produce less of the oils needed to moisturize naturally. This is because the oil is used to help the skin retain moisture, but with less skin and less oil, less moisture can be absorbed.
Medical Treatments
Many medications, surgeries and treatments for various health conditions can cause skin changes. It’s common for many medications to cause dry or irritated skin since the body tries to detox by sweating out any foreign bodies, leaving the skin exposed. It may sound awful, but it is usually minor and can be minimized by various skin care routines.
External Skin Conditions
People with diagnosed skin conditions will be more prone to dry skin. Conditions such as atopic dermatitis (eczema) or psoriasis are more likely to experience dry and irritated skin because of the nature of their conditions. They are also more prone to the other triggers of dry skin, so take special care to watch out for the signs.
Proper skin care is a constantly evolving, dynamic process. Keeping a keen eye on your skin and everything it’s being exposed to can be as simple as taking a shower in the morning rather than before you go to bed. These little changes in our lifestyle can help keep your skin happy and healthy.
Fun Facts About Your Skin
- The skin is the body’s largest organ accounting for roughly 16% of a person’s body weight.
- Skin has a remarkable ability to regenerate itself. Every 28 days your skin renews itself.
- Your skin is 64% water, so when the body is dehydrated, you are more susceptible to wrinkling and other signs of aging.
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