How to Combat Seasonal Dry Skin Effectively
Struggling with dry skin?
As frustrating as it may be to deal with the roughness, scaliness, and flaking that often accompanies the dryness, the good news is that there’s plenty that you can do about this. Read on as OROGOLD shares some top tips for effectively combating the appearance of dry skin.
Use a Rich and Hydrating Moisturizer
One of the best ways to immediately smooth and soften the look of dryness is by moisturizing your skin. The reason your skin is dry is that it lacks sebum – the natural oil that coats the skin’s surface. Without enough sebum, the skin struggles to keep itself lubricated, hence the dryness.
A moisturizer helps to make up for this by forming its own conditioning layer over the surface of the skin. The richer and more hydrating your moisturizer it is, the better it will do the job.
Ideally, you should have two separate moisturizers; one for the day and one for the night. For daytime use, the 24K Ultra Day Moisturizer from OROGOLD would be a great choice. Between hemp seed oil, avocado oil, seaweed extract, and sodium hyaluronate, it will both hydrate and condition your skin.
For the evenings, pick a thicker formula, like the OROGOLD 24K Rose Gold Advanced Cream. Again, this moisturizer is brimming with plant oils and hydrating compounds. It’s also packed with antioxidants that will have you waking up to a brighter and rejuvenated complexion.
Invest in a Couple of Hydrating Serums
Another downside to the lack of sebum that dry skin has is dehydration. Conditioning the skin’s surface is just one role that sebum plays. Its other is to trap moisture in the skin. The layer of sebum on the skin’s surface acts as a barrier that prevents moisture from evaporating away. Without enough sebum in place, moisture will evaporate at a much faster rate.
A rich moisturizer will help to slow this down but, at the same time, you should also be giving your skin some extra hydration. Serums tend to be the best way to do this. Thanks to how lightweight they are, they can penetrate into the deeper layers of your complexion, bringing those thirsty layers some much-needed moisture.
To make sure that the serums you’re using are hydrating, look for humectants on the ingredients list. These are compounds that bind moisture to the skin, providing immediate hydration. Some of the best humectants around are sodium hyaluronate, glycerin, seaweed extract, and collagen, all of which you’ll find in the OROGOLD 24K Termica Activation Serum. Our 24K Kelp Caviar Micro-Bead Serum, which contains a blend of glycerin, aloe vera, and kelp extract, is also loved for its hydrating capabilities.
Avoid Over-Cleansing or Over-Exfoliating Your Skin
If your skin is dry and lacking sebum, then this means that your skin barrier won’t be functioning in the way that it should. Not only can this make your dry skin worse over time, but it can also lead to a number of other skin problems.
So, it goes without saying that you should be trying to keep your barrier as intact and fortified as possible. Sadly, many don’t realize that when they cleanse and exfoliate their skin, they’re actually causing even more barrier damage.
Does this mean that you should stop cleansing and exfoliating? Definitely not. Both are vital for a healthy complexion. However, be careful with how you go about doing so…
When it comes to cleansing, use a gentle, sulfate-free cleanser. Sulfates will only strip away your skin barrier even further. A formula like the OROGOLD 24K Mousse Cleanser would be ideal! It moisturizes while it cleanses, making it perfect for dry skin.
Meanwhile, in terms of exfoliating, go with a product that makes use of gentle exfoliants, such as the OROGOLD 24K Multi-Vitamin Deep Peeling + Mandelic Acid. Mandelic acid is one of the gentlest exfoliating acids out there, making it suitable for dry and sensitive skin. Use it once or twice a week and no more, as this would only lead to symptoms of over-exfoliation.
Add a Hydrating Toner to Your Skincare Routine
Another way to give your dry skin some extra moisture is with a hydrating toner. The right formula can offer a few other benefits too. A good toner will rebalance the pH level on your skin’s surface to keep it feeling healthy while also prepping your skin for the remainder of your skincare routine. With a toner, your skin will feel more receptive to the other products that you apply, enhancing their efficacy.
So, what qualifies as a ‘good’ toner?
One of the key features to look out for is a lack of alcohol. Many toners contain alcohol, which makes them extremely drying. These wouldn’t be suitable for dry skin. Others, like the OROGOLD 24K Purifying Toner, are alcohol-free, making them a much better choice. This formula is also jam-packed with ingredients that will hydrate and soothe your complexion, including aloe vera leaf juice, cucumber fruit extract, and chamomile extract.
Don’t Skip the Sunscreen
We’ve already talked about how important it is to preserve your skin’s natural protective barrier. This means keeping it safe from all of the things out there that cause it damage, one of which is the sun. Not only will the sun interfere with skin barrier function, but it will also further dehydrate your skin. This will leave it looking even drier, rougher, and flakier.
With that said, many people with dry skin find that regular sunscreens cause irritation. This is understandable since many of those products contain drying ingredients. Ideally, you want a formula that’s going to protect your skin from the sun while moisturizing it at the same time.
This is why we created the OROGOLD 24K Skin Tone SPF 30. It looks and feels just like an exquisite moisturizer, yet it also contains UV-blocking agents that will protect your skin from the damage that UV rays can cause. While that may be the case, make sure that you keep topping up your SPF throughout the day. One application in the morning isn’t going to keep you protected until the sun goes down. If you really want to combat the look of dry skin, you’ll need to reapply your SPF every couple of hours.
Be Careful With Potent Actives
With dry skin suffering from an impaired skin barrier, it can sometimes react negatively to potent active ingredients. All of those gaps in your skin barrier end up allowing more of those ingredients to filter into your skin. This may sound beneficial but, like with everything, too much of a good thing can be bad! Rather than helping your skin, all of that extra potency will only cause irritation and exacerbate your dryness.
This doesn’t mean that you need to stay away from all powerful ingredients. Instead, look for gentle derivatives of the ingredients you want to use. Vitamin A, for example, comes in many forms. Retinol is too potent for some people with dry skin, but retinyl palmitate is milder and doesn’t cause any problems. The same applies to vitamin C. Ascorbic acid may be too much for your skin but tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate provides the same benefits without the irritation.
If your skincare routine currently consists of potent actives that have been causing your skin to react, consider swapping those products for the OROGOLD 24K Vitamin C Booster Facial Serum. With gentle forms of vitamins A, C, and E, along with wheat germ oil to hydrate the skin, it provides an array of nutrients while also ensuring that your dry skin feels soft, smooth, and happy.
Use an Overnight Face Mask Once a Week
Face masks are a great way to give your skin some extra TLC. Of course, when dealing with dry skin, you need to choose the right face mask. Go with a heavy clay mask and you could end up pulling even more moisture out of your skin.
Instead, your face mask should do the opposite – give your skin an additional dose of moisture. Hydrating overnight masks are great for doing this. Since they’re left on the skin for much longer than a regular face mask, all of those hydrating ingredients will have more time to work their way into your skin’s layers. You’ll wake up with skin that looks beautifully soft and bright!
This is why the OROGOLD 24K Rose Gold Hydro Mask is such a hit among those with dry skin. With sodium hyaluronate, seaweed extract, and glycerin, it will quickly quench your skin. Meanwhile, the numerous antioxidants in this formula will leave your skin feeling healthier on a cellular level while countering the appearance of free radical damage.
Get 8 Hours of Beauty Sleep Each Night
Did you know that a lack of quality sleep could be making your dry skin even drier?
If you end up missing out on some of your beauty sleep each night, this can cause your skin’s pH level to drop. This then affects sebum production. It usually slows it down even more, which is the last thing that dry skin needs!
If you’re hoping to combat the appearance of dry skin, quality sleep is a must. You should be getting around 7-8 hours of it each night. During this time, your skin cells will work hard to repair and regenerate, ensuring that everything is functioning as it should.
If quality sleep is something that you struggle with, implement a few strategies to encourage yourself to drift off quickly each night. For example, cut back on caffeine and alcohol, put away any electronic devices a couple of hours before bedtime, and set your bedroom up to be a comfortable haven, complete with dim lighting, cool temperatures, and luxurious bed linen.
Combatting the Feeling of Dry Skin With OROGOLD
Dry skin can be tricky to deal with, especially if your skincare routine or lifestyle habits are unintentionally making that dryness even worse. If you’ve been dealing with dry skin for a while and haven’t seen an improvement, it could be time to change your ways. Start by implementing the tips that we’ve shared above and you should soon start to notice that your dryness is no longer such a big problem!
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