BEST SOLUTIONS FOR DRY SKIN

Found in this articles;
What causes dry skin?
Habits and conditions that promote dry skin
Natural remedies for dry skin
Good Moisturizers available in the Nigerian market and recommended for dry skin by fittight.

What causes dry skin?

The skin naturally produces its own oil called sebum. Sebum helps protect the skin by reducing moisture loss,  but everyday activities and wrong skin care products can deprive the skin of its own oil, leaving you with a dry, flaky and itchy skin.

Habits and conditions that promotes skin dryness

Long Hot showers
Long showers and hot showers can dry up your skin. It is best to keep your showers short, and if you want to take a hot shower make sure it is warm and not too frequent, there is really no point making your dry skin drier.

Hard scrubbing with sponge and towel
A lot of people take pride in the way they scrub their skin to remove dirt while having their bath but this causes more harm than good. The skin naturally protects itself by producing natural oils, hard scrubbing with sponge or a towel will deprive the skin of its oil and make your skin quite dry. Go easy on your skin when bathing and also remember to tap dry when towelling instead of scrubbing.

Harsh soaps
Highly scented soaps, anti-bacterial and deodorants soaps have been known to be quite harsh on a dry skin because they wash off the natural skin oils and strip moisture from your skin making your dry skin even drier. Mild soaps such as dove soapless cleanser and aveeno cleanser any other mild soap would be best for a dry skin.

Weather condition
It is normal for every skin to feel dry during the winter as temperature and humidity drops. Hamathan has no love for people with dry skin like mine, it basically turns us into WHITE WALKERs and leaves our wrist looking like that of a wicked old witch.

Wrong skin care products
There are millions of skin care products in the market and more are coming in as i type this,  but not  all products is made for the dry skin.  If you already have a dry skin,  you should go for products with moisturizing properties and stick to them. The use of the wrong lotions might make matters worse.

Aging and Heredity 
I believe I don’t need to say much about this one.

To repair your dry skins to cope with any weather try; 

Olive oil
Olive oil has many uses and one of it is to repair dry skin by acting as a cleanser and moisturizer.  It contains many antioxidants and healthy fatty acids which are good for dry skin. By using olive oil on your dry skin, you will notice a tremendous increase in the smoothness and softness of your skin.

• 30 minutes before taking a shower apply olive oil all over the skin or just the area of dry skin which most of the time are the lower legs, wrist and outer thighs then massage the oil gently.

Coconut oil
Another oil with moisturizing effects is the coconut oil; it smells great and has soothing effect. Adding this oil to your skin care products will do a lot of good if you have a dry skin or any skin type at all.

• Dab on affected areas or all over the body as you wish, its amazing smell will make you want to leave it on your skin for a long time.
• You can also mix it with your moisturizing lotion and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Honey
Honey is my personal moisturizer and is considered one of the best natural moisturizer by skin care experts.  Even though it has antioxidants and antimicrobial properties, it is its humectant properties that help the dry skin lock in moisture. Your skin should feel really soft and supple after using honey.

• Massage honey gently into your entire body or the area of dryness, allow it to sit for a while and then wash off.
• Do this every day to repair your dry skin. After which you can focus on your moisturizing lotion.

Milk
Lactic acid present in milk helps exfoliate dead skin and help increase the skin’s ability retain moisture. You will also benefit from its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

• Take a washcloth and soak it in milk
• Put the soaked wash cloth on the affected area for a minimum of 7 minutes
• Gently wash off and then tap dry.

Avocado paste, Caster oil, lavender oil and Aloe Vera gel are also very good for dry skin and should be tried.

MOISTURIZERS (LOTION) RECOMMENDED BY FITTIGHT
There are numerous moisturizing lotions that are good for dry skin but I will recommend a few based on availability in the Nigerian market, affordable price and their tested moisturizing effect.

Jergens Shea butter deep conditioning moisturizer
A lovely moisturizing lotion made with a blend of pure African Shea butter as can be seen boldly on every bottle.  It relieves dryness and brings back the desired moisture by rejuvenating your dry skinSolutions for dry skin.

Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion

Non greasy and fragrance free aveeno moisturizing lotion can protect and repair your dry skin for up to 24hours and will leave your skin feeling smooth and soft. It contains colloidal oatmeal                                             (very good for dry skin) and Shea butter.

Avon-skin so soft

This is my favourite moisturizing lotion. Avon skin so soft contains skin-softening nourishers and argan oil mixed with delicate floral scent. No matter how dry a skin is, skin so soft will do wonders.