What Causes Dry Skin

Moisturizing your skin is an important part of skincare to keep it radiant and safe from disease. Dry skin is an ongoing problem that affects many people in different ranges of degrees. Some people typically have mildly tight or flaky skin that fades fast with treatment. But other people have flaking and itching that constantly bothers them causing daily and nightly frustration.

Older age is one of the most common causes of dry skin. Most people start to be affected by dry skin in their 50′s. By their 60′s everyone has some degree of dry skin. The next big one is weather and climate, major causes of dry skin. Low humidity occurs in particular areas of the United States year-round and in most areas in the winter. Low humidity also occurs indoors with certain types of heaters and air conditioners. Also, cold winds could also cause dry skin.

Exposure of the skin to direct sunlight in any climate can contribute to dry skin. The heat of the sun dries out the skin by consuming the natural oils in the skin. This can lead to flaky skin with premature wrinkles. This might make you think that water would be good for dry skin. However, water can dry the skin out in many ways. The issue with water is it takes the skin’s natural oils with it when it evaporates. The more frequently the skin comes in contact with water and the hotter the water, the more oils get consumed out of the skin causing dry and flaky skin.

In a similar way the skin dries out from water, soaps and detergents also contribute to dry skin. They absorb the water molecules in the skin and take them away when they get rinsed off the skin. There are certain types of soaps which are more likely to dry out the skin. A good rule of thumb is any bar soap is going to dry the skin out more than any liquid soap. Some liquid body cleansers actually help moisturize the skin.

There are many medications that cause dry skin just as a side effect from the active ingredients in the medicine. Some common medications that can cause dry skin include diuretics like hydrochlorothiazide or furosemide. Then there are cholesterol medicines like pravastatin and accutane which will also cause dry skin.

Is there anything more you would care to know about skincare? If you want to learn more about skincare tricks and moisturizer secrets, contact carewise Skincare today!. Also published at What Causes Dry Skin.