5 Expert Top Tips for Relieving Dry Skin

If you need expert tips for relieving dry skin, you’ve come to the right place. As someone who has fought the battle against flaky, dry skin for years, I understand your struggle. Sometimes it seems like no matter what, you can’t stay moisturized. You apply lotion, and you’re okay for a little while, only to have your dry skin reemerge a few hours later. So frustrating!

How can you beat dry skin drama and stay radiant for good? Here are 5 expert tips for relieving dry skin. Additionally, if you’re looking for a great seasonal guide to skincare, check this out.

1) Moisturize Within Three Minutes of Showering

It might sound weird, but it works. Experts recommend applying lotion immediately after getting out of a warm bath or shower. The sooner, the better, but within the three-minute window is ideal. This is because your skin is the most porous and pliable when it’s warm and damp, and making it easier to absorb the lotion. The same goes for oil-based moisturizers.

2) Remain Fragrance-Free

We know that lavender vanilla body lotion smells fantastic, and it’s made with shea butter, but the perfumes in that moisturizer could be doing your dry skin more harm than good. Avoiding fragrances can be especially crucial if you’re healing eczema or another skin condition, and the perfume can cause pain if your skin is cracked.

Fragrances are more likely to dry your skin even further than to help it heal, despite what the bottle may say. This doesn’t just apply to lotion, but also to soaps, body washes, laundry detergents, and any other skincare product you’re using.

3) Remain Alcohol-Free

No, not that kind of alcohol. You may not realize it, but many lotions and moisturizers contain ingredients such as Cetearyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, and methanol. These ingredients are famous for drying out the skin. Take a look at the bottle; even brands that advertise themselves as being the “best” at beating dry skin may include them.

4) Apply Moisturizer Every Time You Wash Your Hands

Repeated exposure to water and soap can suck the moisture right out of your skin. The average person washes their hands more than eight times a day, which means eight more opportunities for your dry skin to resurface. For those who work in medical professions, food establishments, or with children, that number can easily multiply.

Carry a bottle of moisturizer with you and reapply it after each wash. Your skin will thank you.

5) Know When It’s Time to See a Dermatologist

Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can’t seem to relieve dry skin. If you’ve eliminated all the possible irritants in your products and environment, used best-practices for applying moisturizer, and tried any and every product you could get your hands on (I did), it’s time to see a dermatologist.

Even if you don’t think your skin condition is serious, a dermatologist can recommend products that aren’t available at your local drug store. You don’t have to live with dry skin forever.