Having chronic dry ashy skin can be so frustrating!
I also share the same problem since I have always had dry skin. In the past I had no idea how to take care of my dry skin until I became an adult and discovered new body care hacks that actually works.
As a teen, I suffered from dry patches and my skin constantly flaked up from dehydration.
I still can’t believe I use to unconsciously break all the rules when it came to dry skin care.
In the past, I used harsh bar soaps (Irish spring to be exact) smh.
I used cheap lotion that I’m sure were 99% water lol. No wonder my skin would look dry again only 30 minutes later.
Today I am sharing some of my methods I use to keep my brown melanin skin glowing all year round.
How To Cleanse Dry Skin
Cleansing is the foundation of maintaining a healthy glow to the skin and body.
Using the wrong cleanser on your dry skin will make it so hard to replenish the lost moisture after your shower.
The amount of times you cleanse the body also plays a key role. Keep your showers at once a day maximum.
Showering more than once a day isn’t good since you’re not giving your skin enough time to produce natural oils.
Some skincare experts even suggest that once a day is still unhealthy but I love a fresh feeling daily.
I suggest to shower at night after a long day so that you can go to bed refreshed and clean.
Plus, you’re not as active at night so your body is still clean the next morning.
Also, keep your showers as short as possible. The longer you are in there, the more moisture is being lost.
Anything under 10 minutes is great for maintaing the moisture!
Yes!! The temperature of your shower matters! Hot water opens up the pores and strips away lots of moisture in comparison to cool water.
Cold water contricts and tightens the pores leading to less moisture loss.
If you can’t tolerate the cold water, lukewarm water is great too.
What Type Of Soap To Use?
Your skin should feel relaxed and clean after leaving the shower. Any feelings of tightness to the skin means the soap is too drying.
Personally, I alternate between a creamy sls free organic body wash and a handmade cold pressed bar soap.
Great qualities of a good mosturizing body cleanser
- Sulfate free
- Creamy texture that resembles lotion
- Leaves a slippery feeling on skin after shower
- Very little to no suds when lathered
- Cold pressed
- Oil based surfectants
- Contains natural oils and butters
How To Moisturize Dry Skin
Dry skin needs to be heavily moisturized with rich emollients.
Forget about using watered down liquid lotions that’s filled with chemicals, petroleum, and mineral oil.
Stick to moisturizers with skin nourishing ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, cocconut oil and etc.
Your moisturizer should nourish and FEED your skin not coat it with synthetic fillers for an artificial glowy appearance.
The type of moisturizers you use on your dry skin matters because this will determine whether your skin will dry up in 10 minutes or 10 hours.
We are aiming for the latter time as the bare minimum of course.
Great moisturizers for dry skin are buttercreams, whipped butters, or heavy natural oils.
The thicker the texture appears, the better!
I alternate between all three depending on the day.
Best qualities to look for in a good moisturizer
- Super thick texture, not watery
- Contains natural oils or butters within the top 3 ingedient list
- Sold in a jar container
Apply your mosturizer IMMEDIATELY after leaving the shower for the most effectiveness. Don’t wait!
The goal is to lock in some of the moisture left in the pores from your shower.
You will notice that your skin is more hydrated and supple soft this way.
Timing IS key.
Exfoliating Dry Skin
Keep mechanical exfoliating to a bare minimum of once every other week.
I like to use a gentle sugar scrub filled with oils to gently remove dead skin cells so that the fresh skin can reveal itself creating a nice glow.
However, over exfoliating dry skin can tear at new skin and cause dryness to creep in since you do not want to mess up the skin’s natural oil barrier.
Tearing at fresh skin can also leave a dull appearance to the skin.
Beware of using loafahs on a daily basis since these are exfoliators, use a gentle wash cloth instead or your hands to cleanse.
I hope that these tips help you to get that #skingoals glow.
Come back and let me know how it goes.
In the meantime, you can watch a visual demo of my shower routine and get a peak of some of my favorite body care products to use on my dry skin below.