How To Tackle Dry Skin!

Tips you can use.

- Suman Bajpai

Does your skin feel tight every time you wash your face? or is it prone to getting fine lines easily? If so, then do you have dry skin? Simply moisturising or slathering it with heavy creams won't solve the problem.

The reason: dry skin can be caused by numerous factors that include poor eating habits, cosmetics and even your genes. Each factor warrants a different solution.

Here's what causes dry skin and how you can treat it.

Pollution and UV rays

These are the two main reasons for dry and parched skin. The UV rays of the sun have markedly increased in intensity over the last few years. These rays don't just dry the skin by robbing it of its moisture content, but also lead to early and premature wrinkling as well.

Use an effective sunscreen lotion or moisturiser twice a day. A good sunscreen must have some SPF or sun protection factor in it. The SPF is defined as the capacity of the sunscreen to protect the skin from the sun's rays. Our climate requires an SPF of about 30 or more, opines a beauty expert.

Soaps

Harsh soaps are also responsible for drying skin. Soap by composition has to be alkaline, although the degree of alkalinity varies in different soaps. The pH scale of normal skin is below seven, which makes it slightly acidic. Hence, if the soap is too alkaline, where the pH scale is above seven, it can dry the skin.

Avoid using perfumed soaps as they are more likely to dry your skin compared to normal soaps on account of chemical additives. So, if you find your skin feeling dry, the first thing you need to do is to change your soap.

Use a glycerin or super-fatted soap, which is a neutral cleansing bar. Super-fatted soaps have additional moisturising agents and are not alkaline, and hence do not dehydrate the skin, says a dermatologist.

Cosmetics