- Understanding Dry, Sensitive Skin
- What Causes Dry Sensitive Skin?
- What are the Best Skincare Products for Dry Sensitive Skin?
- Your Daily Facial Skincare Routine for Dry Sensitive Skin
- Dry Sensitive Skin Care Routine for Body
- Happy, Hydrated Skin
Understanding Dry, Sensitive Skin
Drier skin types don’t produce as much sebum as others, and struggle to retain water in the skin. When essential oils like this are lost from the skin, the skin barrier can become compromised and even more prone to dehydration, tightness, sensitivity, scaliness, itchiness, and roughness.
That’s why understanding the needs of your skin type is so important. This includes understanding causes of sensitivity and using skincare that provides the skin with adequate hydration and strengthens the skin barrier.
What Causes Dry Sensitive Skin?
While dry sensitive skin is caused by a loss of lipids, you may find that certain triggers make it worse or cause a flare up. The good news is that understanding these triggers can help you to prevent and manage your skin more easily.
Ahead, we’ll look at some of the biggest causes of dry skin and why they can create such uncomfortable flare ups:
- Harsh weather
- Harsh skincare
- Irritants
Harsh weather
Very cold and very hot weather can both be triggers of dry, sensitive skin. This is because changes in humidity can increase water loss from the skin, compromising the protective barrier.
Harsh skincare
Skincare that is not formulated for sensitive, dry skin may contain ingredients that are too harsh for its needs such as alcohol, harsh surfactants, or exfoliants. Using just one product containing these ingredients may cause the skin to dry out as the skin barrier becomes compromised.
Exposure to irritants
Your everyday environment is full of irritants that can impact the skin, so keeping a skin diary may help you to identify them. From your laundry detergent, to hayfever, pets and even stress, understanding your skin’s needs will make it easier to prevent a flare up.
What are the Best Skincare Products for Dry Sensitive Skin?
Not sure which products to use in your everyday skincare routine? Follow our simple routine for healthy, hydrated and happy skin:
- Cleanser
- Serum
- Moisturiser
- SPF
Your Daily Facial Skincare Routine for Dry Sensitive Skin
Step 1: Cleanser
Every skincare routine should start with a gentle cleanser to remove impurities, makeup, and debris from the skin.
Toleriane Dermo Milk does this with a minimal formulation comprising glycerin and La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water that’s suitable for sensitive, intolerant and even allergy prone skin. Apply it with a cotton pad to remove makeup and impurities from the skin without disrupting the skin barrier
Step 2: Serum
Serums are an effective part of a skincare routine as their lightweight formulas allows them to deliver ingredients to the deeper layers of the dermis.
For those with dry skin, this means ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and niacinamide used in serums such as Hyalu B5. The Hyalu B5 serum is formulated with two different sized forms of hyaluronic acid. The larger molecule works on the surface of the skin while the smaller molecule is able to penetrate more deeply into the skin to target the cells deeper in the stratum cornuem (skin).
For very fragile and compromised skin, you could also use Cicaplast B5 Serum that has a hydrating and repairing action on the skin. It creates a barrier-like formula on the skin that protects it from external aggressors and promotes better skin recovery. It’s even clinically proven to hydrate and help the skin barrier in just one hour.
Step 3: Moisturiser
While serums deliver hydration to the deeper layers of the skin, moisturisers help to hydrate the surface.
When choosing a moisturiser for dry and sensitive skin, look for minimal formulas with very soothing ingredients such as those in Nutritic Intense. Its formula helps to soothe and comfort dry skin, reducing sensations of tightness and helping to reinforce the skin's natural barrier function.
One of our best face creams for dry and sensitive skin is Toleriane Dermallegro Soothing Cream, another brilliant choice for dry and sensitive skin. It contains probiotic-derived fractions, neurosensine, and La Roche-Posay's Thermal Spring Water. This helps to immediately relieve and hydrate the skin.
Setep: SPF
Every morning skincare routine should end with SPF as this protects the skin from UV radiation and environmental damage. Dry and sensitive skin needs a formula that helps to maintain hydration levels while providing protection such as Anthelios UVMune Hydrating Cream. This daily sunscreen provides very high UVA and UVB protection with La Roche-Posay’s exclusive filter, MEXORYL400. While soothing and hydrating on the skin, it’s non-greasy so can be used beneath makeup or worn alone.
Dry Sensitive Skin Care Routine for Body
Once you’ve taken care of your facial skincare routine, it’s important to think about the products you use on your body. Many shower gels contain harsh surfactants which can dry your skin and drying products that can leave the skin all over the body feeling itchy and uncomfortable. But by using body products made with carefully selected ingredients formulated to be mindful of your skin barrier, you can help to prevent irritation.
Lipikar Syndet AP+ Cream Wash has a gentle formula made from 10% glycerine, shea butter, niacinamide and La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water. This makes it gentle enough to be used by the whole family, even newborn babies.
Alternatively, if you have very dry skin, you may like the texture of Lipikar Cleansing Oil. This ultra-gentle nourishing formula protects the skin from the drying effects of hard water while preventing irritation and tight sensations in the skin. What’s more, it can be used by the whole family and babies from three months old.
Body lotions: Lipikar Balm AP+M, Lipikar Lait
After you’ve showered, it’s important to restore any lost moisture and help to retain the skin barrier by applying a body moisturiser.
Lipikar Balm AP+M, for instance, uses niacinamide, 8% glycerin, and 2% shea butter to intensely soothe dry skin and reduce the frequency of flare-ups and rebalance the skin microbiome. Apply it all over when the skin is still slightly damp for optimum absorption.
Happy, Healthy, Hydrated Skin
Repairing and strengthening a compromised skin barrier takes time and consistency. But by using gentle skincare formulated for your skin’s needs and understanding more about its triggers, you’ll be able to manage your dry and sensitive skin effectively throughout your life.
Don’t forget to be mindful when introducing new skincare to your routine and patch test products before applying them liberally. If you have very reactive and allergy-prone skin, you should also consult with a dermatologist while creating a new skincare routine.
Create a simple yet effective routine for your dry and sensitive skin at La Roche-Posay. With a little time and consistency, happy, healthy, and hydrated skin can be yours.
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