Lifestyle Choices

The Cause

Dried-out, dried-up skin usually comes from underactive sebaceous glands, which, due to a hormone imbalance or vitamin or mineral deficiencies, don’t produce enough of this important oily fluid to lubricate the skin and protect it from excessive water loss. It can also be the result of being exposed to excessively drying weather conditions, central heating, or air conditioning. Another, rarer cause is being on a diet too low in essential fatty acids, such as a fat-free slimming regimen. Finally, sometimes dried-out skin is due to an incorrect water balance in the horny cells as a result of their being exposed to water (e.g. in swimming) for so long that they have swollen and burst, or to their having been deprived of water for so long that they gradually desiccate. Excessive dryness of the skin also occurs in people who, unknown to themselves, are suffering from subclinical deficiencies of vitamin A or C or any one of several of the B-complex group or of linoleic acid.

The incidence of dry skin is increasing, probably as a result of air pollution, artificial atmospheric conditions, the use of certain drugs, or the overuse of detergents and soaps on the face. Such skin conditions as neurodermatitis, fungus infections, contact dermatitis, psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis are often confused with dry skin.

A combination of these factors will result in a skin that can look a dullish gray-white color and boast an ever-increasing number of fine lines. If you look at dry skin very closely, it rather resembles a mosaic. As changes in the hydration of skin take place, the edges of the dead cells in the stratum corneum curl up to form a network of minute “chaps” on the skin’s surface. Then, once the keratin in the epidermis dries up, the skin shrinks and becomes brittle.

Prevention and Cure

Use a water-in-oil emulsion on your face night and day to protect against excessive water loss by trapping the water in the outer layer of the skin and preventing it from being given up into the atmosphere. Ensure that you get enough essential fatty acids in your diet by using olive, sunflower, or safflower oil in your salad dressings.

Consider taking supplements of vitamins A and D in the form of fish liver oil, or drinking fresh carrot juice a couple of times a day. Fish liver oil put directly on the skin can help too. Of course it smells foul, but the smell doesn’t usually last very long. And you need leave the oil on the skin for only fifteen minutes; then you can remove the excess with a tissue. Vitamin E either taken internally or rubbed on the skin from capsules is often helpful too.

Other helpful things include a humidifier, weekly steaming of the skin followed by an oil massage, and mineral water sprayed from an atomizer before applying your moisturizer or treatment products. Don’t wash your skin with soap. Don’t use any skin product containing alcohol. Use a mask for dry skin. Use aromatherapy oils you mix yourself to contain the essences most useful for dry skin, such as geranium, camomile, rose, sandalwood, lavender, and ylang-ylang. Always choose an oil-based makeup foundation.

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