The medical term for dry skin is "xerosis" and it affects many of us when the air has less humidity, most often in winter when we also tend to operate in heated environments. Unfortunately, our habit of taking a shower at least once a day does not help either. There are several things we can do to help our dry skin.
First, we should keep our skin moist as much as we can by using as mild a soap as we can get. A couple of good brands are Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser and Dove. The best way to use these soaps is to apply them to wet skin with warm water and rub them into the skin with gentle circular motions. It is best to avoid using towels to apply the soap as also hard sponges like loofah sponges. Then rinse completely and pat dry, rather than scrub dry, with a soft towel. We can also refrain from washing too much, perhaps no more than twice a day.
We should regularly use moisturizers for our skin after we have found one that is right for our individual skin chemistry. Oil of Olay is a good choice for most people but there are many other good products. It is best to apply moisturizers while our skin is still damp because the skin pores are open and will allow deeper absorption. If you find yourself out in the sun a lot, it is OK to use a moisturizer that contains sunscreen. If you have acne along with dry skin, any acne treatments you use can make your dry skin worse. But using moisturizers over your acne medicine may actually help in this regard.
Some popular "common remedies" are in fact useless in helping dry skin. These include drinking large amounts of water to "keep the skin hydrated" and taking lots of vitamins to "keep the skin healthy". These remedies may not hurt you but they will certainly not help with your dry skin problem any better than simply treating your skin with a little care.
Other common sense things to do to help dry skin:
If we are in a dry, winter environment either at home or at work, we should attempt to use humidifiers whenever we can.
Sleep helps the skin repair itself so we should get enough of it.
Blood circulation helps the skin, so we should exercise regularly to boost skin repair from the inside out.
Avoid alcohol as it causes the body to lose fluids.
![Ok! First Celebrity News [Print + Kindle]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy3._V192207739_.gif "Ok! First Celebrity News [Print + Kindle]")
![Ok! First Celebrity News [Print + Kindle]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61-waUiP--L.jpg "Ok! First Celebrity News [Print + Kindle]")
![Star Magazine (1-year auto-renewal) [Print + Kindle]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IoVnAXg6L.jpg "Star Magazine (1-year auto-renewal) [Print + Kindle]")
