Best natural skincare tips for dry skin

Are you uncomfortable in your own skin, because it feels tight, dry and papery? Dry skin is a challenge to manage if you don’t understand what’s actually going on. Here we explain the anatomy of dry skin, then offer some natural solutions to help.

The scientific name for dry skin is xerosis. Xerotic skin appears dehydrated, irritated, inflamed and might even be peeling. To touch, it feels rough or papery. At its worst, dry skin has cracks that can become deep fissures – painful, to put it mildly.

Why does dry skin happen?

Skin has three layers. The deepest layer is the hypodermis, which consists of fat, blood vessels and nerves. The middle layer is the dermis, where you’ll find collagen and elastin fibres, blood vessels, oil glands, hair follicles and sweat glands. The top layer is the epidermis, which is the all-important barrier between you and the air.

Dry skin is a problem affecting just the outer surface of the epidermis, aka the stratum corneum or skin barrier. To understand how this barrier works, think of a brick wall. The bricks are pancake-like skin cells called comeocytes and the mortar is made of specialised skin lipids. This structure is continuously renewed as skin cells migrate up from below.  Most areas of the stratum corneum are about 20 cell layers thick, however your eyelids are thinner, while your palms and foot soles are thicker.

Dry skin occurs when the stratum corneum is disrupted, allowing too much moisture to escape. This could be the result of showering too often or using cleansers that are too harsh. Winter can also cause dry skin, because the air is drier.  

Some people have dry skin naturally, because of decreased sebaceous gland activity.  Age is also a factor - sebaceous gland activity decreases significantly after 70 years of age in women and 80 years of age in men.

How can you fix dry skin?

Skin requires a water content of 10 to 15% to remain intact and maintain normal function, so the aim of dry skin treatment is to reduce water loss through the skin. There are various ways to do this:

• - Reduce the frequency of bathing, showering and skin cleansing. If you have dry skin all over, avoid showering or bathing more than once a day.
• - Increase humidity in the air with a humidifier.
• - Stop using soaps, regular foaming cleansers and shower gels. Instead, use an oil for cleansing your skin (more about that below).  
• - Avoid exfoliation of any type until your skin is feeling better. That means no scrubs, washcloths or loofahs.
• - Always moisturise your skin with an effective emollient after cleansing or washing; preferably one that also contains a humectant.  

Natural cleansers to help dry skin

Preserving hydration is the important thing to consider when choosing cleansing products for dry skin. When your skin is deprived of water, either because its stratum corneum isn’t working properly or because it’s genetically oil-deficient, an oil cleanser is the best way to go. Definitely steer away from most foaming cleansers; the exception is Okana’s natural foaming cleanser.

Here’s Okana’s cleansing routine for dry skin:

• - Morning – use Okana apple juice foaming cleanser, which is designed to cleanse your skin without stripping it.
• - Evening – if you wear makeup during the day, do a double cleanse. Start with Okana natural mango and apricot cleanser, which is oil-based; finish with apple juice foaming cleanser.
• - Always follow with a mist of cucumber and lettuce toner, to correct skin pH after cleansing.

Natural moisturisers to help dry skin

Moisturiser is dry skin’s best friend, but not just any old moisturiser.  You have to consider the vulnerability of your epidermis, so it’s important to steer away from moisturisers with fragrance, parabens and other artificial ingredients that will increase skin sensitivity.

Look for a natural moisturiser that contains both emollient and humectant ingredients, to ensure your skin is getting a double-hit of moisture therapy.

• - Natural emollients contain fatty acids that can penetrate the top levels of your skin, making it feel softer and more comfortable. They also assist skin barrier function, so that less water is lost from your skin during the day.
• - Natural humectants attract moisture from above (the outside air) and below (within your body), to bring more water into the epidermis.

Both Okana moisturisers – day cream and night cream – contain a combination of natural emollients and humectants, so they are ideal as a therapy for dry skin.

• - Okana vegetable garden day moisturiser contains apricot kernel oil and olive oil, highly-effective emollients that absorb quickly into the skin. It also contains glycerin  - an effective humectant; and betaine, which helps to control water balance in your skin.
• - Okana berry blend natural night moisturiser contains apricot kernel oil and macadamia oil as emollients, as well as glycerin for its humectant properties and betaine to balance water in the skin.

How to use moisturiser to help your skin recover

Normal skin requires just one application of moisturiser after cleansing and toning, but dry skin will benefit from a ‘moisturiser club sandwich’. Here’s how this works:

• - After cleansing, mist your face and neck (décolletage too, if it’s dry) with Okana cucumber and lettuce toner.
• - While the toner is still damp, apply a first layer of moisturiser. Dot it over your skin, then massage in with upward strokes.
• - Wait five minutes for the moisturiser to sink in, then apply another light mist of toner.
• - While the toner is still damp, apply a second layer of moisturiser. As before, dot it over your skin, then massage in with upward strokes.
• - Wait at least 15 minutes before applying any makeup.

You may be able to progress to a single layer of moisturiser when your skin has recovered. If your dry skin is an ongoing challenge, stay with the double layer.

Read more about caring for dry skin

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Okana's Apple Juice Foaming Cleanser: