The BEST Remedies for Dry Skin, Eyes, and Mouth
If you have a serious skin disease, a doctor may want to treat it with a prescription cream or ointment. If your dry skin becomes itchy, you may use a lotion with hydrocortisone in it. If your skin cracks open, your doctor may prescribe wet dressings to help prevent infection. Use a gentle, alcohol-free, nonfoaming cleanser on your face twice a day and after sweating. Products with stearic acid (found in shea butter) or linoleic acid (found in argan oil and others) can help repair your skin. If you have sensitive skin, wash with a cleanser in the evening and just rinse with water other times.
While your skin is still damp, apply any topical medication you’re using, wait a few minutes (see medication packaging for specifics), then apply your moisturizer. If you use cosmetics, consider selecting products with a cream or oil base. Use a moisturizer that contains sunblock or a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, even on cloudy days. Apply sunscreen generously and reapply every two hours — or more often if you’re swimming or sweating. Look for healing ingredients such as urea, ceramides, fatty acids and glycerol (also known as glycerin), shea butter, and cocoa butter. Look for fragrance-free products that don’t cause acne (noncomedogenic) and don’t contain allergy-causing substances (hypoallergenic). Avoid products that contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which is drying.
For the face and neck, you might want to use a cream. Choose something that’s easy to apply and leaves no visible residue. If you are acne-prone, avoid products on your face that contain petroleum jelly, cocoa butter or coconut oil. If you skin is very oily, try using a sunscreen instead of a moisturizer. If you have mature skin, you might prevent scaly, flaky skin by using products that contain antioxidants or alpha hydroxy acid. Moisturizers often form the basis for wrinkle creams, with added retinoids, antioxidants, peptides and other ingredients. Use warm water and limit bath time. Long showers or baths and hot water remove your skin’s natural oils. Limit bathing to no more than once a day and no longer than 5-10 minutes. Use warm, not hot, water.