Michelle Villett/The Glow Memo
This Is Why Your Skin Is So Dry (Even When You Moisturize) and What You Can Do About It
Dry skin is one of the most common skincare problems, and most of us have experienced it at some point in our lives—if not every single day. In fact, a recent German study found that 29% of adults have dry skin, and it becomes more prevalent with age.1 No wonder #dryskinproblems is such a popular hashtag on Instagram (with over 100,000 posts and counting!).
Applying your favourite cream can help to alleviate the symptoms of dry skin. But moisturizer alone is not always effective or long-lasting.
It’s equally important to ditch the habits in your daily routine that may be causing dryness (or even damage), so that your skin is at its healthiest. That way, it can hold onto more moisture, prevent it from evaporating, and perform its natural repair processes.
Keep reading to find out why your skin may feel dry even when you moisturize regularly, and what you can do about it.
What Is Dry Skin?
Dry skin occurs when its water content is less than 10%.
Michelle Villett/The Glow Memo
We all know what dry skin feels like. It seems tight, especially after cleansing, and the texture may be rough, sometimes with visible flakes on the surface. Fine lines and wrinkles can be more apparent, and it may even take on a dull cast, no matter how much moisturizer you slather on.
But what’s actually going on inside our skin when this occurs?
Technically, the condition we know as dryness comes about when our skin’s water content is less than 10% and its barrier function is disrupted.2,3
Normally, the outermost layer of our skin (known as the stratum corneum) consists of 10-30% water, with proteins and lipids making up the rest.4 But when these lipids become depleted, they’re less effective at keeping the water locked in and irritants out.
What Causes Dry Skin?
While dry skin can be inherited, it’s not as common as you might think.
“Only 10-15% of the population has a true genetically dry skin,” says facialist Kate Kerr. “They have always had dry skin and have never had any problems with acne or excessive oil flow. They are often prone to dry skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.”5
When the rest of us experience dryness, it’s usually self-inflicted. In other words, our skincare routines are usually the culprit.
Here’s what could be causing your dry skin:
1. Cleansing Too Often
Washing your face too frequently is a common cause of dry skin. “Overwashing can lead to the stripping of the skin barrier, which results in red, itchy, dry, irritated skin that feels ‘squeaky clean,’” says Dr. Mona Gohara.6 She recommends cleansing at least once a day, before bedtime. If your skin feels dry, you may not need to cleanse at all in the morning (or you can simply splash your face with water).
2. Harsh Cleansers
Which product you cleanse with is also important. If your cleanser is too harsh, it can strip away your skin’s natural oils, leaving your face uncomfortably tight. Sulfates are usually to blame.
“Sulfates are an ingredient that should be avoided in people with dry skin,” says Dr. Jeriel Weitz. “[They] are a type of surfactant, which helps to remove dirt and oil from your skin and thus helps to clean the skin. However, sulfates also disrupt the epidermal barrier, which can make them too harsh for people with dry skin. The most common sulfates found in cosmetic products are sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, so be sure to avoid them if you have dry skin.”7
3. Hot Water
It feels so good, but washing your face with hot water—whether at the sink or during a long, steamy shower—can lead to dry skin. That’s because hot water whisks away the fatty substances in our skin that help it to retain moisture. “[It] strips the skin of sebum, the healthy fats and oils necessary for skin health, and dehydrates the skin,” says Dr. Shari Marchbein.8
4. Not Exfoliating
If you think dry skin doesn’t need exfoliating, think again. Regular gentle exfoliation is essential to remove the dead skin cells on the surface, so that moisture can reach the live skin cells underneath.
“If you have dull, dry cells on the skin’s surface, trying to re-hydrate them when they are expired and want to hit the road won’t get you very far,” says facialist Renée Rouleau. “By removing them, it will allow the hydrators applied topically afterwards to nourish the new, fresh baby cells.”9
5. Exfoliating Too Much
On the flip side, make sure you’re not over-exfoliating, either. When you exfoliate too often or too aggressively, you can “create tiny cracks in the skin barrier that lead to more loss of hydration and inflammation,” says Dr. Joshua Zeichner.10
There’s no set rule on how often to exfoliate, since everyone’s skin is different and exfoliating products can range from mild to intense. But the more frequently you exfoliate, the gentler you should be. So avoid anything too abrasive (like scrubs with jagged particles) and be cautious with acids (especially glycolic, which is notoriously drying and irritating due to its low molecular weight11).
6. Harsh Active Ingredients
It’s not just certain exfoliants that can lead to dry skin. Other active ingredients can have the same effect. Retinol and other members of the retinoid family are well-known to cause dryness, peeling, redness and itching, especially during the first month or two of treatment.12
Vitamin C in the form of L-ascorbic acid can also pose a problem because it is usually formulated at a low (acidic) pH13 and at concentrations as high as 15-20%. “This may cause some skin irritation, redness and dryness,” says Zeichner.14
7. Hydrating With Humectants Only
Humectants are water-attracting ingredients (like glycerin and hyaluronic acid) that draw moisture into the epidermis from the dermis or the environment.2 But unless you live in a humid climate, they could make dryness worse if you use them on their own.
“If you are in a humid environment, humectant ingredients will pull in moisture from the air and therefore help your skin to stay hydrated,” says Dr. Leslie Baumann. “If you are in a dry climate, on the other hand, humectants can cause your skin to become dehydrated by pulling moisture up from deeper layers and onto the surface, where they can evaporate into the air. For this reason, it is best to combine humectant ingredients with occlusives.”15
8. Hydrating With Occlusives Only
Occlusives are oily or waxy ingredients (like petrolatum, lanolin and jojoba oil) that form a protective barrier on the surface of your skin.2 Their job is to lock in moisture, not to deliver it—so if you don’t have enough water in your skin to begin with, they won’t do a thing for dryness.
“I do find that a lot of people who only use oils are actually really dehydrated or their skin barrier is compromised underneath all that application of oils,” says Dr. Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin. “I’m not saying oils are bad, but it can’t be the only component when you’re talking about moisturizing or restoring the skin barrier.”16
9. Damaged Skin Barrier
If there are cracks in your skin barrier, moisturizing with humectants and occlusives won’t solve dry skin—you’ll need additional ingredients to repair the damage.
Researchers have likened the stratum corneum to a brick-and-mortar system. Your skin cells are the “bricks,” and the lipids—ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids—act as the “mortar” that holds them together.2 Cracks develop (and moisture escapes) when the lipids are depleted, but you can help repair them by applying these substances topically.3
10. Layering Products in the Wrong Order
Maybe you have all the right products to banish dry skin, but they’re not working because you’re applying them in the wrong order.
The biggest pitfall is with oils. One school of thought is that oils should go on before creams so they can “absorb better” into your skin. There are even so-called serums (like this one) that are actually oils, and come with instructions to apply them on bare skin.
However, oils are occlusive and form a barrier on top of your skin—so anything you layer over them may not fully penetrate, and you won’t get the hydration your skin needs. “I like to refer to a face oil as being like a bodyguard for your skin, or like a top coat that works to seal all the products that are underneath deep into the skin,” says Rouleau.17
11. Moisturizing Too Much
The most unexpected cause of dry skin is that you might be using too much moisturizer. That’s right—some experts, like Kerr and Dr. Zein Obagi, believe that it’s only necessary for the 10-15% of people with genetically dry skin. One study even found that the long-term use of moisturizers on normal skin can weaken barrier function and increase susceptibility to irritants.18
“If you apply a lot of moisture, skin will become sensitive, dry, dull, and [it will] interfere with natural hydration,” says Obagi.19 “Moisturizers can be used occasionally... but to depend on them as an essential for skincare is wrong because it weakens skin. You cannot reverse Mother Nature by applying moisture from the surface, thinking that the moisture will go down and provide what your skin needs. No, it stays on the surface and makes you addicted to it. It slows down skin’s ability to renew itself.”20
12. Lack of Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a key nutrient for regulating skin cell proliferation, differentiation and turnover.21 But if you’re not meeting your body’s requirements, it could cause skin cells to shed too quickly, resulting in dryness and even conditions like atopic dermatitis (eczema).22,23 Upping the vitamin A in your diet can help slow down shedding, so that skin cells function longer before they flake off.
13. Sluggish Metabolism
Slow metabolism can be a cause of dry skin, and it’s more common than you think. “In hypothyroid patients, blood circulation through the skin is less than normal at all times,” said Dr. Broda Barnes in his book, Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness. With reduced circulation, skin becomes drier because it doesn’t receive enough nourishment and waste products aren’t being promptly removed.
Even if blood tests indicate normal thyroid function, your thyroid could still be sluggish. Barnes (who is considered the pioneer of thyroid research) deemed lab tests “unreliable” and claimed that 40% of Americans were in fact hypothyroid.
How to Moisturize the Right Way
Layering your hydrating products can boost your skin’s moisture levels and keep it sealed in.
Michelle Villett/The Glow Memo
Now that you know what could be triggering your dry skin, here’s what you can do about it:
Start With a Hydrating Serum
SkinCeuticals
Add Barrier-Repairing Ingredients
EltaMD
Use the Right Moisturizer
Mirabella
Lock In Moisture With an Oil
Indie Lee
More Ways to Prevent Dry Skin
Switch to a Mild Cleanser
Agent Nateur
Apply a Hydrating Toner
First Aid Beauty
Gently Exfoliate
