Blog post title Your Dry Skin Is Asking for Help. Are You Listening?

What we think of as simply “dryness” may in fact be dehydrated skin, irritation, or genetics. Or a combination of these factors. To get your skin feeling soft and supple again, the first step is to pinpoint what type of dry skin you have. 

We asked a top dermatologist how to decode the tightness, flaking, and dullness so you can understand what’s sparking your dryness, and then treat it the right way.

RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Skin Hydration

Dry Skin Type #1: Naturally Dry Skin

If you’ve always dealt with dry skin and would describe it as your skin type, then your issue is mainly genetic. 

What is naturally dry skin? It’s defined as skin that’s not efficient at producing sebum, the oil that lubricates skin and plays a key role in maintaining a healthy skin barrier. This is the outermost layer responsible for holding in moisture and keeping out irritants. 

“It’s more of a genetic predisposition that people experience from an early age,” says Jacqueline G. Goldminz, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Wellesley, Massachusetts. 

Naturally dry skin is categorized as a skin type, not a skin condition. Still, there are varying degrees of dryness within this skin type. 

“Some people have low-grade dry skin where they can moisturize in the morning and be fine throughout the day,” explains Dr. Goldminz. “Others may have skin that’s so naturally dry that they have to moisturize every few hours just to stay comfortable.”

Depending on the severity, chronically dry skin may also be a sign of certain skin conditions like eczema or ichthyosis, says Dr. Goldminz. Ichthyosis is a group of skin disorders that lead to dry, itchy skin. If your dry skin is accompanied by redness or flaking, it’s a good idea to see a dermatologist to determine if there’s more going on.

How do you know if you have naturally dry skin?

The telltale sign is if you experience symptoms of dry skin year-round, and you have for some time. Your skin may often feel dry to the touch and be prone to bouts of flaking, tightness, and itching, especially in cold weather and low humidity. 

Another way to know is to try this test: Wash your face with a gentle, mild cleanser, don’t apply any skincare, and wait 30 minutes. “If, after half an hour, your skin feels tight or scaly, then you probably have naturally dry skin,” says Dr. Goldminz. 

What are the best ways to manage naturally dry skin?

It will come as no surprise that moisturizing is essential. But for this skin type, you need multi-layer moisturization to target all the contributors to naturally dry skin.

Your skincare regimen should include:

• Humectants, which are hydrators that attract and bind water to the skin. Hyaluronic acid and glycerin are both excellent humectants.

• Emollients, which lubricate and soften rough skin and help soothe dryness and irritation. Ceramides are one of the best emollients because they mimic the natural ceramides in your skin’s barrier, which are often depleted in naturally dry skin.

• Occlusives, which form a protective layer on the skin’s surface to seal in moisture and prevent it from evaporating. Petrolatum and shea butter are common occlusive ingredients in skincare, and some emollients also function as occlusives.

“All these ingredients together reinforce the skin barrier and keep it functional,” says Dr. Goldminz. While you may be able to find everything in one cream, you can also layer on a few products to deliver what your skin needs. For example, a hyaluronic acid serum followed by a ceramide cream that contains petrolatum or shea butter.

Caring for naturally dry skin is as much about what you put on skin as it is what you keep off it. Dr Goldminz recommends avoiding products that can strip skin of its natural oils, such as foaming cleansers, abrasive scrubs, and formulas that contain alcohol or exfoliating acids like glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and citric acid. 

You may find that retinoids, which are ingredients that target signs of aging, are too drying for your skin type. In that case, you might consider products with bakuchiol, a natural alternative to retinoids that is gentler and doesn’t dry the skin.

And while there’s no scientific evidence that drinking more water leads to better skin hydration, a diet rich in essential fatty acids can help skin cells stay hydrated. A few places they're found: walnuts, flaxseed, salmon, and olive oil.

One study showed that women who consumed half a teaspoon of omega-3-rich flaxseed oil daily experienced a 39% increase in skin hydration after 12 weeks. Their skin was also less rough and sensitive than that of those in a placebo group.

Two lifestyle tricks that can also help: keeping a humidifier in your bedroom (or any room where you spend lots of time) and avoiding long, hot showers.

Dry Skin Type #2: Dehydrated Skin 

Unlike truly dry skin, dehydrated skin is a temporary issue brought on by external factors. Cold, dry weather or using products that strip your skin’s natural oils are classic offenders. 

“Anyone’s skin can become dehydrated if enough water escapes from the surface,” says Dr. Goldminz. This is known as transepidermal water loss (TEWL). But chugging a Stanley’s worth of H2O isn’t the answer. In most cases, skin becomes dehydrated because the barrier (the outermost layer of skin) is damaged, which allows for increased TEWL. 

“There are different things that can precipitate dehydrated skin, but it all stems from the water level in the uppermost layers of the skin being too low,” says Dr. Goldminz.  

How do I know if my skin is dehydrated? 

If your glow is gone, not on, this could be you. More specifically, your face would feel tight and look dull with no reflection of light off it (i.e., zero glow), and there could be some flaking. You might also spy fine lines that you didn’t notice before, because when skin lacks moisture, it’s not as plump, so lines become more obvious.

Ironically, dehydrated skin can sometimes feel a bit oily to the touch. Try what dermatologists call the pinch test to get a read on things: Gently pinch the skin on your cheeks for a few seconds, then release. “If there’s a delay in the skin falling back into place, that’s a sign that your skin could be dehydrated,” says Dr. Goldminz. 

What are the best ways to treat dehydrated skin? 

Much of the same advice for managing naturally dry skin also applies to healing dehydrated skin.

Follow the same skin care routine advised for naturally dry skin to deliver humectants, emollients, and occlusives, which will help heal a damaged barrier and keep it strong and functioning properly. “Focusing on humectants like hyaluronic acid is especially important, as you want to trap in all the water you can to help with the dehydration,” says Dr. Goldminz. 

Equally important is using a moisturizer that contains ceramides. Ceramides are lipids in the stratum corneum, which is the top layer of skin. If you think of your skin cells as bricks, lipids serve as the mortar in between the bricks that holds them all together. Dehydrated skin is often depleted of ceramides. Adding them back in through skincare has been shown to quickly resolve barrier damage and restore function.

And until your skin feels soft and balanced again, pause your use of products that can exacerbate dryness. These include retinol and retinoid products, foaming cleansers, abrasive scrubs, and formulas that contain alcohol or exfoliating acids like glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and citric acid. 

You should also try to limit your exposure to elements that deplete skin of moisture, such as dry heat, low humidity, sun, alcohol, and long, steamy showers. (Short, steamy showers? In moderation!)

Dry Skin Type #3: Irritated Skin 

Dryness and irritation are like sushi and soy sauce: They usually appear together. The skin barrier’s role is to keep moisture in and irritants out. If the barrier is damaged, not only does more moisture escape, but it’s easier for irritants to enter the skin and cause redness, itching, and flaking.

There are a number of things that can bother skin: an allergen or irritant in a product, layering on too many strong actives (like if you apply a retinoid product and an exfoliant at the same time), or lingering in a hot shower. Harsh soaps and fragrances in products are also common triggers of irritation, as is prolonged sun exposure without sunscreen.

How do I know if my dry skin is caused by irritation?

Dryness due to irritation typically presents as red, flaky, sometimes itchy patches of skin. It often happens after using a new product, either because the formula contains an irritant or it doesn’t mix well with something else that you’re layering it with.

Occasionally, irritation presents only as dryness, minus any other telltale signs like redness or skin sensitivity. Sudden changes are a sign something else might be up. If you’re unexpectedly experiencing patches of dry skin on your face that don’t seem to resolve, it’s best to see a dermatologist to rule out an underlying skin condition like eczema or psoriasis.

What are the best ways to treat dry skin caused by irritation?

Time to coddle. If you have dry, irritated skin, scale down your skincare to just the basics until the inflammation subsides, says Dr. Goldminz. That means just a gentle, soap-free and fragrance-free cleanser and a simple, fragrance-free moisturizer that contains no anti-agers or actives. 

For daytime, use a mineral face sunscreen, which is less likely than chemical sunscreen to prompt irritation. 

“Any product that contains alcohol, retinol, tint, or fragrance—get it out of the mix immediately,” says Dr. Goldminz, who recommends dabbing on an over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone cream to the inflamed areas to help soothe and calm. “If the irritation doesn’t start to subside within a few days, see a dermatologist,” she says.

Once the irritation resolves, you can slowly return to your other skincare—but not all at the same time. Instead, add back one product to your routine every one to two days so you can identify which one, if any, caused your irritation.

At Cottonball, our prescription products are customized for each person based on your skin’s needs and the other skincare in your regimen, which helps lessen the chance of a negative skin reaction. All of our products contain two types of hyaluronic acid, a humectant that draws water into the skin.

Is a Cottonball personalized formula right for you? Take this short quiz now to find out.