If your skin is feeling dry, check out these different ways to moisturise your skin.
1. Buy the right moisturiser. Any old moisturiser will hydrate the skin for a few hours, but it takes a truly potent one to offer long-term salvation. Normal skin can stave off dryness with a lightweight lotion, but regardless of skin type, Dr Greg Goodman from the Dermatology Institute of Victoria recommends products that deliver a one-two punch of humectants, such as glycerine, hyaluronic acid or urea (to draw water molecules into the skin) for deep moisturisation. Try Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel
2. Make face time. Facial skin can dry out just as much as your body, especially on your cheeks, even though it contains more oil glands. Moisturiser is still necessary; just avoid lotions with pore-clogging ingredients like coconut, walnut and sesame oils. Instead look for ones with labels that say non-comedogenic and contain glycerine and anti-inflammatory qualities such as soy, green and white tea and calming ingredients like chamomile and vitamin B. Try Neutrogena Naturals Multi-Vitamin Nourishing Moisturizer
3. Cut your showers short. Enjoyable as it is, long showers breaks down the skin’s lipid layer, a complex of fatty acids designed to reduce moisture loss. To prevent snakeskin, start by turning down the heat to as cool as you can stand or at least reduce your shower time to less than 15 minutes.
4. Don’t wash what you don’t have to. There’s nothing like being clean, but glance down to your arms and legs and you’ll notice that they really don’t get that dirty. And, since soap lather is even worse for your lipid barrier than hot water, we suggest creamy cleansers instead of soap. Water does a great job of cleaning by itself.
5. Hold onto hydration. Many of the most effective moisturising ingredients work because they seal existing water into the skin so give them something to work with. Slick your body lotion or cream over damp skin just after you get out of the shower. “If you apply moisturiser within five minutes you lock in additional moisture,” he says. Try Neutrogena Rainbath Deep Moisture Body Cream
6. Pull out all the stops. Severe redness, itchiness or painful tightness probably requires extra help. Goodman suggests using a cream with a high concentration of lactic acid, which pulls water from the dermis into the epidermis. But if it’s really sore and inflamed visit your dermatologist.
This is a sponsored post by Neutrogena. All opinions expressed by the author are authentic and written in their own words.