• 3 years ago
You might think that dryness, flakes, and skin peeling are reserved for the frigid, dry temperatures of winter—but that's actually far from the truth. Unfortunately, dry skin can occur at any time, regardless of the season or climate.

There are many factors that can contribute to facial skin dryness, including genetics, the weather, environmental factors, dehydration, overwashing, and some dermatological conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis.1

But before you head to the store and start buying every product available to treat dry skin, take a breather. NYC Dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner explains that to improve your skin's condition, it's important to identify the cause first (and then tackle with the appropriate products and treatments).

Here, we round up the most effective treatments for the most common causes of dead, peeling skin on the face.

01
Moisturize With Hyaluronic Acid
Dry skin that's peeling is often genetic, so if your grandma, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, etc. suffer from dry skin too, chances are you can blame them.2 If you've inherited the "dry skin" gene, you aren't alone. In fact, plenty of people aren't able to maintain adequate hydration because of this. Luckily, Dr. Zeichner says moisturizers can help. He recommends looking for ingredients such as hyaluronic acid which, "act like a sponge to pull in hydration to the outer skin layers." He especially recommends Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water-Gel.

Ensuring you are always properly hydrated on the inside is also important to prevent dryness and dehydration of the skin. Currently, the CDC currently recommends consuming enough water each day for overall health and that intake can vary by, "age, sex, pregnancy, and breastfeeding status" while other experts say you should aim to drink about half your weight in ounces of water each day.


02
Wash Your Face Less Frequently
Do you know that squeaky clean feeling you get after giving your face a good thorough cleansing? Well, if you've been chasing after that feeling while washing your face each day, you'll probably want to stop. Dr. Zeichner says that sensation "is actually harmful to the skin and represents post-wash dryness." This, he says, can lead to redness, dryness, and flaking of the skin. So if you think you've been over-washing, he recommends sticking to a more gentle cleanser that won’t compromise the integrity of the skin barrier⁠—like Dove's Beauty Bar for Sensitive Skin, "which hydrates the skin while cleansing."

DIY Clay Mask Recipes For Glowing Skin
Contrary to what you might think, slathering on the moisturizer won't help if your flaky skin is a result of perioral dermatitis. In fact, it may unfortunately make things.

Recommended