En hudvårdsrutin, även för någon med torr hud, har ofta mer komplexa mål än bara återfuktning. Nästan alla av oss skulle åtminstone i viss mån vilja förhindra fotoåldring (solskador som leder till fina linjer, hyperpigmentering och förlust av ton i huden, aka icke-genetisk hudåldrande), så hudvård rik på antioxidanter är alltid en fantastisk idé .
Vissa vanliga anti-aging ingredienser som retinol och askorbinsyra (a.k.a. C-vitamin) kan dock vara lite hårda när man har ömtålig, torr hud. Att använda skonsamma versioner av dem, som magnesiumaskorbylfosfat istället för askorbinsyra eller retinylpalmitat istället för retinol, kommer att ge dig en svagare anti-aging effekt men med minskad risk för irritation.
Niacinamid är en bra ingrediens att välja på, eftersom den förutom att vara en bra antioxidant också hjälper till att minska vattenförlusten över epidermala. Vid högre andelar kan det också minska oljeproduktionen i huden, så välj formler som bara innehåller låga mängder av det tillsammans med bra fuktgivande ingredienser.
Vissa av oss har mer specifika hudproblem. De med torr hud kommer ofta också att luta sig lite mer mot känslig, så de kommer att kräva en hudvårdsrutin som är både fuktgivande och antiinflammatorisk, med lugnande ingredienser som allantoin, ringblomma, grönt teextrakt och centella asiatica.
Andra kan bryta ut trots att de har torr hud, i vilket fall icke-torkande aknebehandlingar som lågprocentig salicylsyra och retinol i olja eller kräm är de bästa lösningarna att prova.
Den kompletta morgontorr hudvårdsrutinen
När du vaknar bör du börja ta hand om din torra hud ordentligt genom att följa alla stegen nedan!
• Don’t Cleanse
Over-cleansing is one of the fastest ways to dehydrate and irritate dry skin. If your skin is dry, you’re not producing enough sebum at night to merit using a cleanser in the mornings. Instead, you can splash your face with water, wipe it with a damp face cloth, or use a cotton pad soaked in a hydrating toner or essence to remove minor debris.
• Essence or Hydrating Toner
Speaking of, essences are one of the best ways to start the hydration and moisturization process for those with dry skin. Essences, which are basically interchangeable with hydrating toners, are skin care products with a liquid texture that are primarily comprised of water and humectants, although they will often contain other soothing or anti-aging ingredients that are beneficial to the skin.
These products don’t contain any strong occlusives, and they are meant to penetrate into the skin quickly and to load it up with moisture. Essences are best applied directly to the skin, ideally with the help of a spray nozzle. If your essence doesn’t come in a spray bottle, you can decant a bit into your hands and then pat or tap it into the skin.
You can repeat this with a few different toners and essences, especially if you have a few with different ingredients, or you can do this a few times with the same essence to really maximize the amount of water your skin takes in.
• Serums or Ampoules
A serum or ampoule is the next stage of layering moisture to allow it to thoroughly absorb into the skin. Serums are also made up of water and humectants, like essences, but they also tend to be a little thicker in texture and richer in particular active ingredients.
These ingredients can include potent antioxidants, skin resurfacers like vitamin A, chemical exfoliants, or specific skin soothers. You can choose to use the same serum in the morning and at night if it’s not too strong, or use one serum in the morning and another at night.
If your skin is fairly delicate it is better to dispense about a pea-sized amount of serum and to gently pat it into the skin without dragging or tagging. On the other hand, you might benefit from a gentle massage using circular, upward motions, which will help with blood circulation under the skin.
• Eye Care
You can use most serums and moisturizers around the eyes without issue, as long as they don’t contain high levels of retinoids, vitamin C, or chemical exfoliants. However, if you have particular concerns around your eyes you might want to use a specific eye care product that will treat those concerns.
The best way to apply products around the eyes is with extreme gentleness. Dispense a tiny amount of your cream or serum to the tip of your ring finger, and then transfer a bit to the ring finger on the other hand. Dot the product under the eye, starting near the inner corner and working your way out. Then, from the outside in, dot the product along the orbital bone. The skin around the eyes is very sensitive, so avoid rubbing or tugging.
• Moisturizer
A moisturizer is a must-have when your skin is dry. You can choose to use a moisturizer with an SPF or a sunscreen that has moisturizing properties (especially if your routine also includes a hydrating essence or serum), or you can choose to use both a moisturizer and a sunscreen.
Moisturizers are important because, unlike essences and serums, they contain high amounts of occlusives and emollients – the ingredients that make up for your lack of sebum by filling in the gaps between the dead skin cells and locking in moisture.
There isn’t a specific amount of moisturizer that is correct to use. If your skin is very dry and dehydrated, you will likely need more, while if you have been following a nourishing dry skin care routine for a while then you won’t need as much.
Start off with a pea-sized amount, and massage it into your skin in gentle, circular motions from the bottom up and from the inside of the face outwards. If most of the product sinks into your skin quickly then apply more.
If you’re also relying on your moisturizer for sun protection, then please apply it as instructed in the next bullet point.
• Sunscreen
I’ve already explained why sunscreen is so critical, especially for those with dry skin. When it comes to sunscreen there is no playing around – we must use at least a ¼ teaspoon of product to cover the average face.
If you’ve already applied moisturizer or any other skin care product, then wait a few minutes to ensure they fully sink in to your skin, since you don’t want anything to dilute the protection of your sunscreen.
You may find that you can apply the full amount of sunscreen in one go, although if it seems like too much product then apply it in two layers of ⅛ teaspoon, waiting a few minutes in between. Apply your sunscreen in an upward massage, much as you would a moisturizer. Wait a few minutes to allow the sunscreen to settle before applying any makeup to your dry skin.
The Complete Night Dry Skin Care Routine
Your complete dry skin care routine should end with the following steps:
• Cleanse
Cleansing can be the most irritating and drying skin care step, but it doesn’t have to be if you use an ultra-creamy and moisturizing cleanser. If you wear makeup in your day-to-day life, then you will possibly want to do a double cleanse, starting with oil or balm cleansers that will totally break down makeup and sunscreen, as well as other impurities that are easier to remove.
Oily cleansers should be applied to the skin while it is dry, massaged in for a bit, emulsified with water, and then rinsed or wiped away.
Depending on how your skin responds, this might be enough, but if you feel like your oil or balm cleanser has left behind a bit of a residue, you can do a second cleanse with a milk cleanser, which you also apply, massage in, and then rinse or wipe away with a damp cloth.
Make sure to avoid foam or gel cleansers, as these tend to be too stripping for dry skin.
• Toner or Essence
A hydrating toner or essence is a great way of loading the skin up with moisture, especially if the rest of your evening dry skin care routine is mostly made up of occlusive creams (or just one occlusive moisturizer – that’s okay, too). Much like in the morning, you want to apply your hydrating liquid-based product by splashing it on your face or by misting it on.
• Exfoliants and pH-Dependent Treatments
Your nighttime routine is the best time to use chemical exfoliants, which can come in the form of toner, serum, or even lotion.
Chemical exfoliants, as well as products with ascorbic acid (a version of vitamin C that is pH-dependent) are best applied towards the beginning of your routine, before you’ve applied any products that contain occlusives, since they need to come into close contact with the skin and before any products that might increase your skin’s pH have been applied.
You should apply your pH-dependent products based on their formula – toners should be splashed on the face, while serums can be pressed or massaged in.
• Serum
In the evening a serum can be your chance to just give your skin yet another layer of moisturization that is a little thicker than an essence or toner but is thinner than a moisturizer. Serums are also great for fortifying the skin with all kinds of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, skin brighteners, or other anti-aging compounds. That’s like in the morning you want to apply your serum either with a gentle pressing motion if you’re more prone to sensitivity or with a slightly more invigorating massage.
• Eye Care
Once again, for eye care you can choose between your gentle face products or dedicated eye creams and serums. Like in the morning, you want to apply your products gently, by pressing them in with your ring finger.
• Treatment Oil
Light botanical oils load the skin up with fatty acids and antioxidants, without overly occluding the skin. They are a great way of adding some extra nourishment to the skin before a moisturizer, especially if you find that your moisturizer is a little too light. Smooth your facial oil on as you would a serum, opting for a small, dime-sized amount.
• Moisturizer
Apply your moisturizer of choice as you would in the morning. If you use a moisturizer that has an SPF in the mornings then you will want to use a dedicated night cream that does not offer sun protection at night.
Evening is the best time to use a moisturizer with skin-identical ingredients, as those tend to be a little heavy and potentially too greasy in texture for daytime use. Apply your moisturizer with the same gentle massage you would utilize for your daytime application.
• Buffered Treatments
When talking about buffered treatments, I refer to either medicinal acne treatments like benzoyl peroxide or stronger retinoids. These strong actives are optional, and may be used if you suffer from acne despite having dry skin, or if you’d like a strong age prevention product.
Since those with dry skin are more prone to sensitivity it’s important to be careful with such strong actives. A great way of getting all the benefits of a powerful anti-acne or anti-aging treatment without any of the drying or irritating side effect is to make it a little harder for the product to penetrate into the skin.
By applying it after you’ve applied your moisturizer you can slow down the rate of penetration and decrease the chances that the product will irritate or dry your skin. You can also experiment with applying these products after a slightly thicker serum but before moisturizer.
• Occlusive Balm
A final occlusive step at night can be the best way to seal all of the essences, serums, and moisturizers into your skin. It is possible that your nighttime moisturizer is occlusive enough, but if it’s not or if you’d like an extra boost, follow it up with a thin layer of a balm or night cream that is rich in one of the occlusive ingredients I mentioned earlier, like petrolatum, mineral oil, lanolin, or dimethicone.
Weekly Dry Skin Care Routine
Once a week or so it is great to take a moment and truly pamper yourself, and also give your dry skin a deeper moisturizing treatment. You can do it in the morning or at night, by simply working a mask into your typical dry skin care routine.
• Cleanse
Before masking it’s important that the skin be clean. If you’re masking in the daytime, then a quick cleansing with a milk cleanser should be enough, but if you’re masking in the evening then follow your full cleansing regimen.
• Nourishing Mask
Once your skin is cleansed, you can apply your moisturizing mask. Sheet masks are particularly great for those with dry skin because the sheet itself acts as an occlusive and ensures a maximum amount of product penetrates into the skin. That being said, any creamy skin care mask that does not contain clay or charcoal is going to be fabulous.
Different masks should be applied differently. Sheet masks need to be smoothed over the skin and left on for as long as it takes them to become dry – this can be as long as one hour. You can apply a sheet mask over clean skin or you can apply it after toner or essence. Once enough time has elapsed, you simply remove the mask and then continue on with your skin care without rinsing or removing anything.
Cream masks are best applied to clean skin, either with the hands much like you would apply a moisturizer or with the help of a mask brush. These kinds of masks should be left on between 15 minutes and half an hour. When it’s time to remove your mask, simply rinse it away with cool water or wipe it off with a damp face cloth.
• Rest of Skin Care
After masking finish off your dry skin care routine as you normally would. Apply your usual essences, serums or moisturizers, and if it’s daytime then don’t forget sunscreen.
Photos via @nikki.cruz, @jamiellanders, @jaenmcq, @laviedefawn, @ellemorrisxo, @vivaluxuryblog