The surface of the skin is covered by a mixture of lipids (oils). This lipid barrier coats and protects the skin, sealing in moisture and keeping out external agents like UV rays, cold, heat, pollution, etc.
A damaged lipid barrier results in dry, rough, and itchy skin.
The severity of this condition can range from mild seasonal dryness to chronic conditions like dry patches, eczema, psoriasis, and xerosis.
WHAT CAUSES DRY SKIN?
GENETICS
The most common cause of dry skin is genetics. If one or both of your parents have very dry skin, there’s a good chance that you do too. But help is at hand—our potent therapeutic oils are proven to soften and moisturize even the dryest skin.
AGING
With age, oil production in the body naturally depletes, resulting in increased dryness. While this is an inevitable process, the effects of aging can be slowed down with proper care and nourishment.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS & MEDICATION
Occasionally, dry skin can be the result of medical conditions like hypothyroidism, diabetes, psoriasis or eczema. Medication for conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, allergy, and acne may also increase the dryness of the skin.
COLD WEATHER
Cold air, low humidity, and windy conditions strip the skin of moisture. This is often worsened by prolonged exposure to heating or air conditioning. A humidifier can help by increasing the moisture content in your immediate environment.
HARSH CHEMICALS
Over cleansing and exfoliation are common culprits of skin dryness. Cleansers typically work by removing the oils in your skin, worsening dryness. Choose gentle, natural treatments over chemicals, alcohol, and acetones in your skincare routine.
DIET
Fast foods, dieting, and processed foods deprive your skin of the nutrition it needs, leading to dull, dry, fatigued skin. Ensure that you include healthy foods and fats like avocado, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish in your diet.
DEHYDRATION
The skin is the last organ to receive the nutrients and water we consume, so make sure that you have at least 8 glasses of water every day to avoid dehydrated skin.
SUN EXPOSURE
It’s easy to forget the sunblock, especially in winter when you can’t see the sun. But, visible or not, the UV rays are at work, breaking down collagen and drying out your skin, so don’t leave home without your sunscreen.
Rough patches on the skin caused by conditions like contact dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis (cradle cap), and ichthyosis vulgaris.
Dry skin patches are more alarming than dry skin. Characterized by rough, scaly and irritated skin prone to forming cracks and fissures, they aren’t easily treated with moisturizers, creams and other emollients.
These are isolated areas of extremely inflamed skin that have a tendency to flare up on elbows, knees, hands, feet, chest and face.
If left untreated, dry patches can worsen and lead to infection or to conditions like eczema or psoriasis.
Severe patches of dry skin can look different based on their cause.
Contact dermatitis: This is a red, itchy rash caused by an allergic reaction. Common culprits that are often overlooked are perfume, cosmetics, soaps or jewellery. It could also be an allergic reaction to the environment or caused by direct contact with an irritant like Poison Ivy.
This condition may clear up on its own, but can find faster relief with the application of topical solutions. The only permanent solution is to avoid contact with the allergen. If you’re suffering from contact dermatitis, consider an allergy test to discover your allergens.
Seborrheic dermatitis: A common inflammatory condition, which causes an itchy rash with flaky scales. On fairer skin, these patches are visible as redness, while on darker skin, you will see lighter colored patches. It is often found on the scalp or upper body and is known as ‘cradle cap’ in infants.
The exact causes of seborrheic dermatitis are not known, but current research suggests that it is related to a yeast in the body’s sebum or an irregular immune response.
Ichthyosis vulgaris: A genetic disorder, this condition mostly affects children between ages 2 to 5 years. The skin is unable to shed dead cells, resulting in dry, thick skin that resembles fish scales. No permanent cure is known for ichthyosis vulgaris, but treatments can control the symptoms.
Characterized by itchy, scaly, cracked skin which is not easily soothed, xerosis typically affects older adults.
Although itching is a general symptom of dry skin, in Xerosis scratching doesn’t offer much relief. More severe symptoms include peeling of skin, blisters, ring-shaped rashes, oozing, and infection.
Xerosis doesn’t often respond to moisturizers, creams and other emollients. Natural oils that are recognized by the body and penetrate deeper into the fatty tissues of the skin provide better symptomatic relief.
As the skin matures, its natural oils and lubricants get depleted, dead skin cells aren’t replaced by new ones, and protein production becomes low.
Medical conditions, specifically hypothyroidism, diabetes, malnutrition (deficiency of Vitamin A), and certain medications for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol can trigger or worsen this condition.
An uncomfortably itchy, inflammatory condition, eczema is often found in children under 5 but may affect people of all ages.
Depending on its type, eczema’s symptoms can range from mild to severe. It is marked by inflamed areas of the skin that start off being dry, red, itchy and can worsen into brown patches, bumps, crusts and thickened, scaly skin. If untreated, these areas may start oozing and develop infections.
Asthma and hay fever are common occurrences in people with eczema, since these disorders also result from atopy.
In infants and toddlers, rashes tend to appear in the head and neck area. In adolescents, they are common around knees and elbows. By adulthood, they can spread anywhere on the body.
There is no cure for eczema and the symptoms need to be managed and prevented.
Eczema is commonly seen in children under 5 years and is usually due to hereditary and genetic factors. Mostly affecting those with ‘atopy’ (an overactive immune system), eczema flares up when triggered by external factors like chemicals, or harsh climate. Certain allergens such as pollen, nuts, and dairy can worsen eczema in people with these sensitivities.
An autoimmune, inflammatory disorder characterised by silvery scales and extreme flare-ups followed by periods of remission.
This chronic medical condition causes thick, red, patches on the body called plaques. These plaques are often found on the elbows, knees, and scalp, and may be covered by flaky, silvery scales. Psoriasis is not as itchy as eczema but can be extremely painful and may cause peeling of skin and discoloration of fingernails and toenails.
Sufferers often see flare-ups followed by periods of remission when there are no active symptoms. Symptoms of psoriasis can range from mild to severe.
It is not clear exactly what causes this chronic condition, but it is mainly related to genetics and an overactive immune system which results in inflammation of the skin. In most healthy individuals, skin cells regenerate every 3 to 4 weeks. For psoriasis sufferers, this cycle is just a few days long, causing dead cells to pile up on the surface of the skin.
Lifestyle factors such as injury, infections, stress, hormones, alcohol, smoking, diet and certain medications may further worsen the condition.
Psoriasis is generally seen in adults above 50 years of age as skin dryness naturally worsens with age.
