Do you experience dry, scaly skin that often becomes tight, flaky and itchy? No matter how much moisturizer you slather onto your face, you never seem to get relief? It’s a common experience, but this doesn’t make dry skin on the face any less uncomfortable or embarrassing. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can deal with this — we’ve come up with a skin care routine for dry skin that will clear away dead skin and replenish moisture so you can look radiant and confident again.

6 Dry Skin Symptoms You May Notice

Take a glance at the following symptoms to identify if you have dry skin: 

• The skin on your face and body feels very tight after showering, swimming or contact with water
• Generally, your skin has a rough, sandpaper texture
• The skin around your lips or on your face is flaking or scaly
• Fine lines or cracks are developing 
• You experience dryness that’s painful, itchy, or scaly
• Deep cracks form on your skin 

Still unsure if you have dry skin? Watch this In The Mix video as Eminence Organics Lead Skin Care Trainer Natalie Pergar demonstrates three easy steps for categorizing your skin.

How To Get Rid Of Dry Skin

Dry skin can be exacerbated by external factors like hormones, environmental stress and seasonal changes. Here are some easy ways to keep dry skin soft and supple.

1. Moisturize

Moisturizers are a no-brainer for dry skin care. Oil-based ointments, creams and lotions that are rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs) compensate for dry skin’s lack of oil and lipids. They lubricate the skin’s surface as well as fortify the skin’s moisture barrier to replenish and seal in much-needed moisture.

“When choosing moisturizer for dry skin, aim for a heavier moisturizer and look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid … ” explains Dr Hooman Khorasani, Dermatologic and Cosmetic Surgeon. “These are known to keep skin hydrated. Other ingredients to look for might be shea butter and lactic acid, which provide hydration and exfoliation.”

Pro Tip: Apply moisturizer while your skin is still slightly damp to lock in extra hydration.

2. Shower With Lukewarm Water

Extreme temperatures exacerbate an already dry complexion by stripping the skin of essential oils. Joshua Zeichner, M.D., tells SELF: “The water in your shower should be the temperature of what you would imagine a heated pool to be — approximately 84 degrees F.” If hot showers are non-negotiable, limit them to no more than 10 minutes to keep dry skin protected.

3. Use Gentle Ingredients

Like extreme temperatures, harsh cosmetic ingredients can impact the skin’s moisture barrier, causing dryness and irritation. To protect your skin, avoid products that include chemical ingredients like parabens, petrolatum, mineral oils, propylene glycol or sodium lauryl sulfate.

4. Protect Your Skin In Winter

Dry winter air also adds to skin dryness. During winter months, there is less moisture in the air, which causes the moisture in your skin to evaporate more quickly. To compensate, Harvard Health recommends using a humidifier and setting it to around 60%, which is sufficient to replenish lost moisture in your skin’s top layer.

5. Adjust Your Diet

You can enhance your skin’s ability to retain moisture by adding healthy fats to your diet. Omega-3 and omega-6 oils support skin health by fighting inflammation and bolstering the skin’s moisture barrier. Foods rich in healthy fats include salmon, flaxseed, walnuts and sunflower seeds.

Now that you know how to treat your dry skin, you can also consider a number of gentle products helpful for relieving dry skin on the face. One of the best ways to tackle it is by tailoring your skin care routine to include moisture-rich products that replenish and repair. We recommend the following routine to heal and soothe dry skin so that you can feel back to your normal self.

Dealing With Dry Skin On The Face? Your 5-Step Routine

If flaky skin is cramping your style, smooth things over day to night with these Eminence Organics solutions.

1. Cleanse

Lathering up with harsh soaps or strong fragrances can exacerbate dry skin. There’s also a chance that the foaming cleanser you’re using is stripping your skin of its natural oils. Instead, use a rich balm or oil. As a first cleansing step, purify your dry skin with a gentle, oil-based cleanser. We recommend the Stone Crop Cleansing Oil which replenishes the compexion with moisturizing ingredients like sunflower oil and jojoba oil. 

In addition to adding moisture, if you also want to exfoliate and remove surface debris, try the Monoi Age Corrective Exfoliating Cleanser. Infused with exotic monoi and made with Eminence Organics’ unique Natural Retinol Alternative, this refining cleanser gives you a smoother, more youthful-looking glow. 

2. Exfoliate (Weekly)

Our Product Support Team encourages exfoliating dry skin weekly to “take care of any flakiness.” For this type of complexion, a gentle exfoliant like Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant is your best bet. Containing lactic acid, rice and chickpea flour, this physical and chemical exfoliant clears dead skin cells and smooths rough, dry skin. The presence of salicylic acid gently exfoliates and removes impurities to brighten the skin’s appearance and shrink the appearance of pores.