Dry skin is a condition caused by the lack of moisture in skin. Fine lines and wrinkles are just some of the conditions, which may be caused due to dry skin. Dry skin can also be very uncomfortable. The condition is mostly caused by environmental factors such as exposure to harsh weather conditions or getting soaked in hot water.

People at risk:
1. Age: People who are older than 40 years of age tend to be more at risk of dry skin than people who are younger than 40 years.
2. Climate: As mentioned earlier, weather conditions play a pivotal role in causing dry skin. Therefore, people who live in areas where the climate is either very hot or very cold tend to get dry skin more often than people who live in temperate climates. Low humidity is another factor which causes dry skin.
3. Profession: Some professions, such as nursing or hairstyling requires frequent usage of hot water all through the day, which can also lead to dry skin.
4. Swimming: Swimming is one of the major causes of dry skin. This is especially true in pools, which have chlorine. This is because chlorine increases the itchiness on your skin.

Treatments:
1. Lifestyle changes: Usually, lifestyle changes such as avoiding long, hot showers and putting moisturizers are good enough to make sure that dry skin goes away.
2. Lactic acid: Creams with lactic acid and urea can be prescribed by your doctor, if the dryness of your skin does not go away with moisturizers. These creams are usually over-the-counter medications.
3. Prescription creams: Prescription creams are given, only when conditions such as dermatitis, psoriasis or ichthyosis are present.
4. Wet dressing: Wet dressing is given only when dermatitis has set in, as it mostly help in preventing the infection.
4. Oiling: Oiling your body, especially with fish or flaxseed oil, ensures that your body does not succumb to dry skin.
5. Hand sanitizer: Normal hand sanitizers tend to make your hands dry. Thus, dermatologists recommend hydrating hand sanitizers that allow your hands to maintain their moisture. Therefore, whenever you are using a hand sanitizer, use a hydrating one.

Risks and Treatment of Dry Skin

Have you tried one product after another during the dry weather and are still left with dry and itchy skin. Then your skin care product is to be blamed. Creams, lotions and oils all essentially perform the same job of moisturizing your skin. It is how they do it that is different.

There is a wide range of choices available in the market for all three products with individual variations in ingredients including types of oils like coconut, lavender, jojoba, etc., types of value proposition like 24-hour moisture lock, or intense hydrating care and flavors like rose, strawberry and even chocolate that leaves you smelling great.

The main difference between a cream and lotion:
The main difference between the two besides additives is their oil to liquid ratio. Lotions and creams, both contain oils and water. In lotions the proportion of water is more compared to oil. So it is more 'liquid' in nature and is easy to spread on the skin. Creams on the other hand, are thicker because of their higher oil content. They can typically be more 'greasy' in nature because of their consistency.

Choosing between the two:
Lotion and creams, both will do the trick, but it will depend on what you need and when you use it. Give a good thought to your skin. Is it always dry or only during certain times of the year. If your skin dries easily and you can see a white line if you scratch with your nail, you'll need a cream that absorbs more slowly and has benefits that stay longer.

Applying cream then creates a layer of oil that locks the moisture in your skin. The water does not evaporate, and your skin stays hydrated. Lotions are easy to spread on the skin. If your skin is already soft and supple and you simply need a layer to keep the dryness at bay, a lotion is a good choice for you.

Use both lotion and cream:
Morning, before bed, after baths or repeatedly throughout the day? The time you plan on using a moisturizing product will play a part in determining which type you choose. Creams are great to use right after a bath when the skin is soft after absorbing moisture. The cream then creates a protective layer of oil, which allows the skin to stay hydrated longer.

Creams are also great to use during bedtime when you don't have to worry about getting an oily look on your face or body. Lotions are best if you need to reapply during the day, for instance,  you wash your hands and face and need to dab on some quick moisture.

Should I Use A Lotion Or A Cream For Dry Skin?

Natural ways to remove your blackheads and whiteheads
 
Blackheads and whiteheads not only make you look unattractive, but also are hard to cure and keep recurring. Fortunately, there are quite a few substances and food items available in every kitchen that can effectively and naturally treat them and can also prevent them from recurring! 

Some of the best natural treatments for whiteheads and blackheads are-

1. Use milk- milk is a natural cleanser. Add a hint of lemon juice to half a cup of milk and mix it well with half a spoon of salt. Apply this mixture while scrubbing thoroughly on the entire surface of your face skin. This method decreases whiteheads and blackheads in a week and also stops them from recurring.

2. Cinnamon &amp; honey- a paste made up of one tablespoon of cinnamon powder and adequate honey is a very effective mixture. Apply it on the face, especially on the affected areas, and keep it on for the entire night. Wash it off in the morning. Continue this every night till whiteheads and blackheads disappear.

3. Baking soda- baking soda is exceptionally good to treat several skin problems. A mixture of baking soda and water must be applied on the face. Once it dries, wash it off. This mixture dries off the whiteheads and blackheads and also removes excessive oil from the skin.

4. Mint &amp; turmeric- extract 4 teaspoons of mint juice and add half a spoon of turmeric making a thick paste. Apply it on affected areas for a while. Once this paste dries off, wash your face with water. Milk can replace mint juice if desired.

5. Lemon juice- squeeze out lemon juice from 2 big sized lemons. Add some water to reduce the acidic effect. Dip a cotton ball in it and rub it across your face. You can do this several times a day. This is the simplest method to treat whiteheads and blackheads.

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Everybody Has Them! Remove Blackheads &amp; Whiteheads Naturally.

Raise a toast to great skin with vodka!

The Russians love their national drink, the vodka, as much as the french love their fine wines. And just like wine, vodka can be easily used in your daily beauty regime to add a much wanted healthy white glow to your skin.

Vodka is a great astringent or toner. Soak a cotton ball in a mix that is equal parts vodka and water and then lightly dab all over your skin. It will cleanse the skin and tighten pores.

You can add a dash of lemon juice to the mixture and freeze it. Rub these beauty cubes onto your face to bring down skin bloat as vodka and lemon juice together tighten pores and brighten the skin.

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Raise a Toast to Great Skin with Vodka!

When the natural moisture content of your skin begins to dry up, you experience dry skin. Although it is a temporary skin condition which occurs mainly during the winter or in a generally dry climate, for some people, it could be a problem for a lifetime.

Naturally dry skin tendencies v/s drying of other skin types
Naturally, the water content of a healthy skin is around 10 to 20 percent. This natural moisture level can dwindle due to many factors and the skin may show signs of drying. Thus you may end up getting dry, flaky, itchy and lifeless skin. People with naturally dry skin experience 75 percent more water loss than normal skin. Since the skin loses water and sebum (the oil secretion from the sebaceous glands within the skin), the topmost layer of the skin begins to dry. As a result, the top layer starts peeling away. These skin peels are called flakes.

Causes

You can experience dry skin due to excessively cold weather, which in most cases is accompanied by a lack of humidity.
Again, if your skin is exposed to too much heat or skin drying conditions like sauna baths or prolonged hot showers, you experience dry skin.
Applying skin cleansing materials or chemicals can also make the skin dry.
Some internal disorders like illness or infection can make your skin dry.
Treatment
When you have a perennially dry skin, you should moisturize it daily to keep it hydrated. You should consult a dermatologist for picking out the right skin cream for your skin. The appropriate moisturizer, if you have very dry skin should be oil or petroleum based. When you purchase the prescribed moisturizer or lotion, make sure you buy something which contains vitamin E, Shea Butter and Avocado Oil. Since these moisturizing agents aren t water based , they can lock in the skin moisturizer effectively.

Advantages of moisturising regularly

Dry skin is prone to wrinkle formation   When you moisturize daily, the collagen levels of your skin are restored, which can then effectively fight wrinkling and aging of your skin.
Prevents flakiness   Since the upper layer of your skin starts peeling off, your skin may appear dull, lifeless and flaky. The condition worsens when there is a cold weather outside. Moisturizing your skin daily will make your skin get a natural glow and stop flaking form occurring in the first place.
Reduces itchiness: Moreover, daily moisturizing will make your skin less itchy.
Moisturising reduces the negative effects of makeup: Not moisturizing dry skin will make it look less hydrated. Applying makeup on your dry skin directly is the worst thing you can do. This may spoil your makeup and make it look creasy and broken. Thus, you should keep your skin hydrated by applying moisturiser regularly.

Flaky Skin - Why You Should Moisturize it Daily?

Between a woman dressed in a satin dress and another dressed in cotton, who do you think was more comfortable? The lady dressed in cotton ofcourse! It isn't the length of the dress that dictates this answer but the breathability of the fabric.

Breathability can be defined as the fabric's ability to allow air and moisture to pass through it. This is determined by the composition of fibers and how tightly they are woven together. Wearing breathable fabric helps your skin breathe by allowing sweat to evaporate rather than block skin pores. This also helps regulate your body's temperature. So, when you go shopping for your summer wardrobe, look out for these fabrics.

1 Cotton
Cotton is a natural fiber hat can be found in a number of varieties. However, not all of them are breathable. For your skin to breathe, avoid cotton blends and stick to 100% cotton fabric. Seersucker and madras cotton are great for summer. Cotton clothes are ideal for dry summers as well as humid conditions.

2 Linen
The light weight nature of linen makes it an extremely breathable fabric. This natural fiber also absorbs moisture very well.

3 Light Silk
Silk is often termed as a winter material but light silks are ideal for any weather. Silk is highly absorbent and dries quickly thus allowing your skin to breathe. It also has natural climate regulating properties that allow it to stay cool in summers and warm in winters. Silk is also the most hypoallergenic fabric available.

4 Chambray
Chambray is a breathable alternative to denims. While heavy weight chambray has a rugged appeal, light weight chambray can have a casual as well as dressy appeal.

On that note, here are a few fabrics to avoid

1 Nylon
Nylon is a completely synthetic material with low absorption and a water repellant nature. Thus not only will it not allow sweat to evaporate, it will trap your sweat within your clothes. This is both uncomfortable and unhealthy.

2 Polyester and Polyester blends
Like nylon, polyester is water repellent and thus allows perspiration to between your clothes and your skin causing the garment to stick to the body. Don't assume a polyester cotton blend to be any better as even a 40% synthetic presence can keep the fabric from absorbing sweat.

3 Viscose or Rayon
Both these fabrics are often passed off as cotton. However they do not have the absorption or breathability nature of cotton. While it will not trap heat like nylon and polyester, rayon also repels water thus leading to a perspiration build up.

4 Satin
Satin is produced by weaving nylon and polyester together and hence is synthetic and does not allow the skin to breathe. Also satin is thick and heavy.

Which kind of clothing lets your skin breathe?

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