Dry Skin Meets its Match

Dry skin is one that lacks moisture and feels dry, rough and scaly. Dry, scaly skin is essentially due to a disturbed epidermal barrier which results in increased trans-epidermal water loss.

This is in turn due to either a reduction or alteration of the normal ratio of lipids in the stratum corneum.

People who suffer from one of the hereditary ichthyoses, psoriasis, atopic eczema, older persons with sun-damaged skin and post-menopausal women, are more likely to have dry skin.

External factors such as exposure to dry, cold air, direct heat from a fire or heater, and excessive washing with an alkaline soap, detergents or solvents can cause or aggravate a dry skin condition.

Keratosis Pilaris is a common skin condition where one gets rough, bumpy skin on the upper arms. This is hereditary and is due to a build-up of keratin around the hair follicles in the affected areas. Fortunately, in most people, this condition improves as one gets older.

Treatment Options

As a general principle:

When it comes to cleansing, you want to take fewer lipids out of the skin and with topical moisturisers, you want to put more lipids back into the skin.

Cleansers

The ideal cleanser for persons with dry skin should have a pH as close to 5.5 as possible, it should not disturb the skin’s normal microbiome, and it should contain humectants such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin, and ideally be used on the face as well as the body. The CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser ticks all of the above and is also excellent at removing makeup.

Moisturisers

An ideal moisturiser for dry skin should contain lipids similar to the skin’s naturally occurring lipids such as ceramides1, 3, 6-II and it should also contain humectants which draw water into the skin. CeraVe has perfected the MVE technology, a revolutionary delivery system which allows these ingredients to be slowly released into the skin over a 24-hour period, helping to keep the skin soft and comfortable.

You need approximately 30 grams of moisturising cream to cover an average adult’s whole body.

Therefore, whichever moisturiser is recommended for people with dry skin, it should be available in a large container and be affordable. The CeraVe Moisturising Cream is appropriate for dry to very dry skin on the face and body. The CeraVe Moisturising Lotion is a lightweight lotion for normal and dry skin, also for the face and body. There is also a CeraVe Facial Moisturising Lotion with an SPF 25 in it and this contains ceramides, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.

There is also a CeraVe Eye Repair Cream that contains ceramides, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. This improves skin elasticity and dark circles around the eyes while enhancing barrier function.

CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser in conjunction with CeraVe SA Smoothing Cream is indicated for improving the rough, scaly bumps on the body in persons with Keratosis Pilaris.

For facial Keratosis Pilaris (Keratosis Rubra Pilaris), I would recommend cleansing with CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser once a day and then applying CeraVe Facial Moisturising Lotion twice a day.