How should I care for itchy dry skin?

Never, ever, use a bar of soap on your face or high-foaming cleansers.
The binders that hold a bar of soap together are in an alkaline base (high pH balance) which will strip all the water and natural oils out of the skin, causing the surface of the skin to dehydrate. Your skin cells need to stay moist in order to be healthy, and without water, acne conditions, sensitive and dry skins will be aggravated and made worse. Even if the soap claims it’s moisturizing, it will still strip the skin, no matter what. Remember the rule: more lather, more drying. Less lather, less drying.

Use a glycolic acid product.
Hands down, studies show the effectiveness of exfoliation given by glycolic acid in reducing the appearance of past sun damage, smoothing and softening the skin, and increasing the cell turnover rate. Other exfoliants will try their best, but glycolic is them most effective AHA out on the market. Look for alcohol-free formulas.

Get regular monthly facials.
Think of facials as maintenance for the health of your skin! As the skin ages, circulation and metabolism slow down, resulting in tired and dull looking skin. One of the benefits of a facial is increased circulation and oxygen resulting in healthy, glowing skin!

• Mandatory steps are twice-a-day washing with a good cleanser followed by a non-drying toner.
• A sugar scrub three times a week is very beneficial for exfoliating and stimulating healthy skin regrowth.
• Finally, always apply a good moisturizer, preferably one with anti-oxidant properties.

For dry skin, the first thing that needs to change is the method of cleansing the skin. If we are speaking of facial skin that means changing to a soap-free cleanser and cutting out drying toners. Using hydrating creams to moisturize dry skin is very important to relieve dry skin.

For dry body skin, it is important to take very quick 3- or 4-minute showers using lukewarm or tepid water. Using a moisturizing body wash is essential so that a moisturizing layer is left on the skin. Apply a rich body moisturizer over the entire body twice daily – not just after the shower.

I live in Minnesota, which is fairly cold and dry in the winter months. Nevertheless, the most important thing you can do for your skin is gentle cleansing and hydration. I have already discussed the use of a gentle cleanser, such as Vanicream, but the hydration component is very important.

• The best time to put a moisturizer on is right after bathing or showering. It serves two purposes: It will seal in the hydration that you achieved from the bath or shower and add even more hydration and serve as a protective barrier.
• The best lotion is the one that gets used; however, I recommend CeraVe, which is a new generation moisturizer that employs a technology called microvesicular emulsion. The tiny microspheres are layers of lotion and water almost like little tiny onions. These layers will continually break down providing hours of hydration and protection to the skin.
• I recommend a moisturizing lotion immediately after bathing and one other time a day. Keeping the skin hydrated twice a day with topical emollients and/or moisturizers will make a huge difference in the overall health of skin.

Dry skin is an initial symptom of barrier disruption. The ONLY clinically proven way to correct the underlying cause of dry skin is to restore healthy barrier function by applying a product that contains a specific topical combination (patented ratio) of natural epidermal lipids (cholesterol, fatty acids and ceramides) proven to restore barrier function and thereby correct the actual cause of dry skin.

Most moisturizers merely provide a temporary masking of dry skin symptoms by coating the skin with heavy oils or wax mixtures (that do not contain the epidermal lipids) that can actually make the condition worse by further hindering natural barrier function.

Avoid products that dry skin—be careful with any harsh cleansers, exfoliants, etc. Cleanse with an antioxidant-rich cleanser to cleanse thoroughly without stripping skin of oils.

• For treating dry skin, the best solution is an all natural facial serum or all-natural body oil, that contains high quality oils.
• Avoid products that contain ingredients that strip your skin, such as most commercial soaps.