Helpful Tips for Acne Sufferers with Dry Skin
When you have acne, skin care is especially important. To fight acne, the products you use can be very hard on your skin, drying and cracking it. The only thing worse than acne is to have cracked, dry, red skin to go with it. To avoid this, try these helpful tips.
Bathing Tips
Use a non-soap cleanser that has ceramides to replenish your skin's outer layer. Ceramides are fatty molecules that make up the outer barrier of your skin. You lose ceramides as you age or due to harsh acne treatments.
Avoid anti-bacterial soap. These soaps have alcohol in them and they remove oils from your skin causing it to dry out. The same is true with scented cleansers. Most dermatologists recommend not using these products if you have acne and have dry skin.
Use lukewarm water instead of hot and cut your showers short lasting only five to ten minutes. Long, hot showers strip away your body's natural oils. Pat your skin dry, leaving it slightly moist, instead of vigorously rubbing. This traps moisture in when you use moisturizer.
Moisturizing Tips
Moisturizing your skin is extremely important but it doesn't have to be expensive. Don't fall for commercials advertising expensive skin treatments and moisturizers. You can moisturize your skin using moisturizers as simple as petroleum jelly or mineral oil.
If you prefer moisturizers that smell nice, look for creams that have Shea Butter, creamides, stearic acid, or glycerin. You can find creams with synthetic ceramides that helps replenish the ceramides you lose from your acne products. CeraVe is a good choice of reasonably priced ceramide cream that you can buy over the counter.
After washing and drying your skin, add a generous amount of moisturizer. This will act as a barrier and trap more moisture in your skin.
In addition to these moisturizing and bathing tips, be sure to use a humidifier during the wintertime or any time your skin is especially dry. During winter, central heating systems as well as wood fires, and gas stoves help to dry out your skin.
To win the battle against acne, it's important to use your acne products regularly. But, if they cause dry skin, use these moisturizing and bathing tips to get the relief you need. They not only will give you relief from dry skin but also won't cause acne flare-ups either.