Dry Skin: Causes, Symptoms and Solutions

Feeling tight, flaky and itchy? Dry skin (xerosis) is incredibly common, affecting people of all skin types and ages and on various parts of the body. For some it might be an occasional episode, while for others it can be a chronic, irritating problem impacting their quality of life. On the bright side, people with dry skin may also tend to have small pores and rarely break out.

The causes of dry skin can vary from external – climate, environment and lifestyle, to internal – medications, hormone fluctuations and coexisting diseases. Whatever the cause, the features are essentially the same – lack of hydration and a disturbed lipid content in the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin) allowing moisture to escape and irritants to enter causing scaliness, itching and loss of elasticity. The frequency of dry skin tends to increase with age, making it that much harder to battle.

Characteristics of dry skin:

• Skin feels tight, lacks elasticity
• Skin texture feels rough
• Complexion looks dull and blotchy
• Scaling, flaking and itchiness
• Cracking, redness and irritation
• Pores barely visible
• Fine lines and wrinkles