Caring for dry and blemished skin

Dry facial skin may not be an inherent condition of the skin but could arise due to seasonal changes and other environmental factors. Dryness not only damages the skin barrier but also lowers moisture levels which could then lead to inflammation and blemishes. Avoid dryness through adequate hydration and better moisturisation – review how you moisturise your dry skin in your skincare regime and start enjoying healthier and more beautiful skin!

SK-II’s ongoing research to attain dewy and supple skin has inevitably shed light on the causes of skin dryness. These are the key research findings:

Atmospheric moisture varies throughout the day, just like how the moisture content of your skin doesn’t remain constant from dawn to dusk. The mornings are when your skin is at its most plump and its moisture content gradually depletes as the day progresses.

Reasons for this moisture decrease
are a combination of the following:

• Exposure to a dry air-conditioned environment

• Physical and psychological stress

• Oxidation damage from UV exposure

Since these conditions are almost unavoidable in our daily lives, moisturisation care becomes all the more crucial in preventing dryness.

During winter, the skin becomes dryer due to the lower temperature and humidity. In summer, however, even though we experience skin dryness, we feel the stickiness on our skin more. This is because the sebum secretion is higher during the summer months, causing the skin surface to feel sticky. Not only that, stronger UV rays on summer days, along with the extreme temperature variance between air-conditioned interiors and scorching outdoors, can cause a lot of damage. These all affect the skin barrier, making it more tolerable to dryness.

Statistics show that if we only have five hours of sleep each night for three consecutive days, the skin’s water content will be reduced by 17%. This is a 13-fold increase in water loss compared to normal skin conditions! So make sure you get sufficient quality sleep to enjoy beautiful skin.

Alcohol dehydrates and damages the skin. Moreover, alcohol that is not metabolized by the body interferes with the skin’s protective function and its ability to retain moisture. In fact, your skin begins to dehydrate within half an hour of alcohol consumption! As for smoking, inhalation of tobacco smoke results in oxidative stress. It creates an imbalance of antioxidants in the body which leads to skin cell damage. This results in dull and dry skin, aging, and a host of diseases over time.

The NMF in the epidermis forms a protective coat, along with intercellular lipids such as sebum and ceramide, to maintain adequate hydration and supple skin. We start off with a high amount of NMF as a child but this declines rapidly with age. The result is reduced water content which causes the skin to lose its elasticity and become dull and dehydrated.  Hence, moisturisation is essential in maintaining youthful skin, embodied by the dewiness of one’s complexion.

• Feeling of tautness or dryness in your skin

• Absence of glow in the skin, lacking suppleness

• Makeup lacks staying power and smudges easily

• Flaky skin

• Skin feels rough to the touch

• Visible signs of acne and/or pimples

Skin that is dry tends to be taut, rough, and lackluster. It also causes an unevenness to the skin texture which prevents makeup from staying on well after application. Not only that, the skin also gets progressively flakier and rougher. Should this dryness persist, the skin’s barrier will be damaged and no longer performs its protective function. This will cause sensitive skin to become rough and secretions from sebaceous glands will increase to counter this dryness. The result is clogged pores, which will then lead to unsightly acne and pimples.