I have dry skin and it can be god awful at times. I'm talking dry, flaky skin. It's mainly on my T-zone where others tend to be more oily. People who have dry, flaky skin know that if you don't have the right foundation on, it will show every imperfection and every flake on their face. I hate it. Before I could even think about searching for a new foundation, I wanted to find the perfect skin regimen for my skin type.
I did loads of research on the internet and watched tons of YouTube videos on how to treat my type of skin. Sadly, none of those really worked for me. I finally just combined bits and pieces of advice that was given, that worked for me, and arrived at my now daily skin routine.
Because I do have dry skin, I do not use any facial washes that lather into a foam on my face. Facial cleansers that foam tend to strip away moisture, at least on me they do. As my skin changes from the cooler months to the warmer months, so does my skin regimen.
In the cooler months, when my skin suffers from dryness the most, I use a cream cleanser like Noxzema. Yes, Noxzema. I love the way it tingles and it adds the necessary moisture my skin needs. I do not exfoliate my skin during the cold season because it causes my skin to become more dry and it hurts like hell. It feels the equivalent to rubbing a black coarse nail file all over my face, not that I have done that, but I am assuming it would feel like that. For a moisturizer, I use Estee Lauder Daywear. At night, after washing my face, for the time being, I apply Estee Lauder Time Zone Night (it's a sample bottle, but a little goes a very long way). This skin routine decreases the dryness and flakiness of my skin that the harsh cold winter air causes.
In the warmer months, my skin is normal to dry to oily. Because my skin wants to keep me guessing, I use a gelish type facial cleanser like CeraVe (this was on my Hit or Miss blog post I did eons ago). This too does not lather. Not only does this leave my face feeling refreshed, but it helps tone down the redness of rosacea my cheeks have. Such a wonderful and inexpensive product. I also begin to lightly exfoliate my skin since my skin becomes oilier. My go to exfoliater has always been St. Ives Apricot Scrub. It's gentle and does not irritate my sensitive skin. I use this about 1-3 times a week depending on how my skin feels that week. On oilier days, for my moisturizer, I use Shiseido Pureness. It's a gel moisturizer and prevents my face feeling like a greasy mess at the end of the day. On the normal to dry days, I continue to use my Estee Lauder Daywear.
I have been doing this skin regimen for about a year and I haven't had any problems with dry flakes on my skin in a long time. I may have some from time to time, but not nearly as bad as it had been. I had been battling dry flakey skin since my late 20's. I wish I discovered this skin routine years ago. God I hate getting old.
I do want to add, no matter what season it is, if I know I am going to be exposed to direct sunlight for more than 10 minutes, I will use Eucerin Everyday Facial Protection with a SPF 30 instead of my regular facial moisturizer. Everyone knows or should know that the sun's UVA rays sucks the youth out of our lovely skin. This is why it boggles me why people insist on tanning. Yes it looks good, but while you age your skin, I will do my best from preventing the dreadful aging process (without medical intervention). I don't mean to offend anyone that enjoys tanning, but come on people, educate yourself. No one is invincible to the damaging effects of UVA and UVB rays. Fake and bake is the way to go.
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| I am missing the CeraVe facial cleanser from this photo of mine because I just ran out of it and have yet to go to the store and get more. All products in this photo and mentioned were purchased by my hard earn money and not given to me. |
Hmmm... I have skin like you described - flaky and sensitive! Matches my personality :P. I'll have to give your regime a try! Thanks for posting this Amy.
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