Maintaining Dry Skin on Face

Trust me, I should know... all my life, I've had dry skin specifically around my mouth, eyes and nose. Often I'll get very dry skin on my forehead. God forbid I take a shower though- that's when my skin really dries out and even starts flaking. Gross! What's even weirder about all of this is that I have dry skin, but I also have very oily skin at the same time. How can you even have those two characterists working together? I don't know, but it seriously isn't cool.

When my skin used to get dry, especially around my mouth or my nose, I had the tendency to try and put water on it and/or continuously rub it as if it would go away. Instead, it would just inflame the area and make it red and stingy. Good to say that's a huge mistake on my part. Then I found out how to manage my skin... thank goodness, too.

Now, I know I'm not the only one with this horrible problem. There is definately hundreds of thousands of people out there just like me, and probably have no idea what to do. That's what this page was created for; to help you maintain that dry skin, as well as give you a few good tips on how to keep your skin from acting up!

This is very important, especially if you have naturally oily skin, or even very dry skin in the morning... or possibly both, like me. But be careful; when you wash your face, don't use soap and water, or just water. That is bad, and will not moisturize your skin- it will only dry it out more! What you're going to want to do is use a gentle facial wash in the mornings. I prefferably use OLAY complete lathering cleanser. It's very gentle on my skin, and even smells great!

First splash your face with some warm water. Squeeze out a dab of your facial wash into your hands and lather it up, applying it to your face while your face is still moist/wet. Rub it in, cleaning your face of the oils and dirt good. Then rinse your face with warm water. Pat your face dry with a clean wash cloth, but don't dry it completely; leave it a bit moist. Apply a daily facial moisturizer while your face is still damp so that your skin will better absorb the moisturizing lotion. This will work wonders for your facial skin.

For the next 5-20 minutes, you may need to apply just a bit more moisturizer to certain places on your face every now and then. I know I have to, but perhaps you wont. Note: I use Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer, and I have to say it's the best one I've ever used so far, and I've used a lot.

For nighttimes and evenings, use the same directions as you would for the mornings, except for one little difference... you'll probably want to use something a little heavier for facial wash because after a long day of running around and tending to work, you're face is bound to be full of much more oils and dirts than you had in the morning. In this case, using a blackhead scrub is a great thing. I personally use Clean & Clear Blackhead clearing Scrub and it works wonders. Just substitute this for the morning facial wash at night, and your face will be, well, clean and clear!

Tip no.1 It's good to keep the moisturizer with you at all times because you never know when you'll need it, especially if you'll be out a lot and the weather is very windy/dry.

Tip no.2 If you happen to get dry, flaky skin, whatever you do, make sure you do not try to moisturize it by adding water- this will only create problems for you as it will make the area red and painful!

Tip no.3 If your skin becomes dry/red/flaky/stingy, don't touch it or rub it. Add moisturizer to it as frequently as you can until it subsides!

Tip no.4 If you get dry skin around your mouth and it is very sensitive, be careful when eating greasy foods. Try to keep the area around your mouth as clean as you can when it comes to eating to keep from getting irritable skin.

Tip no.5 Not all moisturizers and facial washes are the same. Be aware of your skin type and try different ones until you find one you're comfortable with.

Tip no.6 Try not to touch your face too much.

Tip no.7 Splash your face with cold water after washing it (but before moisturizing!) to help close up pores.

NOTE: When picking a moisturizer, be careful if you're going with something scented, as this can irritate your skin more than it can help it. Your best bet is to go with something unscented or original!