“normal” skin or even an oily complexion believe
that her skin has suddenly become dry.
These changes can also afect how the skin
processes lipids, the oils that keep skin moist and
supple, as Elias and his colleagues reported in the
Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Although
oil production does drop with age, changes in
skin surface chemistry mean that the skin can
no longer use the oil it does produce to help it
properly retain moisture.
Certain medications can also cause skin to lose
water more readily. These include some of the
most commonly prescribed drugs, such as topical
steroids and retinoids and isotretinoin (prescribed
as Roaccutane for severe acne), all of which cause
thinning of the top layer of skin, which increases
water loss; statins, widely prescribed for cholesterol
control, can interfere with how fats are made; and
medications for high blood pressure have a diuretic
efect. In fact, virtually any medication that lists
dehydration or mouth dryness as a side-efect is
likely to be robbing water from your complexion.THE MOISTURISER DILEMMA
When facial skin gets rough or ash-looking, it’s
natural to reach for a moisturising cream or lotion.
“Moisturiser provides a little bit of mortar, so it
makes skin feel smooth,” Eckel explains. But it can
be the wrong kind of smooth. In patting down dead
skin cells, you can create a more compact layer of
bricks that’s harder to slough of. “With continual
moisturising, you get more dead cells, even more
dullness, even more rough texture and even more
slowing of the keratinocyte cycle,” she says.
Slavishly moisturising, it turns out, can also
make the skin dependent on lotion in a vicious
cycle that’s not only expensive but also potentially
harmful. “If you’ve got normal skin and you’re not
losing the right amount of water out of your skin’ssurface, then that can trigger your skin to produce
less inherent moisturise,” explains Patel. “You can
get into the cycle of the more you moisturise, the
more moisturiser you need, because you’re not
getting feedback from your own skin.”THE RIGHT REGIMEN...
The first step to smoother, healthier facial skin
is gentle but thorough cleansing twice daily. Skip
true soaps, which have a high pH and can irritate
skin, and instead opt for a hydrating cleanser with
a balance of ingredients (such as glycolic or
salicylic acid) that helps removes excess skin-cell
build-up and oils; and products containing
ingredients that give back (such as glycerine,
a powerful humectant that attracts water and
is also a building block of fats in the body).The lifestyle eect
Healthy skin is not just about skin care
but also about diet and lifestyle. To help
maintain skin function from the inside out:✱ Eat a diet rich in healthy
unsaturated fats from foods
such as salmon, laxseed,
nuts, avocado and olive oil
to trap moisture in the skin.✱ Manage stress, which
increases cortisol levels
and can damage the
skin’s barrier.✱ Get seven to eight hours of
sleep, as too few Zs can hike
barrier-busting cortisol levels.✱ Exercise regularly to keep
a steady supply of blood
and nutrients lowing to the
skin to help leave it glowing.✱ To ensure you stay hydrated,
try to make water your drink
of choice. “The body sends
water to vital organs irst,
then to the skin,” explains
cosmetic dermatologist
Rachael Eckel. “So if you
don’t drink enough, your
skin gets short-changed.”92 PREVENTIONAUS.COM.AU