What is dry skin? When skin loses too much water, it becomes dry.
Is dry skin contagious? No.
Relief for dry skin
To relieve extremely dry skin, apply a cream or ointment throughout the day. Creams and ointments tend to be more effective than lotion.
Self-care often heals dry skin
When the air contains little humidity, it’s common to develop dry skin. Many people who live in an area with low humidity, such as Southwestern United States, get dry skin.
During the winter, indoor heating or cozying up to a fireplace can rob skin of moisture, making skin dry and chapped.
When low humidity causes dry skin, making some skin care changes can relieve and heal dry skin. Dermatologists recommend that you use plenty of moisturizer. Creams and ointments tend to work better than lotions. When you apply a cream or ointment to your skin, it can hold more moisture in your skin than a lotion.
You’ll find the skin care routine that dermatologists recommend for healing dry skin at: Dermatologists’ top tips for relieving dry skin
Dry skin relief can require a dermatologist’s help
With the right self-care, many people can heal dry skin at home. When effective, you tend to see improvement within 2 weeks.
If you continue to have dry skin or it worsens, something other than dry air may be causing your dry skin. Excessively dry skin can develop due to:
An underlying medical condition, such as atopic dermatitis or kidney disease
Medication you take
What you touch throughout the day, such as certain foods
Age
A dermatologist can diagnose what’s causing your dry skin. If you have a condition that affects your skin, such as atopic dermatitis, your dermatologist can create a treatment plan for you. Treatment can help control the skin condition and relieve the dryness.
Your dermatologist can also help you get relief from excessively dry skin due to other causes.
Treating dry skin has health benefits
When you treat dry skin, you can feel better. Treating dry skin may also cut your risk of developing another skin condition.
Findings from a large German study suggest that people who live with dry skin may develop irritated skin or an allergic skin reaction.
People over 60 years of age who have very dry skin may have an increased risk of developing a skin infection and bed sores.
Cancer treatment can be a cause
Dry or thickening skin can be a side effect of cancer treatment. If you develop either, see a dermatologist right away. Treatment from a dermatologist can help prevent an infection and other problems.
Effective treatment for dry skin strengthens the outer layer of your skin, which can:
Make your skin feel more comfortable
Reduce your skin’s sensitivity
Lessen your risk of developing a skin infection
Prevent dry skin from worsening
Everyday dry skin differs from excessively dry skin, which can require a dermatologist’s help. If you have excessively dry skin, you may notice one or more of the following:
Dehydration
Excessively dry skin has lost a lot of moisture, so it’s noticeably dehydrated. Signs of dehydrated skin include dryness, more noticeable fine lines, and itch.
Flakes, rough texture
When the skin loses enough moisture, it starts to flake off. This causes the rough texture.
Cracks in the skin
As the skin dries out, it shrinks. This shrinking causes cracks to form. Some cracks can become deep and may bleed.
Itch
Some people who have excessively dry skin say their skin itches all (or most of) the time. The nearly constant itch can make it difficult to focus on everyday tasks, such as driving or getting your work done. The itch can make it difficult to fall asleep and can wake you from a sound sleep.
Skin feels painful, may sting or burn
Dry, cracked or raw skin often feels painful. When something touches the already painful skin, such as water, some people say their skin burns. In a cold, dry climate, this can happen to hairdressers and others who often have wet hands while at work.
Wrinkled with a rough, loose texture
When skin loses a lot of moisture, it wrinkles and develops a rough texture. With age, it also becomes loose, as shown here.
Skin infections
Excessively dry skin has breaks in its outer layer. This allows germs to get inside, which can lead to a skin infection. Signs of an infection are:
Yellow crusts on the skin
An area of skin leaks pus or other fluid
Swelling and discoloration
Peeling skin
The outer layer of our skin continually renews itself. As it does so, the body sheds dead skin cells. You usually don’t see this shedding. When the skin sheds more than the usual number of skin cells, such as when the skin becomes excessively dry, iskin can peel off.
Raw, irritated, and painful skin
When skin becomes excessively dry, it can feel raw from the cracking and bleeding. This woman’s hands have nicks and cuts that bleed.
What causes people to develop excessively dry skin varies. Some people get it from immersing their hands in water frequently throughout the day.
Hairstylists frequently develop excessively dry skin due to having frequently wet hands and using hair dyes and other beauty products. All of these can strip the much-needed oils from their hands.
Dry skin comes with aging
By 60 years of age nearly everyone has dry skin. If you also take certain medication, undergo cancer treatment, or receive dialysis, you can develop excessively dry skin.
What causes excessively dry skin?
When skin loses water too quickly, it becomes dry. This can happen for many reasons.
Everyday things, such as using deodorant soaps and harsh cleaning products, can strip oils and fats from our skin. Taking long, hot showers can also dry your skin. Living in a cold, dry place dries the skin, too.
You can often heal dry skin by making some changes, which includes moisturizing several times a day.
When the skin continues to lose water and cannot heal itself, skin can become excessively dry. Age, certain medications, and disease can also cause skin to become excessively dry.
Who develops excessively dry skin?
Certain people have a higher risk of developing excessively dry skin. If any of the following apply to you, you may. How many of the following apply?
Middle age or older: With age, our skin produces less sebum, an oil that keeps skin soft and youthful. By your 40s, the amount of sebum your body makes drops dramatically. After 40, the amount of sebum your skin contains continues to drop.
Black, brown, or fair skin: Research shows that people who have brown, black, or fair skin are more likely to develop very dry skin than people who have a medium complexion, such as people who have Mediterranean ancestry.
Certain medications: Extremely dry skin is a possible side effect of several medications, including statins and diuretics.
Wet work: A job that requires you to frequently put your hands in water throughout the day or use harsh chemicals can strip your skin of its protective layer. Hairdressers, nurses, housekeepers, construction workers, cooks, florists, and metal workers often develop excessively dry skin.
Low outdoor temperature: When outdoor temperatures fall, the air holds less moisture. Research shows that this can lead to excessively dry skin.
Vitamin or mineral deficiency: Skin requires nutrients to keep it healthy. If you’re not getting enough vitamin D, vitamin A, niacin, zinc, or iron, you can develop excessively dry skin.
Smoking: Cigarettes contain harmful chemicals that speed up how quickly your skin ages, so skin becomes drier.
Condition that affects the skin: Some conditions that affect the skin, including atopic dermatitis, ichthyosis, perioral dermatitis, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis, can cause excessively dry skin.
Itchy skin condition: If you’ve had a skin condition that caused itchiness at some time in your life, you have a greater risk of developing excessively dry skin. Many adults who had atopic dermatitis as a child live with extremely dry skin.
Diabetes, thyroid disease, or kidney disease: These conditions are known to cause excessively dry skin.
Dialysis: Kidney disease increases your risk of developing extremely dry skin. When you receive dialysis, you have an even greater risk because dialysis removes water from your body. People receiving dialysis treatments also need to limit how much fluid they drink, consuming only 32 ounces a day. This can further dry your skin.
Cancer treatment (current and past): If you’ve ever had chemotherapy, are receiving a cancer treatment called targeted therapy, or getting radiation treatments, you can develop extremely dry skin.
Anorexia: If you’re not eating enough, you’re not getting the nutrients your skin needs to stay hydrated.
HIV positive: Excessively dry skin is common in people who are HIV positive, even those on antiretroviral treatment (ART).
If you develop excessively dry skin, dermatologists recommend treating it. Treatment can prevent the condition from worsening.
Should the dry skin worsen, you can develop permanent side effects. Your skin can itch most of the time. Some people develop food allergies. It’s also possible to develop irritated skin every time you touch certain objects. You also have a higher risk of developing a serious skin infection.
Follow treatment plan
To get relief from excessively dry skin, you need to apply the moisturizer that your dermatologist selects as often as prescribed in your treatment plan.
If you have excessively dry skin, dermatologists recommend treatment. Without treatment, you have a greater risk of developing another skin condition, such as a skin infection. Long-term scratching can cause thick patches of permanently itchy skin.
You also have a greater risk of developing food allergies or an allergic skin reaction.
While an allergy or skin reaction can be treated, it cannot be cured.
How do dermatologists diagnose excessively dry skin?
Your dermatologist can often diagnose you by looking at your skin.
To create a treatment plan that meets your needs, your dermatologist will also ask questions. Before your appointment, it’s helpful to make sure that you can answer the following questions:
Have you (or any close blood relatives) had atopic dermatitis, asthma, hay fever, or food allergies?
How long have you had the excessively dry skin?
What worsens your dry skin?
What treatments have you tried?
This will help your dermatologist uncover what’s causing your excessively dry skin.
How do dermatologists treat excessively dry skin?
The goals of treatment are to:
Soothe your skin by getting rid of the itch, pain, and other symptoms.
Give your skin what it’s missing so that it can heal.
Teach you how to prevent the dry skin from returning.
Because each patient has unique needs, you will receive a customized treatment plan, which may include:
Moisturizer: Your dermatologist will select a moisturizer that contains the right amount of active ingredients, such as urea, ceramides, lactic acid, or glycerol, to heal your skin. The right mix will hydrate your skin and restore its outer layer. Some patients need a prescription moisturizer.
Treatment for any underlying skin condition: Some common skin conditions can cause excessively dry skin, such as atopic dermatitis, ichthyosis, or psoriasis. To heal dry skin, you need to treat the condition.
Plan to help you protect your skin: Does your job require you to dip your hands in water several times a time? Do you work with cement? These and other activities can lead to excessively dry skin. To heal your skin, you need to protect your skin.
What is the outcome for someone who has excessively dry skin?
Researchers have found that when patients follow the prescribed treatment plan, most people see their skin heal.
If you have trouble following your treatment plan, be sure to tell your dermatologist. To get relief and prevent worsening, it’s essential to follow the treatment plan.
Let your dermatologist know if you:
Find it difficult to apply the moisturizer as often as necessary
Cannot reach areas where you need to apply your moisturizer
Have problems protecting your skin at work
Your dermatologist can work with you to develop a plan that you can follow. That’s important. To get relief, you need to treat excessively dry skin.
Moisturizer relieves dry skin
To help heal overly dry skin, apply a cream or ointment when your skin feels dry and take time to gently massage the moisturizer into your skin.
To help heal overly dry skin, apply a cream or ointment when your skin feels dry and take time to gently massage the moisturizer into your skin.
Many people can heal dry skin at home on their own. To get relief, this is what dermatologists recommend: Dermatologists top tips for treating dry skin
If you continue to have dry skin after trying the top tips that dermatologists recommend, it’s time to see a board-certified dermatologist. Your overly dry skin may be due to an underlying medical condition, such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or kidney disease.
Without treatment for the condition, both your dry skin and the condition can worsen.
It’s also possible that something you’re doing at home or work is causing your dry skin. To get relief, you may need to make some changes.
A board-certified dermatologist has the in-depth expertise required to find what’s causing your dry skin and tailor a treatment plan to your needs.
Self-care plays an important role in this treatment plan. Here’s what you can do at home to help heal excessively dry skin.
Follow your treatment plan. If you have excessively dry skin, your skin needs the right balance of active ingredients to heal. Your dermatologist will prescribe (or recommend) a moisturizer that provides what your skin needs. Some patients need a combination of urea and ceramides in their moisturizer. For others, dimethicone, which seals in moisture, is key. You may also need to apply a medication, such as a corticosteroid, for a short time. If you have an underlying medical condition, such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, treating the condition can bring relief. Your dermatologist can create a treatment plan for a skin condition.
Keep all your dermatology appointments. Your treatment plan may need fine-tuning as your skin heals. This is also your opportunity to tell your dermatologist if you have trouble following your treatment plan.
Does lotion cause pain?
Does anything you apply to your skin (including moisturizer) cause burning, stinging, or irritation? Tell your dermatologist.
Apply moisturizer several times a day. Moisturizer plays a key role in healing dry skin. Be sure to apply your moisturizer within 5 minutes of taking a shower or bath, after washing your hands, and when your skin feels dry. You want to apply the right amount and take time to gently massage the moisturizer into your skin. If you’re unsure how much to apply, contact your dermatologist.
Use a humidifier. Dry skin needs moisture. You can boost the humidity level in your home with a humidifier. Some home heating systems have a humidifier. You can also use a portable humidifier. If you use a portable humidifier, place it in your bedroom and run it while you sleep.
Wash your skin with a gentle cleanser. Dry skin is damaged skin. To avoid irritating your skin and help it heal, use a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser. A deodorant soap or body wash with fragrance can worsen dry skin. Use the fragrance-free cleanser only where you need it, such as your armpits or groin area. Tip: Use only fragrance-free products. “Fragrance free” and “unscented” have different meanings. Unscented generally means the product contains a chemical that covers up the smell of other ingredients so that you cannot smell them. Unscented products can irritate excessively dry skin. To avoid this, use fragrance-free products.
Limit baths and showers to five minutes, using warm (not hot) water. Hot water strips skin of moisture, which worsens dry skin. A five-minute shower or bath in warm water can add moisture to your skin. To dry off after bathing, gently pat your skin with a clean, dry towel. Rubbing your skin dry can irritate extremely dry skin. Leave your skin a little damp and then apply your moisturizer (preferably a cream or ointment). Doing this within five minutes of bathing will help seal moisture into your skin.
Shave at the end of your shower or bath. When you finish your shower or bath, gently pat your skin dry and immediately apply your fragrance-free moisturizer.
Wear gloves. If you wash dishes, garden, or immerse your hands in water throughout the day, you can worsen your already dry skin. Wearing gloves that keep your dry skin from getting wet can help your skin heal.
Protect your skin from the cold. When you have dry skin, cold air can worsen dry skin. Wearing gloves in the winter that keep your hands warm can help. If your job requires you to work outdoors in the cold or in a commercial refrigerator, be sure to protect your hands with gloves.
Avoid the sun and tanning beds. Both the sun and indoor tanning equipment emit UV rays, which dry the skin. To protect your skin from the sun, seek shade. You also want to wear clothing that protects your skin, such as a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeves, and pants. For any skin that clothing will not cover, apply a fragrance-free sunscreen that offers broad-spectrum protection and SPF 30 or higher.
Wear loose-fitting cotton clothes. Tight clothes, such as leggings and body-hugging jeans, rub against your skin, which can worsen dry skin. Wearing clothing made of wool or polyester against your skin can also irritate dry, sensitive skin. To prevent irritating your skin, wear loose-fitting cotton clothing.
Ask your dermatologist before using anti-itch creams and other skin care products. Extremely dry skin can itch. To get relief, people often buy an anti-itch cream or other product that promises relief. Before using this, ask your dermatologist. Many of these products contain ingredients that can irritate your overly dry skin, making the dryness and itch worse.
When you follow your dermatologist’s treatment plan and self-care tips, you can relieve the driest skin.