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How to Manage Dryness and Flaking in Sensitive Skin

Dealing with dry, flaky, and sensitive skin all at the same time can be challenging. Whether you’re battling seasonal dryness or dealing with ongoing sensitivity, finding the right balance of hydration and care is crucial. That’s why we’ve curated a guide with effective skincare hacks and recommendations to help your skin look and feel at its best. Let’s explore how you can do that!

 In This Article:

Causes Of Dry & Flaky Sensitive Skin

Causes Of Dry & Flaky Sensitive Skin

Dry skin can make your skin look and feel itchy, flaky, and scaly. This condition affects all age groups due to various factors:

1. Environment

Cold weather, low humidity, and exposure to wind can strip away the skin of its natural moisture. These conditions can lead to the skin becoming dry, cracked, and flaky. Wind can also irritate, leaving your skin raw and exposed. Whether indoors or outdoors, these variables can significantly affect your skin health.

2. Hot Showers

The heat from hot water expands pores, making your skin feel tight and dry. Prolonged exposure to hot water can disrupt your skin’s barrier, which retains moisture and keeps your skin intact, leading to increased irritation, dryness, and flakiness. Sensitive skin can be particularly vulnerable to these effects.

3. Harsh Skincare Products

Many skincare products contain alcohol and artificial fragrances, which can irritate and dry out your skin. This can trigger an inflammatory response, leading to peeling. Additionally, harsh chemicals like sulphates and dyes found in skincare products can break down the skin’s barrier and remove natural oils over time.

4. Extreme Skin Conditions

Skin conditions can exacerbate existing skin issues and problems. These conditions are characterised by dry and flaky patches that appear all over your skin, and they can also compromise your skin’s barrier function. Skin inflammation, such as contact dermatitis, can worsen as well. This occurs when the skin encounters an irritant, resulting in increased dryness.

5. Dehydration & Poor Diet

When the body lacks sufficient water intake, it shows on the skin. Hydration is crucial for healthier skin. A lack of essential fatty acids and nutrients in your diet can also impair skin health. Hence, a poor diet can significantly impact you skin and contribute to dryness.

Triggers For Your Sensitive Skin

When every skin has its own unique needs and care, how do we ensure that the skincare products you are using are right for you? We have identified five signs of skin sensitivity.

  • Weakened Skin Barrier: Your skin experiences burning or discomfort, such as stinging.
  • Irritation: Your skin is easily irritated, showing signs of redness, itching, burning or stinging.
  • Roughness: Your skin appears dull, flaky, patchy, with uneven textures across your face.
  • Tightness: Your skin feels taut, stretched and strained all at once.
  • Dryness: Your skin is visibly dry, reactive, allergic, and sensitive at times.

Choosing The Right Products

With the overwhelming choice of skincare products on the market, some options can do more harm than good to your skin. We’re here to simplify your life with our skincare products that are kind and beneficial to your skin.

1. Begin Your Day The Right Way

Good skin starts with a healthy skin barrier. Harsh, soap-based cleansers can strip away your skin’s natural oils, leaving it too dry or oily. Choose a soap-free, gentle facewash for sensitive skin that helps support a healthy skin barrier, like our Refreshing Facial Wash. This cleanser is infused with 2x Vitamin E to soften and smoothen, Pro Vitamin B5 for healthy-looking, strong skin, and Pro Amino Acids to support a healthy skin barrier. You are one step away from healthier skin!

2. Invest In Your Skin

There are three essential functions that a moisturizer must have for a healthy skin barrier. Humectant attracts water and brings moisture to the skin, emollients help in softening or soothing skin, and occlusives create a physical barrier to help trap moisture in the skin. Our Hydrating Light Moisturiser is lightweight and fast absorbing. It is enriched with Pro-Vitamin B5 to replenish the skin, Glycerin to moisturise skin, and Borage Seed Oil to soothe skin. With these ingredients, your skin can stay hydrated for up to 12 hours. This is a must-have moisturizer for sensitive skin.

3. Deeply Cleanse Your Skin

The secret to achieving nourishing skin is our Replenishing Cream Cleanser. This cleanser thoroughly cleanses and hydrates dry, sensitive skin. It is packed with 11% Ceramide Boosters to enhance the skin’s natural ceramide production, helping to rebuild your skin barrier. Along with Hyaluronic Acid and Glycerin, it instantly hydrates and replenishes lost moisture for supple, soft skin. Lower ceramide levels indicate a damaged skin barrier, leaving your skin vulnerable to external aggressors, increased moisture loss, and making it more prone to irritation. Achieve healthier skin in just 1 wash.

4. Seal Your Skin In Nourishment

Our Restorative Rich Cream features an ultra-rich, creamy formula that melts into your skin and relieves dryness and soothing your sensitive skin. It not only moisturizes but also penetrates up to 10 layers deep. It is clinically proven to restore the skin barrier in 28 days*. Packed with skin-loving ingredients, it contains 22% Ceramide Boosters to enhance the skin’s natural ceramide production and 1% Organic Cica to repair and soothe irritated skin. Renew and repair your skin, leaving you feeling happy!

5. Protect Yourself From The Sun

Sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots, and even skin cancer. Our Kind To Skin Gel Sunscreen SPF 50 PA++++ is the best sunscreen for sensitive skin. It protects the skin barrier, prevents premature ageing, and sunburns, and is fast absorbing with a matte finish. It is non-comedogenic and has a light-weight texture. This sunscreen is enriched with Niacinamide, Vitamin E, Plant-Based Glycerin, and Vitamin C to keep your skin glowing and guarded all day. Get ready to soak up the sun while taking of your skin.

Lifestyle Tips For Skin Health

Dealing with flaky, dry and sensitive skin isn’t just about what you apply topically; it’s also about making small changes in your everyday routine. By incorporating a few simple habits, you can support your skin from the inside out.

1. Don’t Smoke

Smoking can age your skin prematurely, leading to a duller face and more prominent wrinkles. The best course of action is to quit smoking.

2. Avoid Hot Showers

Hot water can strip your skin of essential oils, so opt for shorter, cooler showers to help preserve moisture in your skin.

3. Stay Hydrated

Drinking plenty of water throughout the day helps keep your skin hydrated and flushes out toxins, leading to healthier skin.

4. Wear Protective Clothing

Protect your skin from the wind and cold by wearing gloves, scarves, and long sleeves when outdoors. This can shield your skin and minimize exposure to dryness.

5. Balanced Diet

Ensure you add fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, like those from nuts and fish, to provide essential nutrients and antioxidants to your skin.

Conclusion

Managing sensitive and flaky skin requires careful consideration of external factors and the right skincare products for your specific needs. Adjusting your everyday skincare routine alongside lifestyle changes can go a long way in keeping your skin healthier and wealthier. By addressing the unique needs of your skin, you can probably achieve a 10/10 skin!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:1 Why is my skin sensitive and flaky?

A. Sensitive and flaky skin often results from a weakened skin barrier that fails to retain moisture effectively, leading to dryness. Extreme environmental conditions, harsh skincare products, and hot showers can strip the skin of its natural oils. Serious underlying skin problems may also exacerbate these symptoms.

Q:2 Is Vitamin C good for sensitive dry skin?

A. Vitamin C can be beneficial for dry, sensitive skin due to its antioxidant properties. It protects your skin against pollutants and helps you achieve glowing, healthier skin. It also boosts collagen production, improving elasticity and firmness, and addresses issues like fine health while promoting overall skin health. Try our Vitamin C Glow Combo, infused with the triple benefits of Yuzu Lemon for glowing skin.

Q:3 How often should I moisturize dry, flaky sensitive skin?

A. Moisturizing twice a day with our Hydrating Light Moisturiser, once in the morning and once at night, can help maintain hydration. Adjust the frequency based on your skin’s needs, especially after cleansing or exposure to the sun and pollution.

*Based on clinical study done in 2023

Team Simple
Written by Team Simple on Feb 20, 2025
Nourishing your skin with the best of Simple Skincare products. Our skincare line speaks of clean beauty, excluding more than 2000+ harsh chemicals. Start your simplified skincare routine now!
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