Flaky Skin: Causes, Types, and Skincare Routines to Treat it

Nothing feels worse on your body if you suffer from dry, inflamed, or flaky skin- be it summer or winter. If your skin gets dehydrated, it can begin to flake. Although both seasons have their charm, they can intensely affect your skin if it is not pampered properly. Irrespective of your skin type, you might’ve experienced flaky skin or dryness in your skin. Dry skin causes a rough texture in your skin. 

Summers are best known for the sun, high temperatures, weather, and icy drinks. Winters, on the other hand, are for staying in a cozy environment and relishing mouth-watering delicacies and warm drinks. But irrespective of the climate, you might experience dryness or flakiness on your facial skin or body. It worsens when you develop an urge to scratch the skin, which often leads to inflammation or soreness.

As we are about to say sayonara to summers and winters, it becomes critical to manage flaky skin. We are here with all the information wrapped around this blog. We will also share some tips on taking care of your skin in the summer.

What does Flaky Skin Mean?

Flaky skin is a common skin condition that can arise on any skin at any point in life. When skin becomes dry and lacks moisture, it becomes dry, leading to rough patches and a burning sensation. Also called dry skin, it is a transitory skin illness that causes scaliness, irritation, inflammation, and itching. Treating dry skin becomes crucial as it can cause breakouts in the skin, exposing it to the world of bacterial infections. 

Did you know?

Generally, hydrated, or normal skin feels soft and bright. However, you will be amazed to know that for skin to remain healthy and soft, it should contain a minimum of 10% water – ideally between 20% -35%.  

 Causes of Flaky Skin

There are many causes for dry skin on the face and body. Let’s have a look at them one by one. Identifying them will help you to treat better by taking extra care of your skin.

• Increasing age: Sebum is an oily substance that forms a protective barrier against evaporation. On the other hand, collagen helps maintain elasticity. (The skin’s ability to produce sebum and collagen decreases with age).
• Environmental stressors: Harsh weather conditions can affect your skin’s moisture levels. While hot winds may cause the skin to dry in the summer, chilly ones in the winter can also cause the same result.
• Harsh soap and detergents: Artificial cleansers harm any skin as they snatch away natural oils and dehydrate the skin.
• Excessive bathing: Taking long and hot showers can dry out the natural oils from your skin. It may be worse with certain medicated soaps or shampoos in certain scenarios. 

Different types of issues related to dry skin

Multiple types of flaky skin can affect you. Understanding the type affecting you helps you get the right treatment for your skincare issues. We recommend you check the symptoms against the following list: 

• Contact Dermatitis: The inflammation, irritation, or allergic reaction caused due exposure to unexpected and foreign substances such as cosmetics, dirt, detergents, treatments, and jewelry metals. 
• Seborrheic Dermatitis: This skin condition is quite common in infants. When the skin produces excess oil, the skin gets clogged, which causes acne. But, on the scalp, it can cause itchy, scaly, and flaky skin. 
• Atopic Dermatitis: Also known as Eczema, it is a group of skin conditions that cause red, dry, bumpy, and itchy patches of the skin. If not treated and exposed to irritants, it can crack the skin too.
• Psoriasis: It is a scalp condition that causes itchiness and flaking on the head. It offers the same intensity of itching as Athlete’s Foot, an infectious disease caused due to a fungus called ringworm. However, the latter happens in the feet and not on the scalp.

How to Get Rid of Flaky Skin on the face?

Inflamed skin can make your life miserable. But they can be much more enjoyable if you look after your skin appropriately. Assuming you are suffering from dry skin, you can consider some tips to help you get rid of dry skin throughout the year. 

• Cleansing your face gently: Firstly, if you want an answer to get rid of flaky skin on the face, you can consider shifting to brands that make natural-based, alcohol-free face cleansers, like ours. Harsh cleansers that contain chemicals may strip off the skin’s natural moisture, which makes the skin dry. 

Ingredients such as Ubtan, Saffron, Vitamin C, Tea Tree, or Charcoal that hydrate and brighten the skin by restoring dry and inflamed skin. We advise you to pick Mamaearth Vitamin C Face Wash, which helps brighten the skin, even the skin tone, and make the skin glow. 

• A dose of moisturization: Hydrating your skin with a non-comedogenic face moisturizer not only provides the water content to the skin but it treats dryness by making the skin soft, seals the moisture in the skin, fights signs of aging, and gives a natural glow. 

Do not forget to cover your skin with an SPF-based moisturizer, which shields the skin from UV rays. Opt for a natural-based face moisturizer that contains hydrating ingredients like Niacinamide, Shea Butter, and Glycerin because they provide deep moisturization. 

• Don’t depend on hot water too much: While hot water can be used on the skin where people live in chilly areas, people living in normal areas can avoid taking long showers with hot water. Instead, we advise you to shower with cold water to prevent your skin from drying.
• Wear skin-friendly fabrics: Hard fabrics such as wool, linen, or silk do not allow air to pass on the skin. This causes the skin to become saturated with sweat and this may cause the skin to become flaky. Choose cotton and other natural fibers when buying clothes that will not irritate the skin. 
• Follow a healthy skincare regimen: Maintaining a healthy skincare regimen during summer is essential if you want to treat dryness in the skin. Follow a CTM routine two times a day, especially if you head out for work regularly. It will remove toxins, provide hydration, and even out the skin. 
• Make dietary changes: Drinking 8-10 glasses of water regularly is advisable to keep the body hydrated. One should also eat foods that boost the skin’s hydration level and collagen production. Including Cucumber, citrus fruits, and vitamin-enriched foods in your diet can be another effective treatment for flaky skin. In winter, adding foods like avocado, walnuts, olive oil, broccoli, and cauliflower to your diet promotes skin firmness.
• Opt for facial oils: If you want a boost of nourishment, investing in facial oils is another idea that works perfectly during both seasons, especially in winter. Rich in nutrients and fatty acids, these oils boost your skin’s hydration. In addition, they help treat issues like flaky skin and photo-aging.
• Don’t forget hands and feet: For most people, skincare is restricted to facial skin only, but this is not the case. They often forget that a proper dose of nourishment is required for the whole body. Applying a natural hydrating cream with glycerin on petroleum jelly on the hands and arms and dry, flaky skin on the legs and feet will treat the dry skin on the body effectively. 
• Use a safe, gentle, and nourishing face cream: A face cream may seem like a simple addition to your beauty kit, but it is something far beyond that. You should thus try Skin Illuminate Face Cream with Vitamin C and Turmeric for Radiant Skin. It adds radiance, provides deep moisturization, and prevents sun damage. It features Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Turmeric, and Glycerin that also help prevent sun damage.

• Use humidifier: Sitting long hours under the ACs can cause excessive dryness on the skin as it snatches the moisture and humidity from the air. To regulate the environment’s temperature, you can get a humidifier as it will not dry out the skin, unlike AC. 
• Exfoliate regularly: This is a part of the skincare routine that should be performed regularly. It helps shed dead skin cells and promotes the growth of new healthy skin cells. While it is quite safe to exfoliate your skin during summers, you should be careful during winters as the skin barrier gets compromised. 
• Lip care is essential: As lips are the most exposed skin of your body, it gets dried out faster as it does not have oil-producing oil glands, making them chapped. Chapped lips can be extremely painful and are prone to bacterial infections. To quickly heal them, apply lip balm or petroleum jelly.

Tips for Setting up a Skincare Routine for Flaky Skin

While the pointers mentioned above help you get rid of dry skin, these tips will help you set up a skincare routine that will help you prevent dry or flaky skin. 

• Pick a natural makeup remover and face wash: Plenty of makeup-removing options contain alcohol and astringents that cause dry and flaky skin on the face. We advise you to clean your face with toxin-free micellar water– it will not cause itchiness or dryness in the skin. 
• Perform double-cleanse: Following a double cleansing routine with a hydrating and natural face wash and makeup remover is best. Opt for safe and gentle cleansers that contain aloe vera, glycerin, glycolic acid, and hyaluronic acid. 
• Exfoliate regularly: Sloughing away dead skin with a natural face scrub and body scrub will help you to get rid of dry skin and reveal smoother, healthy, and radiant skin. Mamaearth Tea Tree Face Scrub helps you with gentle exfoliation by removing skin impurities. 
• Toning your skin: A natural hydrating toner for your skin can even out your skin toner by penetrating the skin pores and initiating a deep cleansing action, tightening the pores and maintaining the skin’s pH levels. Pick a safe and gentle face toner that’s made of natural ingredients such as rose, niacin, and Vitamin C.
• Save your flaky skin with a moisturizing face mask: If you want to treat the dryness in your skin permanently, you should use face masks enriched with natural ingredients such as Coffee, Ubtan, Retinol, or Tea Tree. When applied to the face, they supply the necessary vitamins and minerals, which promote skin elasticity and collagen production. This helps treat dryness. 
  Using Mamaearth C3 Face Mask helps brighten the skin, making the skin glow and decreasing acne & pimples.
• Deep moisturization: Regular moisturization with the correct face moisturizer will help eliminate all your flaky skin concerns. An all-day-long moisturization combats environmental damage, such as exposure to UV rays and pollutants, and makes the skin radiant and healthy. In addition, it has the potential to whiten flaky skin.

Don’t forget to give your skin a dose of moisturization at night, as it will help heal the skin and enhance skin health. Some people prefer to wear a face gel in the daytime and moisturizer at night, that also is a correct practice. 

• Don’t Forget the Hydrating Face Serum in PM skincare Routine: A face serum is another way to rejuvenate your skin by preserving moisture in your cells. Applying it at night can ensure an effective skin repair, enhancing moisture retention capabilities. You can try Skin Plump Face Serum that features Hyaluronic Acid and Rosehip Oil and helps reduce fine lines and hydrates the skin.

Dry Skincare Mistake You Should Avoid

1. Scrubbing aggressively: Avoid aggressively using a face or body scrub with a harsh exfoliator. Dry skin should be treated with gentle care as it is prone to bacterial infections.
2. Avoid too many skincare products: If you think that flaky skin can be effectively treated just by applying lots of creams, lotions, and oils, which are rich and heavy, you are wrong. You would be doing more harm than good. Treating dry skin is a process that takes time, as every skincare product has its role to play.
3. Opt for natural products only: Remember to pick safe, gentle, and toxin-free products that do not cause harm to your skin. Opting for chemically-enriched products may hurt the texture of your skin, even if they promise better and faster results.

Wrapping Up

Almost everyone faces flaky skin once in their lifetime. It is a common issue caused due to excessive heat and moisture loss. However, with rightly chosen products and a healthy lifestyle, it would be easier to manage and prevent such conditions. We are Asia’s 1st MadeSafe Certified brand that offers a wide range of FDA-approved skincare products. We create products using natural ingredients that do not contain harmful chemicals, like SLS or parabens, which harm the skin. 

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