Fight low humidity with a humidifier. A/C removes moisture from the air in your car, office, and home.
Spritz – keep a small container of Evian or Avene thermal water, or your fine mister with bottled water, in your car, purse, night table, or work desk. If you tend to flush or experience persistent redness and want to use a treatment-level hydration spray, upscale with SkinCeuticals Phyto Corrective Essence Mist.
Exfoliate – Dead skin cells act like a barrier to moisture. Exfoliate and help moisture and moisturizers sink in. Something new? Glytone resurfacing oil.
Apply moisturizers while your skin is still damp when possible. This application technique helps retain the needed water for plumper, softer skin. Alastin’s HA Immerse is instant hydration for thirsty skin. ISDIN’s Uradin 10 is a urea-based body lotion that helps attract and retain moisture. Uradin Podos Gel Oil is a champion at keeping sandaled feet smooth and pretty. Urea is known as a keratolytic agent. This means it breaks down the protein keratin in the outer layer of your skin. This action helps reduce dead skin buildup and flaking or scaling skin.
Skip fabric softeners and dryer sheets as they coat fibers, holding in heat and diminishing wicking properties. Who wants to “wear” softener or dryer sheet goo?
Choose cool fabrics – Cotton, linen, lyocell. Wools help you stay moisture-balanced all year round – merino, cashmere. There are even cashmere and merino wool bras!
Cover up at the beach and pool. Sunburns are actual 1st-degree burns. If you’re blistered, that’s considered a 2nd-degree burn and besides making you miserable, burns are intensely dehydrating along with the potential for scars and permanent hyper or hypopigmentation.
Year-round hydration tip: We live in a semi-desert where humidity levels are consistently low. That means cutaneous water loss all the time. Without sufficient water intake, your skin will suffer all the time. You can get extra beneficial fluids from fruits and vegetables, but your top choice should always be simple, unadorned water.
