Over the past decade, water shortages are becoming more common, limiting the availability of unlimited fresh water for irrigation, especially in the states of the American Southwest and California. Large swaths of green grass require constant watering to look healthy. When faced with the reality of water rationing, people are starting to swap their water-guzzling grassy lawns for plants and features that look nice even when water access is restricted, a practice called xeriscaping.
Xeriscaping comes from the Greek word Xero, meaning dry. There are 2 main principles in xeriscaping: choosing plants and landscape features that don’t need as much water, and using gardening techniques that direct water only to where it’s needed and avoiding losing water through evaporation or runoff.
Dry skin is a common problem, and the medical term for it is xeroderma, which uses the same Greek word (Xero) as does xeriscaping. Successfully treating dry skin is similar to xeriscaping because it’s all about getting enough water to your skin cells while also minimizing losing water from your skin by evaporation.
You may have xeroderma if your skin is flaking, red, cracked, or itching. Dry skin is considered the “gateway” to other skin issues, and addressing it helps prevent future skin problems.
Your body loses water all day long through small gaps in your skin cells, a process called trans-epidermal water loss. Water is continuously being released by and through our skin, not just when we sweat from hot weather or exertion.
As you age, your skin produces less sebum. This oily substance slows down evaporation through the skin. With less sebum to slow it down, water loss can increase dramatically, especially indry, windy, or cold conditions. In cold climates, we heat our homes during the fall and winter, making the air inside even drier.
Frequent bathing makes your skin drier. After a bath or shower, water evaporates from the cells on the surface of your skin, drying them out.
Moisturizers improve dry skin by adding flexibility to the surface cells of your skin and by blocking evaporation.
With many lotions, creams, and ointments available, the more occlusive, thicker, and “greasier” the moisturizer, the better it prevents evaporation by trapping moisture next to your skin. One of the greasiest and best at blocking evaporation and trapping moisture is petroleum jelly, also known as Vaseline®.
Moisturizers can also contain compounds that encourage water to stay on your skin, like lactic acid, salicylic acid, glycerin, urea, and ammonium lactate.
A new addition to moisturizers is a group of compounds called ceramides. Ceramides are found in your body in high concentrations in healthy skin and lower in dry and less healthy skin. In particular, several ceramide compounds have been shown to improve skin texture, skin integrity, and relieve dryness. Ceramides make moisturizers even more effective. CeraVe® is a brand of moisturizer explicitly designed to contain ceramides.
Here are 6 Tips for Relieving Dry Skin:
- Keep your body hydrated.
Getting enough water also helps your skin look younger. By drinking extra fluids in the early part of the day, you’ll avoid having to get up multiple times at night.
- Minimize your caffeine intake.
I love caffeinated coffee, but it increases water loss by stimulating urination. Not just found in coffee, caffeine hides out in energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and 5-Hour Energy. One of the best ways to quit caffeine without the misery of a withdrawal headache is to switch to drinking tea, which has half the caffeine as coffee.
- Humidify your house.
Use a humidifier if you live in a dry climate or when heating your home. Warm, dry air accelerates trans-epidermal evaporation.
- Shower and bathe with warm, not hot water.
Using hot water encourages water loss from the skin. Bathing or showering with warm or lukewarm water is better for dry skin.
- Pat skin almost dry, then apply moisturizer to seal the water in.
Apply moisturizer to damp skin within 10 minutes of your bath or shower and right after washing your hands. This maximizes the ability of your moisturizer to trap water in your skin cells.
- Avoid using bath oil in your tub, despite what people may advise you.
Bath oils create a slippery surface inside your tub, making getting in and out of your bathtub a risky activity and leaving you a slimy mess to clean up.
