COMBATING A FLAKY SKIN

Our skin has an amazing ability to naturally nourish and protect the outer most layers of the skin. It does this to protect the skin from pathogens, bacteria and stressing out and becoming flaky. If this natural moisturising process is disturbed one may get a dry, rough and flaky skin. In extreme cases one can see visible peeling of their skin. Flaky skin is crying out for moisture!

Over use of astringent lotions and stripping cleansers, soaps, cleaning products and prescriptive products disturbs our natural oil barrier and creates a “sensitive skin”. This is can be a temporary sensitive skin or it can be ongoing depending when the cause is no longer used.
Our society tends to on the majority hate our skins oil. Our own oil is precious, it is there for a reason and without it you will prematurely age, causing your skin to become stressed, pink, inflamed and flaky. Your make up will not have a luminous finish rather the skin will look crepey and flaky.

There are skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. These inflammatory skin conditions certainly do not like harsh acidic products, less chemicals the better. A dry and flaky skin is craving essential fatty acids, taking a fish oil supplement will assist in replenishing these essential fatty acids internally. One may notice their legs in winter get itchy. This is due to the skin being super deprived of natural oils and emollients to keep the skins barrier intact. Our legs have less oil glands than other parts of our body and can easily become flaky especially in winter with indoor heating and hot showers if we do not replenish the moisture.

Tips for a Flaky Skin

• Do not use bath additives. As much as it is lovely to sit in a nice hot bath with your favourite bath bomb or bath soak. This will irritate and dry out the skin, stripping it of its natural oils.

• Warm baths and showers only. Again hot water will encourage water loss from the skin leaving it brittle and super dry.

• Apply coconut oil or a Body Oil like the Skin Matrix Serneity Body Oil to your body to restore moisture levels , wash with it and then apply after showering for extreme dry skins.

• Take fish oil supplements to replenish essential fatty acid levels in the body. These EFA’s are needed by every cell in your body to function in an optimal state.

• Look at every product you are applying to the area of flaky skin. Read the ingredients, you do not need long lists of chemicals, less is best. Look at your soaps, body cleansers. Make the switch to natural goats milk soap or other natural alternatives.

• Don't exfoliate a sensitive, dry and irritated flaky skin. Apply lots of nourishng natural oils to it, even simple coconut oil. Get the skin lubricated first and well nourished and calmer before you consider using a light exfoliant.

Try our tips for a flaky skin, if you have no success then I recommend consulting with an integrative GP to delve into any underlying issues that can be affecting your results.