Dry skin and acne

Is your skin dry but you still have acne?  How can you have acne with dry skin?  Dry skin and acne can happen.  I’ll tell you what you can do about it.

Dry skin

Dry skin is characterized by lack of moisture in the skin.  It not only feels dry but it looks dry.  Whether scaley or flakey, dry skin doesn’t look good.  It’s like you have dandruff all over your body.  You may have mild dryness or it may be severe.  Either way, it can cause you problems, including itchy skin.  It can even make wrinkles more pronounced.  But, dry skin and acne?  Yes – and I’ll tell you why this happens and what you can do about it.

Dry Skin and Acne

So how can it be that you get acne if you have dry skin.  If acne is caused by excessive oil and clogged pores, it doesn’t make sense.  The reason why you still can get acne if your skin is dry is because when our skin is so dry, especially if we have dried it out, our skin will compensate by producing more oil.  That excessive oil production is what is causing the acne.  But, there is something you can do about dry skin and acne.

What can you do about dry skin and acne?

The best thing you can do to help your acne problems when you have dry skin is to use a gentle cleanser, don’t use products that will excessively dry your skin and exfoliate regularly.  Let’s break this down.

First, cleanse your skin with a gentle cleanser.  The last thing you want to do is to use something overly harsh.  I know you’re trying to dry up the oil but using harsh ingredients isn’t helping.  It’s stripping away your natural oils and that’s the exact opposite of what you want.  Our bodies need some lubrication (i.e. our natural oils) to stay healthy so please use a gentle cleanser.

Next, don’t use other products that are overly drying such as products that contain alcohol or strong spot treatments (like 10% benzoyl peroxide).  Again, the reason for this is that it will strip your skin of your natural oils.  Yes, it will dry your skin out and cause acne.

Finally, exfoliate regularly.  Exfoliating helps to remove the dead skin cells that get stuck in pores that cause acne.  Simple as that.

Do these 3 things and your skin will stay balanced and you are less likely to have dry skin and acne.