Dry or Dull Skin Overview, Causes, Treatment

Dry skin is an uncomfortable condition marked by scaling, itching, and cracking. It can occur for a variety of reasons. You might have naturally dry skin. But even if your skin tends to be oily, you can develop dry skin from time to time.

Dry skin can affect any part of your body. It commonly affects hands, arms, and legs. In many cases, lifestyle changes and over-the-counter moisturizers may be all you need to treat it. If those treatments aren’t enough, you should contact your doctor.

Types of dry skin

Exposure to dry weather conditions, hot water, and certain chemicals can cause your skin to dry out. Dry skin can also result from underlying medical conditions.

Dermatitis is the medical term for extremely dry skin. There are several different types of dermatitis.

Contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis develops when your skin reacts to something it touches, causing localized inflammation.

Irritant contact dermatitis can occur when your skin’s exposed to an irritating chemical agent, such as bleach.

Allergic contact dermatitis can develop when your skin is exposed to a substance you’re allergic to, such as nickel.

Seborrheic dermatitis

Seborrheic dermatitisoccurs when your skin produces too much oil. It results in a red and scaly rash, usually on your scalp. This type of dermatitis is common in infants.

Atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is also known as eczema. It’s a chronic skin condition that causes dry scaly patches to appear on your skin. It’s common among young children.

Other conditions, such as psoriasis and type 2 diabetes, can also cause your skin to dry out.

Risk factors for dry skin

Dry skin can affect anyone. But some risk factors raise your chances of developing dry skin, including:

• Age. Older adults are more likely to develop dry skin. As you age, your pores naturally produce less oil, raising your risk of dry skin.
• Medical history. You’re more likely to experience eczema or allergic contact dermatitis if you have a history of these conditions or other allergic diseases in your family.
• Season. Dry skin is more common during the fall and winter months, when humidity levels are relatively low. In the summer, higher levels of humidity help stop your skin from drying out.
• Bathing habits. Taking frequent baths or washing with very hot water raises your risk of dry skin.

Treatment for dry skin

Microneedling is used to treat and improve conditions like acne scarring, fine lines and wrinkles, loose skin, skin texture, pore size, brown spots, stretch marks, and pigment issues.

It’s also called skin needling, collagen induction therapy (CIT), and percutaneous collagen induction (PCI).

Most anyone can have the procedure performed as long as they do not have any active infections, lesions, or any known wound healing problems.

If you have active acne, or tender acne cysts, do not microneedle over those areas. It will irritate the area, make them more inflamed and potentially spread bacteria. Wait until your skin is more clear before attempting the procedure.