The best products for dry skin

Struggling with finding the best products for your dry skin this winter? We hear you. Battling dry skin can feel like an uphill battle, especially in winter months when flaking, redness and scaly patches take over. When it comes to healing dry skin, the cure doesn't come in one holy grail product. It's about building your whole routine with effective products to care for your skin. Here are the best skin care products to use in your routine to heal dry skin.

Oil cleanser

If you suffer with dry skin, you’ll know the redness, itchiness, tightness and discomfort that can come with it.  That’s why dry skin types need a cleanser that’s strong enough to remove dirt, make-up and SPF, without irritating and stripping the skin. 

That’s where an oil cleanser comes in. Because oil is hydrophobic (meaning it repels water), water-based cleansers typically have a much harder time breaking down grime and oil-based makeup like foundation, concealer and mascara. 

With an oil cleanser, you can quickly and easily dissolve oil-based make-up without rubbing and tugging at your skin. Then, just add water to create a milky white emulsion and rinse off. 

When your skin is free from make-up, you can follow up with a hydrating cream to gently cleanse the skin. 

Layers of hydration

When it comes to caring for dry skin, layering as many hydrating factors as possible is one of the most effective ways to keep skin moisturised. Because dry skin struggles to retain moisture on its own, layering several hydrating products will help combat a process known as transepidermal water loss (TWL).

Incorporating thinner formulations such as hydrating toners, essences and serums into your skin care routine will give your skin a quick boost of hydration after cleansing, and help your skin retain moisture more effectively. 

Straight after showering or cleansing your skin, apply a hyaluronic acid serum or toner while your skin is still slightly damp. Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant that can attract up 1000 times its own weight in water into the skin, for long-lasting hydration. 

An Effective Moisturiser

It might seem obvious, but using a moisturiser for dry skin types is integral. But knowing what ingredients make an effective face moisturizer is a real key to beating dry patches and flaky skin for good.

For dry skin, picking a moisturizing cream with occlusive oils is particularly important. The main difference between dry and dehydrated skin is that dry skin lacks oil, while dehydrated skin lacks water. This lack of oil may earn you skin that is flaking, irritation, and an inability to keep skin adequately moisturised. 

A lack of oil can also cause your skin’s moisture barrier to become compromised. The skin barrier, aka the acid mantle, is a film made of ceramides, amino acids and fatty acids. 

It acts like your skin’s very own o-zone layer to lock in hydration and protect the skin from pollutants and free radical damage. As the name suggests, it is slightly acid to maintain the skin’s naturally acidic pH level of 5.5. 

So, your moisturiser should be packed with nourishing oils to help lubricate your skin and repair your moisture barrier.

The Poko Regenerating Collagen Moisturiser contains olive oil and apricot kernel oil help seal moisture into the skin. Apricot kernel oil also closely resembles skin’s natural sebum, so it’s particularly good at replenishing the skin’s moisture barrier.  You can also use it as a night cream if you choose to.

For younger skin types that may still experience break-outs, the Light Hydrating Moisturiser has a lighter texture than the Regenerating Collagen Moisturiser, to fight the flaky skin without triggering spots. Our Ultra Hydrating product is of the best moisturizers for dry flaky skin.

This moisturiser also contains natural humectants like aloe vera and vegetable glycerine. Humectants work by pulling moisture from the air into the uppermost layers of the skin. They can also pull moisture from the deepest layers of the skin to the top, for visibly hydrated and plumper skin. 

Nourishing face oil

As we mentioned earlier, nourishing oils are the holy grail for dry skin. So naturally, facial oil is one of the best products to use to combat dry skin.

However, not oils are created equal. Olive oil, sunflower oil, and apricot seed oil are particularly beneficial for dry skin, because they’re all rich in oleic acid. Oleic acid is a sticky, thick form of fatty acid that prevents moisture loss in the skin. 

While these oils can be a little too thick for blemish-prone skin, they’re perfect for dry and itchy skin types.

The Poko Luxury Facial Oil contains oleic acid-rich plant oils like crambe seed oil, baobab oil and moringa oil, which has a fatty acid profile made up of almost 75% oleic acid. Ingredients like shea butter are sometimes used but we realised it would only decrease the quality of our products. This cocktail of nourishing botanical oils is also rich in vitamin E to condition rough, scaly skin.  High levels of antioxidants also help to protect the skin from environmental damage which can cause premature ageing.

Pat a few drops of the Poko Luxury Facial Oil into the skin after moisturising with our face cream. If you have the time, incorporate some lymphatic massage. Take your index and forefinger to lightly pinch the middle of your chin, then lightly drag along your jawline.

Conclusion

If you follow this advice you will find yourself with skin feeling better than you could possibly imagine. Our products are specifically designed to help and improve your skin. You will find no better moisturizers for dry skin if you are suffering.