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There is nothing more pleasant as a sensation than getting out of the shower and feeling your skin clean and soft. Unfortunately, this pleasure can quickly be spoiled by a feeling of tightness or irritation due to dry skin. It may sound ironic, but our daily habits of cleaning and caring for our skin are often the cause of this dryness. But rest assured, the solutions to avoid it will be relatively simple since it will simply be necessary to readjust your washing routine and modify certain skincare products. This is what we will see in this article by answering the question: what to do to avoid having dry skin after a shower? First of all, learn why you have dry skin after you shower. Then, discover the solutions to remedy this problem of dry skin after washing. 

Why do you have dry skin after a shower?

What is characterized by dry skin? 

Dry skin is characterized by weakening of the skin's protective barrier (also known as the hydrolipidic film) which is composed of a fatty substance and an aqueous body. This hydrolipidic film acts as a cutaneous barrier to protect the balance of the skin and thus limit its dryness. In other words, dry skin lack of sebum and water. The effects are that the skin is fragile, irritated and sensitive. Generally, a dull complexion and feelings of discomfort or tightness are among the side effects. For some individuals, the skin structure may be scaly, lumpy, or show redness.

What Causes Skin Dry Skin After Showering?

There are several reasons why your skin is dry after you shower : 

At first, it will most certainly be products you use to wash yourself. Indeed, shower gels, shampoos and certain soaps are irritants, strippers and dryers because they are composed of sulphates, petrochemicals, parabens, chemical preservatives, allergens, etc. All the ingredients together to irritate and dry out your skin. Furthermore, the water contains harmful products because it is processed. The water that flows from your shower head will be very concentrated in limestone, especially when you live in large cities where the water is even more treated than in rural areas. The limestone dries out the skin and hair and therefore can make your skin dry after you shower.

On the other hand, when you have finished washing yourself, water from the shower evaporating will tend to dry out the skin because it carries with it the water which is in the epidermis. Finally, if you are a fan of showers too hot, be aware that this will also have an impact on your skin dryness. Indeed, boiling water removes the skin and sebum. As a result, your hydrolipidic film weakens and your skin dries up. 

Personalized aggravating parameters will also upset the balance of the skin, weaken it and thus cause drier skin after washing :

• Climatic conditions : cold, pollution fluctuations in temperature, humidity, sun, wind etc.
• Hormones. Especially when the level of estrogen hormones decrease during peri-menopause and menopause. 
• Lifestyle : smoking, caffeine, chronic stress, diet, alcohol, sleep and certain medications.

What to do to prevent and relieve dry skin after a shower?

To fight against dry skin after showering, it will be above all essential have a good skin routine with healthy and effective products. In addition, it will be necessary to replenish the protective film of the skin so that it can carry out its role of barrier and thus prevent the skin from drying out. For this purpose, it will have to be fed with fatty compounds rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Subsequently, it will have to be hydrated with agents derived from water.

Cosmetics effective against dry skin after washing

As we have seen, the soaps or shower gel you use play a major role in drying the skin. It is essential to have good natural, healthy and non-stripping products to avoid skin dryness.

How to wash your dry skin gently?

To avoid dry skin after showering, the first thing to do is to use a very mild soap with a neutral pH or an oily soap. Often, using a good soap can almost completely eliminate the problem of dry skin. Indeed, the formulation of very mild soaps is made to avoid irritating, stripping or drying out sensitive and dry skin. To find a mild soap here are some tips:

• Choose one that uses cold saponification and therefore will not contain any irritating sulfates. To find a real soap resulting from this process, it must have the mention "cold saponified".
• Do not use shower gel which almost all contains sulphated surfactants, petrochemicals and synthetic preservatives.
• Choose one with an organic label (the best is the Nature & Progrès label) or with the mention Slow Cosmétique.
• You can choose one with the mention "surgras" which means that it is enriched with superfatting nutrients and that it therefore corresponds to dry skin.
• avoid soaps from supermarkets and pharmacies which practically all contain harmful ingredients. Instead, buy them in organic stores or online sites. We recommend you the Slow Cosmetics website which has a very strict charter in terms of the products it markets.

In general, always pay attention to the greenwashing! Many manufacturers pass off their cosmetics as healthy products even though they contain irritating and harmful agents. To be sure to select a good soap (and a good cosmetic product in general), we recommend the application INCIbeauty. This app reviews your beauty products independently and transparently. Thus, it tells you whether the product is healthy or not.

For an organic, natural, healthy and ultra gentle on the skin, we recommend you Goat's milk soap from Savonnerie du Regagnas

What are the reasons for adopting it?

From organic farming, it is made without allergens and petrochemical materials (toxic to the skin).
Very rich in goat's milk known for its extreme softness for dry or very dry skin.
Suitable for the skin of the body and face and for the whole family.
Cold saponified, it has only natural non-irritating and non-drying active ingredients for the skin.

Which creams are effective for the care of dry skin after a shower?

As we have seen previously, dry skin is lacking in fat and water. To meet its demand for fat, you must use a cream that contains lipids, i.e. with nourishing active ingredients to restore the hydrolipidic film. The nourishing active ingredients that you can find in the products are vegetable oils or vegetable butters. To satisfy his need for hydration, you must adopt a cream containing water-derived agents such as, for example, hydrosol, aloe vera or even hyaluronic acid.

Always pay attention select a cream with ingredients of natural origin to take care of dry skin after showering. Indeed, many creams are made from harmful, irritating, drying and chemical substances such as sulfates, silicones, parabens, quats, preservatives or synthetic fragrances. Beyond presenting toxic health risks, they are likely to weaken your skin and dry it out even more.

If you have dry facial skin after you shower, this isWhat we have seen above obviously also applies to the skin of the face. The best way to take care of your dry skin is to use a moisturizing cream or serum in the morning (to avoid the greasy effect) and a nourishing cream in the evening after your toilet.

Natural products against dry skin after washing

The oily part of the skin will make it possible, among other things, to prevent the evaporation of water and therefore that it does not lack hydration. It therefore functions as a skin protective barrier. In this sense, it is essential to feed it well with fatty ingredients.

100% natural, raw and pure products will be most effective for nourishing your dry skin after a shower. These will be vegetable oils and butters. You will have to use them as a mask on the skin and leave it like that, without having to rinse them. The epidermis will naturally assimilate the fluid and feed on all its virtues. Best vegetal oils to nourish dry skin are: coconut, wheat germ, argan, sweet almond, avocado, borage and nigella. Regarding vegetable butters, the beurre de karité will be the best one you can find to nourish and restore the imbalance of very dry skin. Indeed, it is very concentrated in saturated fatty acids, which will allow it to deeply nourish the skin and restore the hydrolipidic film.

Comments : You also have the option of mixing your oil or butter with strongly hydrating aloe vera gel.

Which skin routine to avoid skin dryness?

In order to avoiding having too dry skin after showering, it is also essential tohave a good skin routine. Basic but effective, the following principles will help you have much less dry skin after washing: 

• Dry yourself systematically when you get out of the shower because the water that evaporates tends to dry out the skin. Apply a nourishing or moisturizing cream immediately after showering and when you are completely dry to retain skin moisture. 
• Do not use soaps or shower gels with sulphated surfactants which will scour, dry out and irritate your skin. Prefer a surgras soap or one resulting from cold saponification.
• Avoid showers that are too hot and too long. For rinsing, try finishing with a spray of lukewarm water to relieve the skin. 
• If you can, try to reduce the frequency of your showers. In any case, avoid taking two showers a day. 
• Gently dry your skin with a towel, without rubbing. Indeed, friction will damage the horny layer of the skin and thereby dry it out. To avoid this, pat your body dry. 
• As we have seen previously, water used externally does not hydrate. On the contrary, it dries up the skin. Therefore, it is better to avoid washing your face with water. To wash and care for your dry skin on the face, cleanse it in the morning and evening with a mild soap, mild lotion, or moisturizing milk.