Oh the itchiness, the flakiness, the tightness! Dry skin is no picnic. Dry skin doesn't just come with the dry air of a cold winter, but any time of year. There are many contributing factors to dry skin. The main factor for this is that people are just too dehydrated. Water is essential for the body and for the skin. Flaky dry skin is a signal that your body is getting dehydrated and it's time to fill up again. 8-10 glasses of water a day is needed for optimum healthy skin.

Another factor that contributes to a dry complexion is the use of harsh chemicals on your skin. Harsh cleansers strip the skin of all necessary oils and dries out the skin, leaving a tight uncomfortable skin that you just want to crawl out of. Using milder cleansers will clean your skin and still allow your natural oils to moisturize and soothe it.

Moisturizers are essential, especially in winters, for keeping moisture within your skin. Moisturizers, cool, hot, tight skin, and provides a barrier against heat and water loss, as well as dirt, and makes your skin feel smoother?. although it's temporary, until you re-apply the moisturizer again.

Hot water irritates dry skin and provokes it into drying out more. Long, hot baths are a no-no, no matter how cold the winter is. Take shorter, lukewarm baths or showers, and try taking them every other day to maintain the moisture on your skin. Taking a hot shower everyday prevents natural oils from being present and helps skin look great.

Once out of the shower, don't rub skin dry, but rather pat it gently, even leaving skin slightly damp, and moisturize right away to look in the moisture. Moisturizing is so important for great skin, as it replaces lost moisture and the cream contains water-binding ingredients that help skin keep its moisture.

Alcohol and caffeine has a drying effect on skin. Certain drugs, prescription or recreational, also contribute to the drying of the skin. Overexposure to the sun also increases the dryness of skin. Wearing sunscreen and limiting exposure to the sun is essential to keeping good skin, or any skin at all as skin cancer is a very real possibility for sun lovers. Using a humidifier will help skin, as well as patting skin dry when exiting the shower. Choosing natural fabrics that skin likes is also a helpful method.

For dry skin that is not being cared for, it can lead to more complications than just dry skin. Eczema, folliculitis, and cellulites are complications caused when the skin's natural defense mechanism is faulty. Eczema is a persistent condition that causes redness, cracking and inflammation of the skin. Folliculitis is the soreness of the hair follicles. Cellulites is a serious bacterial infection of the skin's underlying tissues.

On the aesthetics side, dry skin ages people a lot faster than other skin types. The flakiness and tightness is uncomfortable, and it disrupts with the application of make-up on women. The itchiness causes people to scratch, and can lead to redness, patchiness and scratches on the face. The easiest and quickest way to gain back beautiful skin is by drinking lots and lots of water, to replace all of the moisture that's been lost. It is a simple but a method that will never fail.