Effective skin care and treatment are way to keeping your skin younger-looking, supple and full of moisture. The purpose of putting yourself to an effective skin regimen is to minimize the incorrect habits of skin treatment and the factors that injure the skin and causes irreversible damage.

Dermatologists use the term "xerosis" to describe dry skin. In more severe cases, skin moisture is nearly absent thereby resulting to characteristic cracking, scaling and itching called pruritus.

The above conditions are brought about by the skin lacking the required moisture to prevent the aforementioned results. The skin needs a relative amount of moisture to maintain smooth or suppleness, flexibility and protection.

If the skin is a not sufficiently moisturized, harmful UV rays get into the skin easily and travel all the way down the delicate subcutaneous tissue and subsequently make you skin vulnerable to damage.

In order to avoid the many activities that jeopardize your skin's health, it is important to identify the many factors which results to the unwanted condition.

Avoid Using Soaps with Harsh Ingredients - Regular soaps such as anti-bacterial and deodorant soaps, which are non-moisturizing, dehydrate the skin and rob your integument with essential oils which locks moisture from your body.

Products containing alcohols also dissolve skin lipids and cause the skin's moisture to evaporate resulting to skin dryness. Water and oil-based products are perfect for your skin. Use Dove Olay and other soap substitutes available at your local drugstore.

Washing with Hot Water - Although water is an effective moisturizing agent, it also strips your skin with valuable oils or lipids which are responsible for retaining moisture from your skin.

Frequent bathing, especially with hot water, removes valuable oils and exposes your skin to infections by destroying your body's first main line of defense.

Once this is lost, your skin will become more prone to organic attacks by pathogens and sometimes cause irreversible damage to your skin.

If you are used to bathing with hot water and cannot resist the temptation, try replacing it with lukewarm water to lessen the effect of skin dryness.

Frequent Washing - Frequent washing and bathing, usually more than once a day depletes your body with moisture and natural oils. Also, limit your bathing time within 15 minutes.

Weather - Winter is one major factor in the development of a dry skin. The use of humidifier, in most cases, solves the problem of the effect of the climate. It compensates for the insufficient humidity needed for the preservation of skin moisture.

This is because cold air cannot afford to hold adequate amount of water to serve skin's moisture demands. Warm air on the other hand holds enough humidity to keep the skin moisturized at a certain level.

Patients under medication - People taking diuretic drugs remove water from a patient's body because the kidney will less likely reabsorb the water filtered through it. In this case, frequent intake of water is needed.

The skin deserves much attention for it manifests your overall health or state of well-being. It provides you with valuable clues as to how you take care of yourself and how much attention your skin gets in your daily physical management.