Monday

How I treated my dry skin

As you may have gathered from, well, pretty much all of my skincare reviews lately, I've been plagued by a pesky patch of dry skin on my left cheek. It's not visible and it's only small- maybe an inch in length at the most- but it has been really annoying, especially when make up clings to it. Thankfully, right now, it looks like it may have decided to leave for a little while so, since I've been banging on about it so much lately, I thought I would discuss what seems to have made the difference. I don't claim to be a skincare expert and I'm not saying these will necessarily work for you, but it might be interesting to see what I've been doing.
Lush cleanser best products for dry skin
CLEANSER

Let's start with the obvious- the products I've used for my skin have made all the difference. Admittedly, it's been a little bit trial and error and, yes, I do know that switching up your products too often makes it difficult to judge so I've been trying to stay as consistent as possible (with the exception of micellar water which I've been changing on a monthly basis. I know, I know. I'm terrible!) I used to use Lush's 9 to 5 cleanser (review here) and found it a complete dream to work with- creamy, nourishing and gentle. In the winter, I decided to try Aqua Marina (which I never reviewed) instead which I loved, but this is where my problems began. I think it was just too harsh for my skin and stripped away the moisture. Funnily enough, when I started using 9 to 5 again, my problems cleared. Who would have thought, eh? I also found Baby Face solid cleanser (review) a huge help in the meantime although it seemed to provide more of a temporary solution.

MICELLAR WATER

I haven't hidden the fact that I've been going through micellar water like there's no tomorrow. I know I should stick to one but I just want to try them all and I find myself completely unable to resist. The good thing in this is that I've found what works for me and what doesn't. Although I'm not a fan of it, the Simple Micellar Water (review) seems to be doing a great job of restoring my skin, whereas the Soap and Glory one (review) just made it much worse.

MOISTURISER

When my dry skin started, I was using Lush Celestial moisturiser (review), which has a light consistency. Needless to say, this wasn't really cutting it for me. I needed something a lot tougher. In the end, I bought Million Dollar Moisturiser (review) which is the thickest moisturiser I have ever used and is working wonders. The downside? I absolutely hate it! It's gloopy, hard to apply and smells like Savlon. Not ideal. 

PRIMER

Little did I know that my beloved Porefessional (review) was making matters worse for me. Yes, it creates a beautifully smooth finish but it's also really drying. Sometimes I think "I'll give it a go. What's the worse that can happen?" and then I'm reminded exactly why I stopped using it. After much deliberation, I tried Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer (review) but I didn't find that it actually prepped my skin. That doesn't mean I wasn't annoyed when I accidentally left it in an Austrian hotel room! That primer cost me £28 and I'd only used up a quarter! To replace it, I bought Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer (review) which is much better and creates an even surface for me to apply my base. It's really moisturising too so my cheek is very happy! 

WATER

Yeah yeah, that old chestnut! I've been drinking a lot more water lately (which basically means: I've been drinking water lately) and I am definitely seeing the difference. It's boring but it works.

RELAXING

It's not like you can really avoid stress in life, is it? My job was causing me huge stress so I quit but I'm not suggesting you all do that! It's remarkable how much my skin has changed since I've removed that source of stress though. With more time to do things that help me relax- read, blog... shop- I've seen a dramatic impact.

MOVING ON

Now I'm looking into ways to maintain my hydrated skin. Of course, I'm going to continue using the products that have brought about this change (although I will still be experimenting with micellar waters) but I'm also looking into additional ways to keep my skin nourished and moisturised. Sites specialising in skincare such as Pure Beauty are the perfect place to find products that are made with particular problems in mind. I'm considering trying a night serum so let me know if you have any recommendations. 

I'm so glad to finally have my skin under control. Although it's taken a good few months, it wasn't difficult and just required some patience. I'd love to hear your tips for treating dry skin, so let me know in the comments.

Post written in collaboration with Pure Beauty. Affiliate links have been used in this post.

Bloglovin' // Twitter // Instagram

4 comments :

  1. Oooh this is super helpful as I've been considering investing in a primer but have had bad experiences in the past trying to find one right for my skin. I also get random dry patches (joys of having eczema, dermatitis...the whole shebang) so feel your pain! I found a hydrating creme to be the best bet over a moisturiser as it absorbs better and isn't too heavy. I use Neals Yard frankincense hydrating cream which works wonders. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. 9 to 5 cleanser is really good! It works with my skin too, which is part dry, part oily with acne and eczema simultaneously. I use products from Lush for skin with acne and coconut oil for dry patches (usually under my eyes).
    I used micelar wather in the past, i tried more brands as well, but in the end I have the feeling that it was not doing much good for me and it´s better when I skip on it. I feel my skin is less dry now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are some really helpful tips and products. I love porefessional too but also had to stop using it because it dries out my skin so badly. I now use the baby skin from maybelline which works wonders!

    www.57-days.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  4. I suffer from dry skin and eczema, recently I've been using micellar water too and it seems to really help, but I'm yet to find a facial mosturiser that settles my skin down so I'll be trying some that you've recommended!

    ReplyDelete

I read all comments and appreciate every single one, even if I can't always reply. If you have a question or need a reply, feel free to tweet me @BeckyBedbug- I always reply to tweets!

Blog Design by Get Polished | Copyright Becky Craggs 2017