If your skin has become dry and dull, it’s time to take a closer look at how you’re treating your skin. Shea butter and coconut oil, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid may be the key to healthy, glowing skin, but there’s a right and wrong way to use these products. Read on for tips on how to banish your dry, dull skin for good.
Hydrating
All the shea butter and coconut oil in the world can’t help skin that’s perpetually dry and dull due to dehydration. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine revealed that men need 15.5 cups of water and women need 11.5 cups of water each day to stay hydrated. If you aren’t drinking enough water, your skin is missing out, and no amount of moisturizer can fix it.
Set a reminder to start drinking more water. Use a water hydration app, like Water Drink Reminder, or keep a Post-it note reminder on your laptop to grab a glass every time you get up and take a break. When you’re drinking the water you need, your moisturizer can get to work, and help keep your skin from feeling dry.
Brightening
From your daily glass of orange juice to your skincare regimen, vitamin C is all the rage. And why not? Vitamin C helps to even out skin tones and brighten skin when applied as part of a beauty routine. Whether you opt for airy serums, rejuvenating face masks, or heavier creams, the important thing is to work vitamin C into your morning daily skin routine.
Not all vitamin C is created equally. Products with L-ascorbic acid are the way to go for max effectiveness. Since vitamin C is light-sensitive, you’ll want to apply your product before moisturizing, unless it’s an antioxidant vitamin C serum, in which case you should dab that on toward the end of your beauty ritual. Either way, give yourself plenty of time indoors for the product to absorb into your skin to avoid a sunburn.
Plumping
If your skin has that too tight, stretched out kind of feeling, you might want to take a close look at hyaluronic acid. What is hyaluronic acid? Hyaluronic acid might sound scary, but this super-hydrating wonder ingredient isn’t an exfoliant. No, hyaluronic acid is a water-retaining ingredient that wonderfully plumps up skin. The key to products with this ingredient is to pick one and use it in the right order.
It’s best to use hyaluronic acid products first thing on clean skin, if it’s in serum form. Then, top it off with moisturizer and your SPF 30 or above sunscreen. While it’s uncommon to have side effects with hyaluronic acid, applying products with hyaluronic acid as a top layer might dry out your face. For a great dose of anti-aging benefits, combine hyaluronic acid with retinol. You can help downplay retinol’s potentially irritating effects, while giving your skin a chance to significantly improve in the process.
Glowing
If you’ve been using vitamin C, moisturizers and hyaluronic acid, and beautiful skin still seems out of reach, chances are you’ve been using them wrong. Banish dry, dull, and blah skin forever. Check your hydration level and keep sipping on water. Turn to vitamin C products as the first part of your morning routine and give hyaluronic acid another try for Instagram-worthy skin anytime.
