Help please, my face is sooo dry!

[Jemster]

Hi this is my first time posting here, I'm after some advice please.
When I get up in the morning my face feels so dry. Even after I moisturise it still feels dry and tight and just uncomfortable. I look at the other mum's at school and their skin looks glowing and soft and just well moisturised. Mine is looking dry, flakey and my lines are more obvious. I feel like a prune!!

It's always been on the dry side and I've bought many many moisturisers for dry skin but none seem to make any difference. I really can't waste any more money on things that don't work. It's horrible trying to put make up on as it's all so dry.

Please could you tell me what I'm doing wrong or what I can buy that actually works. I have been put off buying all these things that claim to work and then don't. I wouldn't mind spending a bit if it was definitely going to improve the look of my skin. I feel haggard!
Thanks for any replies x

[Djembe]

Shu Uemura cleansing oil!

You massage it into dry skin and it melts away makeup and attaches itself to oily stuff in your skin too, whilst feeling instantly super soft and nourishing. Splash with water and it turns milky.

I've tried cleansers without water but never feel clean - not if I've worn makeup and I don't wear much. Dermalogica Ultracalming is another similar action one, doesn't feel as nice but cleanses well and never leaves skin feeling tight.

Water isn't evil and it is the best cleanser, really. Just pick a good product to use with it, not a bog standard facial wash, and not a foaming one.

[jalopy]

That's interesting, Bearcat.

Just bought my teenage son Nizoral shampoo for his very itchy scalp. He is really suffering with eczema on his face at the moment and I'm hoping the shampoo will have possibly a secondary effect in other areas too.

[Bearcat]

I always had dry skin on my face in my 20's and was eventually diagnosed with dermatitis.
Was told to use Nizoral shampoo (£7 approx) as a face wash by a fantastic dermatologist. Wash my face with it, left it on whilst I was in shower and then washed off at end of the shower. Didn't even have to do it many times to effect the cure.
I never looked back, such a simple solution to a problem that plagued me for years.
For years I had tried to scour my dry skin away with a buf-puf and buy all sorts of moisturisers, but it was cured with this relatively cheap shampoo.

[MrsPennyapple]

I am using the clarins cleanser, I put it on damp skin and then use more water so it's sort of like a face wash. It's supposed to be "foaming" but I wouldn't say it foams, really. You only need a tiny bit and so far it is doing the trick with my dry patchy skin. I've been following it up with the hydraquench cream that someone mentioned upthread. Only been using Clarins for a couple of weeks but I do like it.

[Wolfiefan]

I love liz Earle 3 step.
I have started using (rose?) Decleor oil which has helped massively.
I have also used E Arden 8 hour cream, Eve Lom and Lush stuff.

[sparrowfart]

Ponds Cold Cream is lovely, I too have very dry skin. I'm not sure whether it is meant to be used as a cleanser, but I use it as a night cream and my skin LOVES it!

[sarahseashell]

oh and wipe off with soft tissue

[sarahseashell]

I've found I got used to not using water after a little while. My skin reacts to a lot of ingredients though so clarins would make it sore and I use natural stuff, origins or holland & barratt etc. I think they maybe have a rose oil too? (h&b)

[Jemster]

Thank you for all the very helpful replies. I am going to try using the clarins cream cleanser and toner instead of facial wash. I guess I just wipe it off with cotton wool then and not water?
I still think I might not feel clean and refreshed without washing my face with water. You know when you first wake up and you want to freshen up, should I avoid using water completely?

[SilverSixpence]

I've started using Steamcream - it makes my skin really soft and is very soothing, I have sensitive skin and a lot of creams sting a bit but this doesn't.

[QuinnFabray]

Yes, yes, the La Roche Posay Cicaplast baume is amazing. I rarely use it on my face myself, as I have oily skin. But I use it on dd's dry skin and eczema and it's the only thing we've tried that works overnight. It is so soothing and gentle, but effective. Once a week or so, in this cold dry weather, I use it as a night cream/treatment, and it's great to use on your face. So gentle and healing. I will always have some in the house now.

[mrscogon34thstreet]

If you have dry skin and don't mind the smell of coconuts I can't recommend this coconoil highly enough.

[Jenda]

interesting thread. does anyone have suggestions for oils which aren't too expensive?

[Djembe]

Yy soyo Liz Earle is lovely. I use it but prefer the Shu Uemura oil, it's too £££ for me atm though so currently on Liz.

Love Neal's Yard Rose Facial Oil but I had to use it with another moisturiser on top. It definitely worked wonders when used overnight though, I just couldn't use it alone. I used Shu Uemura moisturising lotion which looks and feels like a toner. The two combined was lovely.



Still maintain that Nivea thick cream is the best night cream though. Use on top of the rose oil

[Sickandsad]

I have extremely dry skin and am prone to eczema. I have been using Cicaplast balm by La Roche Posay as recommended by Lisa Eldridge as a moisturiser and also as a primer under foundation. I've tried everything else (including Dermalogica Repair Balm and Creme de la Mer) and this is amazing stuff. Whenever my skin starts feeling tight and dry I switch to this for a few days and nights.

www.boots.com/en/La-Roche-Posay-Cicaplast-Pro-Recovery-Skincare-40ml_1225264/

[SoYo]

Definitely agree with oil cleansing, either a straight oil, clarins cleanser that starts as gel then goes to oil & washes off with water is great too (something melt) but my absolute fave is Liz Earle cleanse & polish. Really rich & lux but great on all skin types. My skin has periods of feeling like my face is going to fall off & when it does I substitute my normal LE moisturiser for Neals Yard Rose Face Oil. Tiny bit goes a long way & feels v greasy going on but wake up with lovely skin.

[Djembe]

Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser is the mutts nuts for an anti-night-wakings healthy glow

Def no to powder. Did you have oily skin as a teenager? My sister did and is obsessed with mattifying products, despite being in her thirties with quite dry skin. It's all about the glow now, no mattifying jobs. Tinted moisturiser, highlighter, cream blusher. Night creams and gentle cleansers.

[Viewofthehills]

Tinted moisturiser works well for me. During the summer I used a bare minerals type powder which worked well and didn't highlight dry bits.

[catyloopylou]

I get very dry flaky patches and, as well as using a gentle cream cleanser, was advised to exfoliate regularly using a very gentle exfoliator. I use Dermalogica daily microfoliant, which has lasted for a year. Or try an enzyme exfoliant which won't scrub at your skin. I follow that with Mary Cohr enriched moisturiser.

I also get eczema ony hands so use an e45 cream handwash and lashings of cetraben lotion, and an emulsifying ointment at night.

[Jemster]

Djembe yes that sounds like a good idea to go make up free for a bit. I don't wear much make up but I have been wearing a clinique foundation lately which I think is too drying for me so not exactly helping. Perhaps I should try a tinted moisturiser instead, although I do need a bit of coverage at the moment to hide the pasty, shattered look i have from regular night wakings! I'm guessing powder is a definite no no with dry skin?

[Djembe]

So many different opinions on how to fix dry skin, really interesting.

Mine for the mix: use Shu Uemura cleansing oil, it's a bit like the oil cleansing method but you rinse it off with water so good if you prefer a water cleansing routine. Use Nivea blue pot basic moisturiser overnight, really thick but doesn't clog up skin. Cetaphil is brilliant simple moisturiser for daytime, works under makeup despite being v thick and rich. But I'd have a couple of weeks makeup-free while you detox your skin.

[lottie63]

Clarins hydraquench rich cream. Fab. Get them to give you a tester thing

[AppleOgies]

Oliatum face cream has saved my dry skin. I suffer in a similar way to you. Face so dry and tight, I can feel it stretching when I smile.

[Viewofthehills]

I do use a moisturiser as well. At the moment it's what I was given for my birthday, not Clarins. A lot of face creams irritate me and before I got the Serum I had had a facial which made my skin itchy and tight for a good three months. The serum totally resolved that for me in the first few days.
If I was choosing a moisturiser at the moment the Hydraquench one seemed really good in a sample. I have also used their 'sensitive' moisturiser before and that was really soothing.

[Jemster]

Thanks for your replies. Viewofthehills do you use a clarins moisturiser as well as their serum?