Dry skin is a distress for many of us. It causes itchiness, discomfort, flakiness and even redness at times. Learn the reasons behind dry skin and ways to prevent it to avoid such an experience.

Sunshine
Everybody loves a day out in the sun but it comes with consequences. Lack of a good sunscreen of at least SPF 15 gives the rays an opportunity to penetrate deeply into the skin's dermis layer and rob your skin of moisture and oils. This happens even in winter Avoid staying in the sun for too long, especially around 11am-3pm, and reapply your sunscreen every couple of hours or so.

Cold winter
The winter air, which gets its crispiness from the low humidity, constantly takes away moisture from your skin making it dry and flaky. The word for the season is, 'moisturise', as often as you need. You can also use a humidifier in your home to prevent dry skin.

Hot showers
The thought of a long, hot shower invokes many feelings related to relaxation, peace and serenity but that is not all. Soaking up in hot water for too long will make your skin lose moisture really fast. It will also expose deeper layers of the skin to the loss of moisture, making them unable to retain water. Use warm water (not hot) and moisturising cleansers for your shower time which should be less than 10 minutes.

Artificial temperature control
Heaters take away moisture from the air. So, while you are relaxing in the comfortable temperature, your skin is gradually becoming dry. Use a humidifier for retaining the humidity of your home.

Flying high
Frequent flyers will feel their skin go dry after a long flight. The pressurised air of airplane cabins is to be blamed for the lack of humidity that leads to itchiness and dryness. To retain the moisture, water (in high amounts) should be your choice of beverage before, during, and after a journey on the airplane.

If you have already fallen victim to the dry skin, start the healing process as soon as you can. Use a healing lotion specially made for dry skin that will restore your skins ability to retain moisture and fill in cracks in the skin making it smooth and healthy.