Chemistry: The Importance of H20

Test tubes away, it's not that kind of a chemistry lesson.
Today we're going to establish whether or not you have dry skin!

You could try the comedy Clinique route, you know, there they stick a bit of 'cosmetic grade' sellotape on your nose and see if the skin cells give themselves up, or you could answer the questions below:

Is your skin dull looking?
Is it flaky (ew, eyebrow dandruff)?
Do you have a lot of fine lines for your age?
Does your skin feel 'tight' straight after cleansing?

Okay, the odds are you know whether or not you've got dry skin but if in doubt, pop in for a Dermalogica facial. I always thought I had oily skin until a recent facial when my tiny mind was exploded with the facts. Turns out my problems were mostly caused by me continually abusing teenage skin conditions I was ten years clear of.


The best thing you can do is simple. Drink truck loads of water. Truck. Loads. If you really can't manage it, you can at least try the following:
Avoid extreme temperature changes
Drink less caffeine
Keep your environment humid (a humidifier in the bedroom made a tonne of difference to me)
Protect your skins natural barrier with the right products


The first save-my-skin product I tried was Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster, as recommended by my facialist. It contains Hyaluronic Acid, Panthenol, Glycolipids and Algae Extract all of which help restore your natural moisture balance and helps you avoid those pesky fine lines. Despite it's rather impressive claims, the product is really light and liquid, not heavy and oily. Joy.

The most important thing is not to freak out and start attacking your skin with thick, gooey creams that sit on top of your complexion, all you'll get that way is break outs. As we shift from summer (huh?) to winter, your skin is going to be all kinds of confused - do your skin a favour and give yourself a treat, book a facial while it's still relatively close to payday.

Do it... Do it now... Go on... You know you want to...