Sometimes dry skin can be large scale, hitting several areas on your skin at once, and other times you may only experience dry skin in small, specific areas, such as lips or hands.

But you already know that. After all, you are the one suffering from dry skin. The question now is why are you suffering from dry skin? What brought on this annoying condition and can you take steps to make it go away?

There are many, many reasons you may have dry skin. Some things make dry skin worse off than others do. If you are to the point where your dry skin feels tight, looks very dull, is flaky and itching, maybe even cracking, you absolutely need to do something about it.

You must take steps to heal your skin and prevent it from getting that dry again. If you are already taking steps to do so and still have extremely dry skin, you may suffer from chronic conditions such as psoriasis or eczema. The only way to tell for sure is to go to your doctor or dermatologist office and have them check your skin.

Otherwise, you may only find a few things in your daily routine that you can easily switch up for something else or cut out entirely to help give your skin the chance it needs to replenish itself.

Hard water. Having hard water can wreck havoc on your skin because it does not dissolve soaps well, which means some gets left on your skin, along with the various mineral deposits hard water contains. These can dry out your skin and make it difficult to keep moisturized, as there is not much you can do to change your water supply.

Soap. Many bar soaps have ingredients that will easily remove all natural body oils from your skin. These oils are essential to help keep your skin moisturized, and without them your skin is more vulnerable to drying out once you step out of the shower or tub. And as mentioned before, soap is more likely to remain on your skin, removing what little oils may be left. Look for a liquid shower gel that is specially made for dry skin.

No lotion or wrong lotion. Dealing with dry skin ultimately means you will need a lotion of some kind. If you are not using a lotion already, you need to hit the market and buy yourself a state of the art moisturizer. Moisturizers with ingredients such as emollients and humectants can help do wonders for your skin.

Always make sure your lotion is meant for dry skin; the wrong lotion can only worsen your skin condition, cause it to become irritated, or possibly give you an allergic reaction. Try opting for fragrance and perfume free lotions.

Long, hot showers or baths. These are not a good idea. Not only will soap remove natural oils from your skin, but so can water. Your skin does have a natural ability to be water resistant, but after time too much water on the body will wash away all the oils and leave your skin more prone to dryness. Use lukewarm water as hot water will only speed up the process, and do what you can to keep time in the water short.

Winter and summer. During seasons when conditions outside the body become less humid and harsher, moisture can easily slip away from your skin and disappear, leaving you with the responsibility of keeping your skin moisturized and safe from extreme temperatures and powerful elements such as stinging winter wind.

Take extra care of your skin during these times, keeping areas well lotioned and making sure to apply balm to your lips for extra protection.

If you notice other possibilities of dry skin, ask your dermatologist to be sure and find out what you can do to stop dry skin, or at least give it an extra boost toward the healthy side.

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