For the past 2 years I’ve been really looking at what products are on sale for consumers with different dry skin conditions ranging from normal dry skin to dermatitis.

There are a lot of natural cosmetics for sale that target dry skin conditions and myself being a sufferer of psoriasis for the past 10 years now, have tried many products.

What struck me was that there is a lot of products targeting people with dry skin and most of them are products with no water in them!

Information is key, knowledge is power and there is a lot of misinformation out there with people selling products to customers telling them they target a particular problem, but when you look at the ingredients you soon realise that there is key ingredients missing that is truly needed to help!

So, I went investigating and reading a lot of different research. But this week I received my monthly E-magazine from Skin Chakara and their green cosmetics blog.

In the magazine there was a write up on a Dr Blank and his research from 1952. So I googled it and found what they were talking about and the piece stuck with me.

Because I found this research so interesting, I decided to do my first blog on his experiments and finding, whilst also talking about our skins need for hydration.

The most basic principle in life is, all living things need water, your skin is the largest organ in you body, it is a living thing, therefore needs water to do its job. 

Look at a plant, if you forget to water it for a week, you will see it start to wilt then droop, finally turning brown and losing its foliage. Even if it is getting sunlight it wont recover until we remember to water it. When we finally water it, eventually it will start to recover and become alive and colourful again.

From the 1950’s, doctors and researchers concluded through trials and testing that unless the stratus corneum [outer most layer of the skin], received sufficient hydration [water], then it will dehydrate and start to break, flake and peel, causing dry skin as we know it.

The stratus corneum is the outer most layer of our skins make up, this is where the final stage of the skins process takes place. Skin cells die and naturally shed, making way for the new cells to come through.

This cycle is continuous and when it is damaged, bacteria, pollution and many other things can get past our barrier and cause damage to our skins make up right down to our DNA.

Water is in every level of our skins make up, there are reservoirs that run from the deepest layer right up to the top and play a vital role in keeping our skin hydrated and healthy. 

Water is carried from the lowest level to the top level, but Dr Blanks studies showed that it doesn’t fill these channels quick enough to keep the skin hydrated before the outer layer has lost most of it to evaporation.

DR Blanks findings showed, that a moisturising cream for dry skin, needs to contain humectants to draw water to the stratus corneum to help with the hydration. If we use products containing only oils and butters, it will eventually worsen dry skin conditions and this can cause the bumps you can feel and see on your skin, this is dead skin cells clumping together instead of staying separate and shedding naturally.

Another vital role of water in skincare products is to carry nutrients and actives to the cells that need them, most oils and butters cannot do this because they are occlusive, meaning they cannot penetrate the skin, instead they form a protective layer over the skin to lubricate and soften the skin and prevent TEWL [Trans epidermal water loss], whilst maintaining our lipid layer.

Dr Blank did a few different experiments, using sample skin tissue from a callous of a human heel.

The first experiment had him placing the tissue sample in an oil substance for weeks, and finding the skin did not change, it didn't become flexible or increase in size.

Using another piece of tissue he performed the same experiment with water, checking the progress every 15 minutes, within 90 minutes the skin was pliable and swollen in size.

Why? Because the skin absorbed the water, becoming hydrated. So, water will hydrate the skin, oils and butters will just soften the skin, make it look better, but cannot hydrate, we need hydration to combat dry skin.

He also found that skin will lose water content more quickly through evaporation due to the environment, example, when the air is hot and dry, or cold and dry.

But when the air is humid, cold or hot, the skin can absorb this moisture from the atmosphere with help from humectants such as Glycerin and hyaluronic acid.

If you consistently apply oil-based products to your skin, you hinder your skin from getting the moisture it needs from the atmosphere, yes it can stop water evaporating, but if it isn’t getting the water it needs, this will ensure the skin dries out more and faster.

So, what do oils and butter do?They lubricate the skin, providing important lipids and make the skin softer and smoother looking. 

Plant oils and butters also provide the skin vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals such as GLA’S, fatty acids and much more, whilst also helping shield the skin from environmental stressors such as pollution, which can be absorbed into the skin when the skins barrier is disrupted or damaged.

So, my advice for those dry skin sufferers, if you are unsure seek professional advice, do your own research first and use products that contain water, whether it is organic floral waters or just plain aqua. 

Look for products containing humectants such as Glycerin, sodium lactate, hyaluronic acid and include products that contain ingredients that are proven to improve our skins moisture retention like Ecotine.

Anti-inflammatories and soothing ingredients like aloe vera, panthenol, Saccharide Isomerate etc... are also excellent additions in skincare products

Finally, include anhydrous [waterless] products as part of your double cleanse or the final step in your skincare routine to improve suppleness, softness and reduce Trans-epidermal Water Loss. 

Make sure you skincare is balanced, water and oil and again, if unsure seek professional advice!

Thanks for taking the time to read my first blog post and I hope it helps you in the future to make informed decisions when purchasing beauty products.

Below are links to the information I used for this blog and links to Dr Blank's research.

References: https://www.cosmeticsandskin.com/gfg/moisturisers.php. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15483046/pdf?md5=895a7137b0a5e5a5151e71301421822f&pid=1-s2.0-S0022202X15483046-main.pdf. htthttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5691061/ps://library.scconline.org/v010n05/90.