Extra dry skin can feel itchy or tight, and may take on an unattractive appearance, such as a red color. Dehydrated skin may also be more prone to damage because it's lost its natural moisture barrier. Many face creams are too lightweight to intensively hydrate such dry skin. Instead, use a cream with extra emollients to help quench your skin's thirst.
Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Balm
Skincare expert Paula Begoun says Bobbi Brown's eye balm is "extremely emollient" and a "rich moisturizer," perfect for very dry skin in the eye area of your face. Effective active ingredients include beeswax, triglycerides, shea butter and other heavy moisturizers. Meanwhile, vitamin E functions as an antioxidant to help your cells repair themselves.
La Mer Crème de la Mer
La Mer's facial cream was ranked by "Elle" magazine as one of the top five ultrarich face creams for very dry skin. The magazine calls it an "ultimate luxury" and specifically liked its use of sea kelp extract. The kelp adds potent antioxidants and vitamins to nourish your face while standard emollients hydrate and plump your skin. The cream is intended to be worn at night due to its heavy nature.
The Body Shop Grapeseed Extra Rich Night Cream
The Body Shop makes its night cream as a "more emollient version" of its other moisturizers, reports Begoun. She says it contains "appreciable amounts" of grape seed, which is high in antioxidants to help keep free radical damage at a minimum, along with moisturizing sesame seed oil. Additional emollients to satisfy your very dry skin's thirst include avocado oil, glycerin and silicone.
Boots No7 Moisture Quench Night Cream
Boots' facial cream, targeted at super dry skin, is so rich and emollient that Begoun says it'll be too much for normal skin. It uses humectants and emollients to lock moisture in for a softer and silkier appearance. Herbal extracts, like elderflower, and antioxidants like vitamin E further condition and soothe your skin to help its dry cells repair themselves.
References
- "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me"; Paula Begoun; 2009
- "Elle" Magazine: Top 5 Face Creams
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