If you have dry skin, you know how itchy and irritated it can get. Cold weather can make it worse, but even humid weather can be bothersome. In order to alleviate your dry face and skin, you need to make sure that you are following the proper dry skin care routine.

If you thought dry skin care was just about moisturizing, you could be mistaken. Dry skin has a lot to do with whether or not you are maintaining habits that can help or discourage proper skin moisture. Here's what you should do to soothe your skin.

Choose the Right Type of Product

There is a difference between the type of products you should use if you have regular dry skin or really dry skin. If you have regular dry skin then you can use a creamy moisturizer on a daily basis. However, if you have extremely dry skin then you should try using a mineral oil or even an edible, non-comedogenic oil (e.g. olive oil).

Change your Daily Cleansing Routine

If you don't have the right dry skin care routine, then you may realize that your skin starts feeling tight and itchy no matter how much you moisturize it. Just like with any other skin type, you should cleanse, tone, exfoliate, and moisturize regularly. When choosing your skin care products, make sure that they are alcohol and fragrance free.

Cleanse your face with a cream or oil product, and avoid using a soapy cleanser. Soap and water can dry out and irritate your skin. A cream cleanser, however, can cleanse your skin without stripping away its natural oils.

Once you've finished cleansing you should exfoliate your skin with a gentle product. Be a bit daring and try making your own exfoliant by mixing oatmeal and honey or grapefruit juice. The oatmeal will soothe your skin while the honey or juice will help slough off dead skin cells.

The last step of this skin care routine involves applying the appropriate moisturizer for your degree of dry skin. If, during the day, your skin begins to feel tight or itchy during you can reapply your moisturizer as needed.

Daily Skin Care Habits

If after having followed all these steps you still feel that your moisturizer is not relieving the dryness of your skin, maybe there are some daily habits you should modify. Let's take a quick look at what may be affecting your dry skin.

Long showers can help you unwind after a crazy day at work, but they can also make your dry skin worse. This occurs because hot water can strip your skin of natural oils, which means, you should take shorter showers with warm water.

Moisturize as soon as you get out of the shower to lock moisture to your skin. If this is not possible, dry off as much as possible because when water evaporates from your skin it will take your body's natural moisture with it.