Ask me anything: How do I get rid of dry skin on my forehead?

From time to time, I get requests for help with a specific skin conditions and I love being able to respond with specific advice as well as any product recommendations when they’re relevant.

This one comes from a long time customer who is a woman in her early 30s looking for some help with dry skin on her forehead. 

I’m sharing this with you today so that you too can hopefully benefit from the response I sent H. 

Getting Rid of Dry Skin

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Gareth, 

I’m just about to order some more Hammam but just wanted to ask you a question. 

I’ve got this persistent itchy patch on my forehead of dry flakey skin. Not sure what has caused it but wondered if you could recommend something to clear it.

Thanks for any help you can give. I just wouldn’t buy skin care anywhere else!

Thanks, 

H

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Dry skin is really common. It comes and goes for most people, often becoming especially bad during winter months. 

 

Why do I get dry skin? 

Before jumping into what you should do, we thought it would be a good idea to explain why dry skin happens. 

Sebum (sea-bum) is the oil that is found naturally in your skin. It’s the body’s natural way of protecting and maintaining your skin. Your skin is your first level of defence for your body against all external dangers like the weather and the environment you live in. 

The sebaceous glands (there’s a whole load of them) are found in the dermis, which is the second layer of skin. When your skin is in balance and working properly, the glands will produce the correct amount of sebum to keep your skin healthy and feeling fresh. 

However, this is affected by many things. In women’s skin in particular, modern makeup and other beauty products (including synthetic ingredients, surfactants and more) causes issues because it clogs pores, contains lots of toxins and creates an ‘alien’ environment for the skin. 

This can cause the sebaceous glands to overact, leading to oily skin conditions. Alternatively, the skin can just ‘give up’ and not produce enough oil which means that the skin becomes dry. 

So what should you do next time your skin gets dry like H’s? 

 

Option 1: You Could Use Réunion and Hammam Together

Generally, oils are great when they work together and play to their strengths. We produce two products that go together really well for this: Réunion cleanser and Hammam moisturising serum. 

Réunion has a great balance of monosaturated oils – monosaturated oils are fantastic moisturisers. These are excellent for face skin because they’re not overly saturated (which would make them sit on the surface) and they’re also not too light. 

Sarah C. left a review of Réunion saying: “This product makes my skin feel amazing!!!!! Love it and will continue to use ALL the time.”

And here’s what Emma L. had to say about it: “I couldn't have received this cleanser at a better time...right in the middle of a hormonal breakout. Not only does it smell DIVINE but it's also massively reduced the intensity of the breakout and any if not all of the skin inflammation too. It's like a little bit of face magic!”

We love hearing these reviews. 

Hammam is good for balancing the level of sebum in the skin because it contains neroli and cedarwood essential oils which are great at this. 

Jojoba is the oil which is the most similar to our natural sebum – Hammam contains a good ratio of jojoba, so this moisturises, hydrates and balances your skin.

Neroli and bergamot are cicatrisant – this means that it has cell regenerative properties to help heal and restore your skin’s natural qualities. Again, these are some of the main ingredients in Hammam.

Helen H. is already feeling the benefits of using it nightly: “This serum is so lovely to use. It smells amazing and makes my skin feel fabulous. I use it every night."

Good news: Hammam and Réunion are both available in in our Cleanse & Moisturise bundle..

 

A 3 Step Skin Care Regime For Getting Rid of Dry Skin  

Having the right skin care products is obviously really important. That’s why we’ve recommended a couple for you above. If you’re not into those, check out the ones we’ve listed below for a more DIY approach. 

But the other part of the puzzle is making sure you’ve got the right skin care regime. So here’s the steps for making sure that you’re taking care of that dry skin. 

Directions: 

Step one: Cleanse with Réunion each evening

• Apply Réunion to the face and leave to sink in for 1 min or so
• Run a bowl of hot water and soak flannel inthe bowl
• Give the flannel a little wring out (so that you don’t burn sensitive skin)
• Then place that hot flannel over your face
• The steam will extract the oil, dirt and excess sebum – cleaning the face
• I like to repeat this steam process 3 times making sure all oil has vanished.

Step two: Use Hammam after the Réunion

Once you’ve done the cleanse as detailed above, take a small amount of Hammam in your hands

Apply it as you usually would any skin care product

Hint: You’ll find that you need a smaller amount of Hammam after using Réunion.

Step three: Use Hammam in the morning too

Hammam is the ideal product to use to make sure skin is balanced in the morning. 

Apply a little before you start the day – no need to cleanse before you use Hammam in the morning, just refresh your face with warm water. 

Keep doing this daily and it’ll take somewhere between a week and a month for the dryness to clear up. That being said, we frequently get testimonials from customers who use it once or twice and see results right away. 

It depends on what your skincare has been like to date and how healthy the skin is already. 

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Quick question

Why shouldn’t I just use coconut oil for this? 

Coconut oil is highly comedogenic which means that it can block your pores and possibly cause outbreaks.

It doesn’t always happen but coconut oil used on its own (not in a blend with other ingredients) has been known to dry skin out rather than moisturise and hydrate. 

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Option 2: Try Some of These If You Want to DIY Your Skin Care

If you’ve ever wondered what oils and other ingredients are good for dry skin and you prefer a DIY approach to your skin care, you could give one or a few of these a try.. 

Chamomile Hydrolat (Water)

Just spray a bit to the affected area. Apply this before using any other oil or moisturiser.

Fresh Aloe Vera

If you have bought and applied Aloe Vera gel to your skin before, you may have found it to be quite astringent (skin tightening). This will be because of the preservatives required in the gel to prevent it oxidising. Aloe vera oxidises very quickly and the preservatives change the nature of aloe vera, making it more astringent. We like to use fresh aloe vera instead as it only has a light astringent effect and feels nicer and more moisturising.

So instead, cut one of the leaves from an aloe vera plant, clip off the top so the gel is showing. Roll the leaf lightly between your fingers to tease the gel out. Or you can cut the leaf down the middle to extract the natural aloe vera (simple to do – it looks like transparent glue but trust us!). Rub into hands and apply to face like any moisturiser. You won't need much!

This again should be used before applying oil or cream. Hydrolat, aloe vera then oil serum is a good sequence.

Other oils for dry skin..

Avocado oil is an easy one to get hold of. If you’re not into that, I like to make a mixture of Calendula and Rosehip. 

 

Option 3: Ask Gareth to Make You a Unique Skin Care Solution 

We also offer bespoke skincare solutions where Gareth will make products especially suited for your skin type or condition. We often treat skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema, psoriasis etc this way. 

Just fill out our Skincare Consultation form online and Gareth will respond with suitable solutions.

 

Still have questions? 

We’re always happy to help with your skin care questions. If you’ve got questions, drop us a line on gareth@oldfaithful.co 

 

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