Dry Skin Astringents: Your Product Guide For Better Skin Care

Astringents

Skin astringents remove oil. They also induce coagulation of blood proteins. Everyday uses for astringents might include cleansing the face, removing makeup and soap residue and other impurities.

However, individuals with dry skin or dry skin conditions should not use skin astringents routinely in their cleansing program. Astringents dry out skin.

Consequently, it will irritate already-dry skin, causing it to burn, itch, and redden. (Astringents are among the leading causes of irritant contact dermatitis, a reaction resembling allergic contact dermatitis, but occurring to local skin only.)

Did you know that even water can be irritating to very dry skin?

Any products used on the face can make the skin drier. Skin astringents and alcohol found in clarifying lotions, aftershaves, and splash-on fragrances act as drying agents.

These are perfumed or fragranced alcohol-based solutions designed to remove oil from the skin and will produce a tight feeling to the skin.

Scrub brushes and granular soaps can also dry and irritate the face. Many multi-stat cleansing regimens will incorporate astringents that are used after a regular bar soap is used, they certainly have some benefit in removing alkaline soaps that tend to stick to the skin.

For this reason, individuals with severely dry skin need to always apply a moisturizer as a follow-up to using any of these products.

Natural Astringents

Available for oily, normal, and dry skin, astringents blanket the cosmetic market. However, astringents should be used with care; the alcohol can leave the skin dry, causing the body to overcompensate and secrete even more oils.

Most commercial astringents contain alcohol and are drying agents. However, there are those that contain only natural ingredients. These are better for people with dry skin who wish to incorporate an astringent into their cleansing regimen, periodically.

Calendula, ethanol and witch hazel, traditionally known as three of the best natural healers, are also astringents. Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a natural substance and is very, very gentle on dry skin.

The added benefit in witch hazel is that it also increases the tone of the blood vessels in the skin, which enhances blood supply to damaged areas.

In addition to its soothing qualities, it also smells clean and botanical. It can be used anytime for a quick refreshing of the skin.

A group of plants that contain tannins, compounds that react with proteins to produce a contracting and tightening effect on tissues to which they are applied, include:

* Rose water is a very light, gentle astringent that helps repair the skin and reduces swelling and bruising

* Almond nourishes, soothes and softens the skin

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* Cucumber tones the facial skin, makes it soft and has a natural sunscreen effect

* Pineapple has astringent, anti-inflammatory and cleansing properties, and it helps in the removal of impurities and dead tissue; and

* Indian Gooseberry has cleaning and anti-oxidant properties

Toners are gentler than astringents, and therefore, are better for dry skin. However, astringents are stronger so that they can remove more bacteria.

But the "more is better" strategy – over-drying the skin, which will lead to an exaggeration of oil production by the skin – creates a vicious cycle.

Dry Skin Astringents: Your Product Guide For Better Skin Care

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