We need to take a shower every day to cleanse our skin from dust, sweat, and other impurities. After bathing, of course what we feel is fresh and refreshed! But have Sereni-Trees ever felt your skin become tight, dry, and even itchy? Why can the effect be the opposite of what it should be? Well, today we will be discussing what can cause dry and itchy skin after showering, starting from the soap content and other conditions that affect it! Stay tuned!
3 Factors Causing Dry Skin After Showering
It’s best to explore the underlying cause before jumping to conclusions. To put it simply, there are 3 possibilities that might cause our skin to become itchy and dry. The first is the level of sensitivity of our skin. Some people may be more sensitive to certain ingredients in soap. Usually, ingredients such as fragrances, colorants, or other additives can trigger an allergic skin reaction. Symptoms of a reaction may include itching, redness, and dry skin. To avoid this, make sure to choose a soap with gentle ingredients that are suitable for your skin type!
Secondly, another cause could be the chemical content of the body wash. Not only people with sensitive skin, prolonged exposure to chemicals can cause disturbances in the skin’s pH balance and strip the skin of its natural oils. As a result, the skin becomes dry and itchy. What we can do to prevent this is to look at the ingredient list, avoiding ingredients such as parabens or SLS.
And finally, it has nothing to do with soap at all! If we take too many showers or baths with hot water for too long, the same effect will occur. The skin can become red and irritated, feeling rough and uncomfortable. Why? The skin loses moisture and the skin’s natural oils are lost.
So, it’s not just the soap we use. The frequency of bathing and other factors also have an effect. The solution is to recognize your skin condition, choose the right soap, and make sure the water temperature is not too hot. It’s so easy, isn’t it?
Chemicals We Should Avoid
Skincare through the daily use of soap is an important step in maintaining cleanliness and health. However, not all soaps have skin-friendly formulations. Some of the chemicals in soap can cause negative impacts, such as irritation, dryness, and even allergies on the skin. To prevent this, let’s avoid chemical ingredients such as:
- Parabens: The use of parabens is as preservatives in soap to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold. But note that parabens have been linked to hormonal disruption and potential negative health effects such as skin irritation, swelling, pain, burning, and even cancer risk.
- Sulfates: Sulfates such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) function as cleansing and lathering agents in soaps. The effects of these ingredients include stripping the skin of its natural oils, causing dryness, irritation, and even triggering allergic reactions in sensitive skin.
- Artificial Fragrance: Artificial fragrances such as perfume or fragrance are useful to give the soap a fragrant smell. Even though they do smell good, these ingredients are often a mixture of chemicals (phthalates) that can trigger skin irritation and even cause respiratory problems for some individuals who are sensitive to these odors.
- Triclosan: This ingredient is antibacterial and antifungal so that the soap does not spoil easily. But on the downside, exposure to triclosan can lead to hormone disruption and thyroid hormone concentration. It is also not uncommon to cause cases of eye and lung disorders!
- Alcohol: Not all alcohol content can have a negative effect on the skin. But, Sereni-Trees should be avoided with alcohols such as methanol, isopropyl, propanol, and benzyl. These ingredients can cause decreased skin protection which results in inflammation, dryness, irritation, and acne.
How scary are the side effects? Therefore, as an alternative choice, we can choose a gentle soap like Serenitree body wash with natural vegetable glycerin. Besides being safe, this content can moisturize and prevent the skin from becoming dry or itchy!
Do This to Keep Your Skin Moisturized & Healthy
After making sure that the soap is free of chemicals, it’s time to do something extra to keep your skin moisturized! Applying lotion to wet skin (after showering) in a massaging motion can help keep skin moisturized. Remember, the process of bathing can cause our skin to lose some of its natural oils. Moreover, exposure to air after bathing will start to evaporate the water on the surface of the skin. So, make sure to use lotion twice a day after showering!
We should also be careful in choosing lotions. Choose natural moisturizing ingredients, for example: Sweet Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, and Tocopherol/Natural Vitamin E. In addition to moisturizing, of course, the skin can be safely nourished and protected. Just like body wash, our lotion is also free from harmful chemicals! Curious? Try Serenitree’s travel size lotion first!
Another tip to keep your skin moisturized and healthy is to hydrate from within by drinking enough. Especially if we are in a cold/hot area and exposed to extreme exposure to air conditioning or pollution. The skin will dry out faster. Try to drink at least 8 glasses per day.
In addition, we can invest in a humidifier. This tool is no less important in skincare. With this tool, the room can stay moisturized and prevent skin dryness. In addition, for those of us who are often allergic to dust, this tool can help prevent the appearance of allergies. Very multifunctional!
In conclusion, bathing is an important routine for skincare to keep it clean. But we also need to be careful because choosing the wrong soap can have a negative effect on our skin. Especially with the rise of pollution and other external factors, it is easier to cause our skin irritation. Try to avoid doing aftercare with lotion, because the skin still needs care outside the shower process. Do you want healthy, moisturized, and glowing skin? Let’s not be lazy and do skincare right, Sereni-Trees!