Vitamin or mineral deficiency: Skin requires nutrients to keep it healthy. If you're not getting enough vitamin D, vitamin A, niacin, zinc, or iron, you can develop excessively dry skin. Smoking: Cigarettes contain harmful chemicals that speed up how quickly your skin ages, so skin becomes drier.
Dry skin can often be linked to deficiencies in specific vitamins and nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E which play important roles in maintaining skin health and hydration.
Research has shown that taking certain vitamins and other nutritional supplements, including vitamin D, fish oil, collagen, and vitamin C, may help improve skin hydration and help keep your skin healthy and nourished. Vitamin D is one of the best vitamins for your skin, along with vitamins C, E, and K.
What is dry skin? Dry skin lacks sebum, the oily substance that protects the epidermis and prevents it from drying out. Low levels of sebum and natural oil can dry out your skin and cause discomfort and peeling (the formation of small dead skin cells on the epidermis).
Dry, wrinkled skin
Lack of vitamin B 12 can lead to dry and flaky skin.
Dry skin, also known as xerosis or xeroderma, has many causes, including cold or dry weather, sun damage, harsh soaps, and overbathing.
In most cases, dry skin is harmless and usually just a sign of environmental or lifestyle factors you can work to improve. However, if you don't take the proper care, dry skin could also be telling you that a couple worse conditions are approaching: Eczema: Excessive dry skin can lead to the activation of eczema.
Diabetes, thyroid disease, or kidney disease: These conditions are known to cause excessively dry skin. Dialysis: Kidney disease increases your risk of developing extremely dry skin.
If nonfacial skin is very dry, you might want to use a thicker moisturizer (Eucerin, Cetaphil, others) or an oil, such as baby oil. Oil has more staying power than do lotions and prevents the evaporation of water from the skin's surface. Another possibility is a petrolatum-based product (Vaseline, Aquaphor, others).
Coconut Water
The drink is full of vitamin C, calcium, and potassium that moisturize your skin and help shield it from sun damage. It's also rich in B vitamins and magnesium, which will make your skin look younger, keep your blood sugar levels stable, and help you build lean muscle tissue.
Considered to be one of the most powerful and effective antioxidants, vitamin C provides advanced environmental protection and visible anti-aging benefits such as reduction in the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and skin discoloration.
The deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause specific skin manifestations, such as hyperpigmentation, vitiligo, angular stomatitis, and hair and nail changes [1].
Individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis are more likely to develop eczema or psoriasis, suggesting a strong gut-skin connection.
Things like Omega 3 fish oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, collagen, hyaluronic acid, probiotics, astaxanthin, zinc, linoleic acid, ceramides, and aloe vera can all help with dry skin.
Athlete's foot: Athlete's foot can mimic dry skin on your feet, but a fungus causes it. When this fungus grows on your body, it's called “ringworm.” People who have athlete's foot may have dry, flaky skin on the soles of their feet.
You're deficient in certain nutrients
Stubborn dryness may occur if your body is low in vitamin A, vitamin D, iron, niacin or zinc, all of which are a must for healthy skin. Talk to your doctor about whether you might be deficient in one of these nutrients, and if you are, whether or not to take supplements.
Having a specific vitamin deficiency can cause dry skin. For example, if you are deficient in zinc, iron, niacin, vitamin D, or vitamin A, your skin may get dry.
Certain medications like blood pressure drugs, cholesterol medications, acne treatments, wrinkle creams, and antihistamines can severely dry out the skin, especially in older adults. Diuretics, statins, antihistamines, and acne medications such as Accutane and Retin-A are examples of drugs that cause dry skin.