What originates dry skin and what components in skin moisturizers do work?

Dry skin is caused by two factors: (I) One is the damage done to the skin's protective barrier resulting in an exaggerated water loss through the skin, and (II) A reduction in the proportion of the skin's water-holding sugar and protein molecules. These molecules are the intricate proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) or carbohydrate molecular sequences.

The main organic (i.e. carbon-containing) elements of human cells are proteins, lipids, various carbohydrates and carbohydrate-containing molecules, and the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). The carbohydrate-containing molecules can be very intricate; those in which carbohydrates are attached to proteins or lipids are known as glycoconjugates. There are three main classes of glycoconjugates: glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and glycolipids.

The word glyco- means "sweet" and refers to monosaccharides or sugars. The role carbohydrates (sugars) play in the production of energy has been known for years. However, their, important role in orchestrating the healthy conformation and function of the body is essentially a new discovery that is the subject of a new blossoming field of science called the 'sweet science of glycobiology'.

Many skin moisturizers and emollient solutions offered by cosmetic and skin care companies delay the healing of irritated and injured skin and make the condition worse by inhibiting natural skin repair and increasing skin damage, much as do skin irritants. Simply using occluding creams that include petrolatum and lanolin, which block water loss, doesn't help. You need a product or ingredient that penetrates the skin and grants true hydration.

Hydrating Dry Skin Naturally

What helps is to protect the skin surface and to help the skin healing process from within. This is done by supplying ingredients that help the skin heal itself thoroughly.

Despite many years of sound evidence proving that detergents degrade the skin's innate protective function and damage the skin, most if not all moisturizers and emollients offered by major skin care brands contain high concentrations of detergents and detergent-like chemicals. Furthermore, many of the colorants and optical diffusers employed to give the appearance of healthy skin are also harmful to the skin.

Lipids and fats in the skin provide the epidermal barrier to help prevent water loss. These lipids in the upper skin zone known as the stratum corneum are arranged in layers named lamellae. The deeper skin layers contain more common fats such as triglycerides and phospholipids while the upper layers have more ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids.

Waxes and oils placed on the skin seal the skin's surface and prevent exaggerated water loss. Cosmetic moisturizers loosen the skin's protective barrier and hydrate (wet) the skin proteins, however, in the end they cause injuring long-term consequences.

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