How to Relieve Your Tight Skin

Tight skin is a direct result of dryness. You may have dry skin all over or only in certain areas — known as combination skin. It can feel itchy, irritable and above all, uncomfortable. Fortunately, you can take steps to help tight skin feel and look better. Here's how to lock in moisture without irritating your skin.

Custom cleansers

Use a cleanser that won’t strip skin’s natural oils. That means no bar soap! In Beauty: The New Basics, former beauty editor Rona Berg advises, “Soap should only ever touch your skin from the neck down.”Instead, choose mild, moisturizing cleansers to stave off dryness and tightness.

• Dry skin. Pevonia Dry Skin Cleanser is ideal for relieving tightness. It contains safflower oil, hazel nut oil, arnica and other natural ingredients that gently cleanse the skin. DDFis another great choice for providing that fresh feeling without the tightness. Sensitive Skin Cleansing Gel

• Combination skin. Got skin that’s oily in some spots, but dry and tight in others? Try a mild cleanser that washes off dirt, oil and impurities without causing irritation. Pevonia Combination Skin Cleanser blends safflower oil and grapefruit oil to alleviate drier areas, along with botanical ingredients that calm oilier spots.

Toner for tight types

Some experts say that toner isn’t necessary, especially for dry skin types. However, you may like how toner removes leftover residue from your cleanser and makes pores appear smaller. Toner can also restore skin’s pH balance, preventing dryness.

• Dry skin. If you prefer to keep toner in your regimen, opt for a mild, hydrating formula with botanicals and humectants. Stay away from toners containing alcohol, which can exacerbate dryness and tightness. La Roche Hydraphase Toner is alcohol-free and specially formulated for hydrating dry, tight skin.

• Combination skin. Banish any oil and residue left by your cleanser while promoting soft, smooth skin with SkinCeuticals Equalizing Toner. Its aloe and chamomile formula are perfect for soothing tight combination skin.

Moisturizing relief

What better way to heal tight skin than to moisturize it? Moisturizers retain water in the skin and provide a temporary barrier. If skin feels tight or itchy, avoid moisturizers containing heavy fragrances or preservatives like propylene glycol, quaternium-15 and imidazolidinyl urea, suggests CNN. These ingredients can further irritate skin and worsen tightness and dryness. Remember, the best time to apply moisturizer is after cleansing, because wet skin absorbs lotion better.

• Dry skin. Choose a product loaded with emollients — like lactic acid or petroleum — and humectants — like glycerin or hyaluronic acid. What’s the difference? Emollients bolster “the moisture barrier in the lower layers of the skin,” writes Helen Foster, author of The Beauty Book. In contrast, humectants draw moisture into the skin from the atmosphere.

  Try Pevonia Timeless Lotion, which contains glycerin and hyaluronic acid. Is your tightness only mild? Then check out a lightweight, water-based formula, like MD Skincare Auto Balancing Moisture, SPF 10.

• Combination skin. Consider using two different moisturizers — an oil-free mattifying product on oilier areas and a deeper-hydrating product on drier spots. Excellent options include: AHAVA Smoothing Moisturizer Day - Normal to Dry and L'Occitane Red Rice Ultra Matte Face Fluid.

  Or keep it simple with a moisturizer designed for combination skin, like Sundari Neem & Avocado Balancing Moisturizer for Normal to Combination Skin. Its natural botanicals add moisture to dry spots and minimize sebum in oily areas.

Body care

Arms and legs are common spots that feel tight and dry. That’s because these areas don’t have many sebaceous glands, which are responsible for producing oil. In turn, less oil might make skin dry, tight and itchy. Age can also be a contributing factor — as you get older, these glands become less active.

To fight the tight, arm yourself with a moisturizing arsenal.

• In the shower, suds up with MD Skincare Moisturizing Body Wash. It washes away dirt while locking in skin’s moisture and nutrients. And because it’s fragrance-free, it’s perfect for sensitive or irritated skin.

• Heavy body moisturizers offer a mega-dose of protection and hydration. ATOPALM MLE Body Lotion eases itchiness and irritation while strengthening the skin’s barrier and retaining moisture.