As we age our skin becomes dryer as it loses its ability to manufacture protective oils through oil glands.
We also lose some sweat glands through the aging process.
Sweat glands are helpful in riding the skin of toxins released through skin pores as we sweat in addition they also keeping the skin moist.
So as we age our body loses the ability to hydrate itself and requires help through artificial means like applying moisturizers.
Dehydration can lead to bouts of itchiness and redness.
One of the first areas to show the adverse effects of dehydration is the area around the eyes which has a deficiency in oil glands to begin with.
You will fist notice lines and then eventually wrinkles develop.
The environment speeds up this process.
In particular exposure to the sun is the biggest culprit especially as we see the ozone layer being depleted.
Wearing sunscreens is certainly a wise choice today.
Sunscreens with both UVA and UVB protection are very effective at preventing the drying out effect of the sun.
So it follows if your skin is dry then the obvious cure is to hydrate your skin.
Your skin resists absorption of moisturizers and this is caused by the phosphorous contained in the skin itself.
The best time to add a moisturizer is after bathing and patting the skin dry.
The moisturizer applied at this time will help retain some of the dampness left over from bathing.
Moisturizers are either oil in water which are mainly water based or a water emulsion in oil which is predominantly oil based.
The later is the best moisturizer type for dry skin.
The two main functions of moisturizers are to prevent further loss of moisture from the skin and secondly to add moisture to the skin (hydrating it).
Therefore an effective way to hydrate dry sensitive skin is to apply moisturizers.