Dry skin is a big problem for some people, especially those who take pride in their appearance. While dry skin is common, it can be uncomfortable and cause certain embarrassing conditions. Dry skin has been linked to a few issues that, while not dangerous, are a source of discomfort and embarrassment to those with them.
Most of these issues are cosmetic and do not affect our health, but that does not mean they should be ignored. Dry skin might be a consistent issue, but there are tools we can use to address the problem and restore our skin's hydration. Restoring hydration in the skin can be a simple task if you have the proper resources, but the challenge is finding an effective method to hydrate the skin on certain areas of the face.
Some areas of our dermal layer have hair around them, specifically the head and face. While your scalp has several products dedicated to keeping it hydrated, and beards can be shaved off, your eyebrows are essential to protecting your eyes from debris. Without our eyebrows, it is easier for dust and particles to get into and irritate our eyes, meaning shaving them is a bad idea. Unfortunately, dry skin around the sensitive hair of the eyebrow can be tricky to care for since you must avoid damaging your brow hair. Therefore, knowing how to get rid of dry skin, even around the eyebrows, is important.
What is Dandruff?
Dry skin is a common problem, but certain areas are susceptible to more advanced versions of the issue that create a chronic problem. If you have ever scratched your scalp and noticed white flakes falling from it, you likely know what dandruff is already. Nevertheless, some people might have dandruff and do not recognize what it means. Dandruff results from dry skin, mostly on the scalp and occasionally along the eyebrows, that flakes and falls when disturbed.
While we might want to avoid experiencing the symptoms of dandruff and avoid scratching, it is not always possible since one of the main symptoms is itchiness. As a result, we cause dandruff symptoms every time we resist the urge to scratch. Dandruff is a growing problem for many people, but it is not always a problem when dry skin is involved.
Despite that, dry skin in areas with hair is prone to seborrheic dermatitis (the technical name for dandruff). The most unfortunate thing is that several factors, such as environment, genetics, and lifestyle, can cause dry skin. As a result, people are prone to experiencing dry skin despite taking care of their essential needs. Dandruff is especially common in people with oily skin since excess sebum is known to oversaturate the skin with hydrating factors, causing it to dry out more frequently.
Typically, young males have the highest dandruff rates and bear the brunt of the issue. This is not to say dandruff does not develop later in life or is not a risk for women, but that young men have the highest risk factor.
Dandruff can be annoying and embarrassing, though it is not life-threatening nor indicative of larger health issues. Usually, treating it requires specialized products designed to rejuvenate the scalp and maintain level hydration. The problem is when dandruff manifests in the eyebrows since the skin on our face differs from that on our scalp. As a result, the tactics we use to eliminate dry skin around the face usually differ from those we use on our scalps.
Option #1: Coconut Oil
Aside from being a tropical treat, coconuts have several nutrients that benefit human biology. Coconut consumption has benefits that range from nutritional, health, and cosmetic effects that can improve our overall condition. While eating coconut flakes and drinking coconut milk can yield nutritional and health benefits, coconuts have become a cosmetic tool through alternate means.
Several companies have refined coconut extract into oil used as the base for several other products. Despite being used to create other products, coconut oil has merit as a standalone product due to its properties. Insofar as dry skin is concerned, coconut oil is an invaluable tool because it has emollient properties.
Emollients fill the spaces between skin cells, allowing them to smoothen your complexion. This effect also ensures that coconut oil can distribute its effects across the entirety of your face rather than being localized. This is important because coconut oil has also been identified as a highly effective moisturizing agent. Studies have proven that coconut oil can boost the concentration of moisture in the skin when it dries out, reinvigorating the dermis. Coconut oil has also been tied to improved skin function, preventing it from losing moisture too quickly.
Additionally, a study focused on how virgin coconut oil functioned as a cosmetic tool when applied overnight. The study focused on applying 6 to 8 drops of coconut oil on the hands and leaving them overnight. The study discovered that the subjects in the test group had less dry skin in the morning, and their hands retained more moisture. While this study focused on the hands rather than the face, the basic principle applies to both regions of the body. That said, coconut oil has additional benefits that make it viable for hydrating the skin around the eyebrows.
The main concern with eyebrows is the hair that protects us from debris, so ensuring the products we use will not damage it is essential. Fortunately, coconut oil has also been linked to hair benefits, specifically enhancing the flexibility and strength of hair strands.
While the studies supporting this claim were not conducted with eyebrow hair in mind, the effects are applicable. Additional studies were conducted focusing on coconut oil for eyebrows, though they are not as detailed as those for head hair. Regardless, evidence suggests that coconut oil can protect the health of eyebrow hair and retain moisture in the surrounding skin, preventing dryness.
Coconut oil has seen increased use in several supplements and will likely remain for some time. However, alternative tools can offer similar benefits or enhance those of coconut oil. While combining them with coconut oil is the best choice, most of these substances work independently.
Option #2: Green Tea
The leaves of Camellia sinensis have become a beloved ingredient for creating a morning beverage. Green tea is one of the most popular breakfast drinks worldwide, though its origins can be traced back to early China. Since then, several tea varieties have been manufactured for consumption on the international market. Green tea's caffeine concentration makes it an effective way to start the day, though many Americans favor coffee.
Nevertheless, tea remains one of the top beverages in the nation for reasons beyond its caffeine concentration. Green tea, like coconuts, has an abundance of nutrients and vitamins that promote healthier bodies. Another similarity green tea has to coconut oil is that it has been refined into a supplement for consumption and as a topical cosmetic tool. Green tea has several nutrients that promote healthy complexions, but the question of the hour is whether those nutrients help deal with dry skin.
The simple answer is that green tea can benefit your skin, especially when you are experiencing age-induced dryness. Age is one of the main contributors to dry skin, though dandruff does affect younger demographics. Nevertheless, dry skin from aging is a little more severe since it usually becomes a permanent problem. Green tea's natural compounds have made it an interesting cosmetic tool since it has a slight moisturizing effect.
The effect is amplified in matcha, a specially cultivated green tea variant with considerably higher concentrations of the same nutrients found in common green tea. Insofar as dry skin is concerned, a study conducted in 2013 involved 24 people whose skin was damaged due to sun exposure.
The damage included dry skin, which caused premature signs of aging in subjects who should not have had them. The study divided these subjects into a test and control group, giving the former topical cosmetics that used green tea as a primary ingredient. The tests revealed that the cosmetic formulae that employed green tea had superior moisturizing effects and offered microrelief.
As a result, the subjects in the test group had less dryness in their skin and recovered a slightly healthier complexion than their previously damaged one. Additionally, a study from 2005 found similar benefits for skin elasticity after women were given topical and oral green tea supplements.
Despite typically being used as a beverage, green tea is modular and can be repurposed as an ingredient in several topical and oral cosmetics. Therefore, combining green tea with coconut oil or other skin-enhancing tools is possible to compound their effects. Despite that, there are other options if you prefer a supplement with a more direct impact on your skin's condition.
Option #3: Collagen
The protein known as collagen is commonly referenced in the cosmetic surgery industry since some people have it injected into them to "improve" their facial features. While this is an option, collagen has a more profound impact on your complexion than you might realize. Collagen is the protein directly responsible for creating our skin, used to create it before birth. After birth, we retain a limited ability to produce collagen that our bodies use to launch repairs on the skin, hair, and nails.
Collagen's role in creating our skin makes it an invaluable resource and provides certain cosmetic benefits. Our collagen levels naturally deteriorate as we age, and our bodies do not have enough to dedicate to cosmetic concerns like wrinkled skin. Additionally, some people develop collagen deficiencies that lead to the same concerns long before they are supposed to manifest. Fortunately, collagen supplements can help us overcome deficiency and age-related depletion.
Collagen supplements have been tested to determine their effects on the skin and whether they can overcome people's issues concerning this protein. Most notably, the studies focused on determining whether collagen supplements could restore the elasticity and hydration the skin loses due to low collagen levels.
A review of 11 studies discovered that women who took between 3 to 10 grams of collagen daily enjoyed improvements for both issues. This means collagen supplements can help you restore your complexion and rehydrate your skin, reducing the severity of dry skin. Collagen can also improve the health of your eyebrows while it attends to the skin around them.
We mentioned earlier that collagen plays a role in creating hair along the body, making it a popular tool for people dealing with premature balding. Collagen can improve hair health by restoring functionality to damaged or strained hair follicles, including those where the eyebrows grow. Therefore, taking collagen supplements can have a two-fold effect of rehydrating the skin and improving the health of your eyebrows.
Finding the Right Blend
Skincare is an important part of health and cosmetic maintenance, with dry skin being one of the most common issues. While dry skin can be uncomfortable and lead to embarrassing concerns like dandruff, it is not a critical problem. Nevertheless, wanting to reduce the symptoms to restore your youthful complexion is completely understandable.
Fortunately, there are plenty of tools you can use to rejuvenate your skin without worrying about harming your eyebrows or facial hair. This is a valid concern because we need our eyebrows for cosmetic and protective reasons. Collagen, coconut oil, green tea, and other skincare products can help maintain skin and eyebrow health. The challenge is finding a supplement from a reputable vendor.
We at Teami know it can be daunting to try and find a supplement in a world where pharmaceuticals are the norm. That is why we have dedicated ourselves to creating natural cosmetic tools to promote skin, hair, and nail health (among other things). If you struggle with dry skin around your eyebrows, we recommend our Superfood Moisturizer (made with matcha) or our Beauty Butterfly Collagen. If these are not your style, our catalog has several products that can restore your skin's hydration without endangering your eyebrows. We encourage you to visit our website and discover our products firsthand. After all, finding the right blend is a Teami effort.