Taking a shower that’s too hot and too long
There’s a fine but important distinction between a warm shower and a hot one. A hot shower can dry out your skin, cause irritation, and even prematurely age you, so it’s best to use tepid water.
We say a tepid shower is best, but the time is more important than the temperature. Frankly, it is also tough to ask people not to use hot water, especially in a stressful time. So limit the shower to 10 minutes or less.
Using wrong cleanser for your skin
If your skin feels tight after washing, you’re using the wrong cleanser.
An effective cleanser for your body will feel gentle and like your skin feeling soft rather than dry. Classic soap bars are going to dry the skin and disrupt the skin barrier – they strip the lipids and proteins and not all liquid cleansers are the same. Your skin shouldn’t feel tight after washing. Using the wrong cleanser can strip your skin of necessary oils and disrupt the skin barrier.
Failing to moisturize afterwards
If you shower, towel dry, and don’t apply moisturizer, you could be doing some serious damage to your skin.
Using a moisturizer when your skin is still damp locks in needed moisture to keep your skin from becoming dry or cracked. The best way to preserve your skin barrier is to pick the right cleanser that won’t strip the skin and then moisturize to seal it in.
Effective moisturizers use humectants to pull in moisture, emollients to smooth the surface and provide a silky feel, and an occlusive to lock the moisture in.
Using oil to moisturize
Using just an oil after your shower is better than nothing at all, but it still doesn’t do the job of a proper moisturizer, according to Waldorf. While oil holds moisture in, it doesn’t do add anything additional.