It was one fine day when you woke up to apply moisturizer and saw that your skin was peeling off!!! You panicked and didn’t know what to do. Whether this was a dream or were you suffering from something much dreadful? Several questions and many situations might have run through your mind until you were talking to your doctor. Well, you are not alone when it comes to dealing with face skin peeling off. The shedding of skin can happen to anyone, and there are several reasons for your skin to peel off. Some of these are common, and some might be due to an underlying disease.
Read on to find out the causes and treatment for peeling skin.
What are the causes of face skin peeling off?
As mentioned above, there are several reasons for your face skin to peel off. Here’s a list of what might have caused your skin to start shedding.
1. Sunburn
Sunburn is one of the most common causes of peeling skin. Did you come back home with a red, fiery tone of skin after spending a lot of time in the sun? Get ready to experience the symptoms of sunburn. The affected area would be red, tender and hot to touch. When this happens, the glue or the barrier that keeps all the skin cells glued to each other disrupts and causes the burnt cells to start peeling. Don’t worry as this is our body’s natural way of repairing the top-most layer of our skin. Cold compress, some aloe vera gel or a topical moisturizer is all you need for the same. There might be times when the sunburnt area is in deeper red, which means that it has caused much more damage to your skin. Therefore, before going into the repairing stage, the skin will get blisters and then peel off. Your dermatologist can prescribe a topical steroid, and you might also need ibuprofen to relieve the pain.
Also Read: 5 Easy Ayurvedic Homemade Face Pack for Glowing Skin
2. Dryness
We all have experienced dryness in our lives, especially during the fall and winter seasons, right? The skin becomes dehydrated and white patches start appearing, and it starts to peel off slowly. Apart from the season change, some people have a naturally occurring dry skin type. Many times, being in a low humidity environment, using harsh soaps or taking hot showers in scalding hot water can also cause dry skin. All of these causes the barrier between the skin cells and the environment to disrupt. This barrier keeps all the bad stuff out and only allows good stuff like water and nutrients to seep in. When it is disrupted, it can also cause water and moisture to dry out. The symptoms might be itchiness, dry skin, flakiness and skin peeling.
3. Skin Related Diseases
Apart from the most common causes of face skin peeling off, several skin-related diseases might be causing your skin to shed off. Here are some of the common diseases that might be causing skin peeling.
Also Read: Top 10 Home Remedies on How to Cure Fungal Infection on Skin Naturally
- Eczema: In eczema, the skin barrier is unable to stop the bacteria and allergens from entering the skin and cause problems like itchiness, redness, dry and flaky skin, white patches etc. The symptoms of eczema are similar to those of having dry skin, but the problem might be much deeper. Eczema is generally caused by the presence of certain allergens which might trigger the symptoms.
- Psoriasis: It is a skin condition in which the skin cells start attacking other skin cells. This causes the skin to peel off quickly to regenerate new skin cells. The natural cycle of skin cells shedding off and regenerating themselves is about 28 days. In Psoriasis, it might be only a four day turnaround time, thus frequent skin peeling. The red patches on the skin are much thicker than the ones appearing in eczema, and not even a solid moisturizing regimen can help.
- Contact Dermatitis: This skin condition occurs when your skin has a negative response after coming in contact with something in your environment. Allergic dermatitis occurs when you come in contact with an allergen like poison ivy, nickel or anything in your skincare products. The irritant dermatitis occurs when something attacks the skin barrier, and in response, your skin breaks out in a rash and cause peeling skin.
- Seborrheic Dermatitis: It occurs when there is an overproduction of oil and yeast on your skin. It generally affects the areas with high oil production like the scalp, face or groin. The hallmarks of seborrheic dermatitis are flaky, white skin. It might look like a case of dandruff on the scalp or dry, itchy, flaky skin on the face.
How to Treat Face Skin Peeling?
While there might be many reasons causing skin peeling off, there are some solid treatments for the same. Here’s a list of a few things you may try to get relief from some of the symptoms.
1. Take Lukewarm Baths
Our skin is like a tight brick wall made up of oil and lipids. When you take a scalding hot bath or shower, it wreaks havoc on your skin lipids. It also creates cracks in your skin causing you to lose lipids, nutrients and moisture more easily.
2. Get a Humidifier
A low-humidity environment, like living or working in a forced heating apartment or office, might cause dryness in your skin. If you have naturally occurring dry skin or you just have external factors causing it, getting a humidifier might help with your face skin peeling. Add on in each room of your apartment, or make sure that you have one in your bedroom and living room where you spend most of your time.
3. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!
If you have been dealing with skin peeling, getting on a substantial skin care regimen is a must. A moisturizer might not provide extra moisture to your skin, but it is quite effective in retaining the moisture which is already present inside. It is recommended that after taking a shower or a bath, you apply the moisturizer directly on the damp skin, without drying it off with a towel and letting it being absorbed properly. If you haven’t had time to take a proper bath, you can apply some water to your skin before applying the moisturizer. Every time you wash your face or any of the affected areas, make sure you follow up with some moisturizer.
4. Don’t Exfoliate
Your first reaction to seeing your skin peel off might be to exfoliate it to get smoother skin. But exfoliation might make things worse. It can weaken the skin barrier reducing hydration and causing redness and rashes. Therefore, when you see your face skin peeling off, do not exfoliate at all.
5. Stop the Acne Treatments
If you have been suffering from acne, loading up on topical and oral treatment might seem like the way to go during peeling skin. But just like exfoliation, these might worsen your case.
6. Get some Non-Irritating Makeup
Just because your skin is peeling off, you don’t have to stay away from makeup. Instead of using products with retinol and salicylic acid or any other irritant, stick to minimal non-irritating makeup and set it in place with some loose powder. You can apply oil to your skin at night and let it repair overnight.
The Take-Away
With so many causes and conditions causing peeling skin, it would be a necessary step for you to go to a dermatologist and get the underlying cause to be identified. This would help you in finding the right course of action as some dryness and sunburn can go away with home remedies and moisturizer, problems like psoriasis, dermatitis might require a stronger and consistent treatment.