Eat your way to a hydrated, calm complexion with food for dry skin. These 6 delicious skin heroes help combat dryness and irritation by strengthening the skin barrier and locking moisture into the skin.

1. Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are rich in legendary Vitamin C.

This all-star antioxidant is essential for a healthy complexion. It helps repair the skin barrier, promotes collagen production and speeds up wound healing.

Vitamin C also protects against the free radical damage caused by pollution and UV rays. Both can cause dryness and dullness among other concerns.

Vitamin A is also contained in lemons and limes and alongside Vitamin C help strengthen the integrity of the skin barrier. When the skin has a healthy barrier, it can retain adequate moisture to keep the skin hydrated.

The best citrus fruits for a dry skin diet include:

• Oranges
• Limes
• Lemons
• Grapefruit
• Mandarines

Plan to get your citrus hit with juice? Choose fresh fruits to juice yourself or go for a premade option with no added sugar.

 2. Oils

Coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil are pretty fantastic for your skin. Let’s take a look at what makes these plant oils so special.

Extra virgin olive oil

The first big benefit of this common oil is its high squalene content. Squalene is a lipid (fat) naturally found on your skin’s surface to hydrate the skin and keep your skin barrier healthy. Oil glands are responsible for producing these moisture-promoting lipids.

Dry skin glands don’t produce as much oil as other skin types and this leads to a lack of moisture. This is why extra virgin olive oil is an excellent food for dry skin as the squalene content helps counteract the lack of natural lipids in dry skin.

Oleocanthal is the other stand out component of olive oil for dry skin. An anti-inflammatory agent, oleocanthal can be beneficial for intense peeling and dry skin associated with inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis.

Coconut oil

Hailed as a skin saviour (just one of its many health benefits!) coconut oil is packed with linoleic acid - an essential fatty acid. Your sebaceous glands use linoleic acid to form sebum which helps keep skin moisturised and enhances the strength of the skin barrier.

This widely-loved oil is also brimming with antioxidants to fight the free radical attacks that cause skin to lose elasticity and firmness. 

3. Avocado

Avocado is a powerhouse of vitamins and monounsaturated fats for a dry skin diet.

The “good” fats in this beauty food help keep your skin moisturised while working to reduce inflammation. Meanwhile, the protein in avocados promotes the health of collagen and elastin for firmer, younger-looking skin.

This oh-so-creamy fruit is also brimming with vitamins E and C to help protect cells from free radical damage to slow the signs of ageing. It’s an all-around winner in your diet for dry skin. Guacamole, here we come.

4. Nuts

Do your dry skin a favour - reach for a handful of nuts next time it’s snack o’clock.

Monounsaturated fats play a role in maintaining the skin's water level and supply the ceramides and fats that keep the barrier healthy and strong.

Nuts are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, B, and E, and monounsaturated fats.

Omega-3s work to soften rough, dry skin from the inside out and also offer a calming, anti-inflammatory effect for irritated skin.

Vitamin A helps restore and strengthen a weak skin barrier to encourage higher levels of moisture retention.

Found naturally in your skin’s sebum, Vitamin E promotes skin conditioning and prevents dryness. As dry skin lacks sebum, including foods rich in Vitamin E in your diet can help counteract this imbalance.

Some of the best nuts to include in your dry skin diet are:

• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Brazil nuts

5. Cucumber

Want to improve the rough, flaky texture of dry skin? Hydrating your body from the inside is just as important as the products you apply on the outside.

The sky-high water content of cucumber teamed with the silica (a trace element) it contains offers a wealth of health benefits, including skin hydration.

Silica has a tremendous impact on the skin. It’s the third most abundant trace element in our bodies and is instrumental in collagen formation and improves the skin’s ability to hold onto precious moisture. It also offers natural anti-inflammatory benefits.

The combination of Vitamin A and C in cucumber also help fight dryness.

Consuming the nutrition-rich water cucumber contains helps the body flush out toxins and promotes a glowing complexion.

Fun fact: cucumbers are actually fruits! They’re related to watermelons as part of the cucurbit family of flowering plants.

6. Fatty Fish

Salmon is so SO good for your skin.

A few serves a week of this glow-boosting fish should be part of every dry skin diet.

Like nuts, it’s the high amounts of omega-3 in fatty fish that boost the presence of fatty acids in your skin. In turn this promotes improved moisture retention and balances skin’s inflammatory response to guard against dry, red, and itchy skin.

Omega-3 may also offer increased protection against the sun’s rays, another big plus for all skin types, especially dry skin.

Take your pick of other fatty fish including mackerel and sardines to reap the same skin plumping, moisture boosting benefits. A high quality fish oil supplement may also be an option.

We always recommend having a chat with your trusted health care professional before making significant changes to your diet.