And as you get older, your skin produces less oil, which means you can’t retain water on your skin as you once could.
Besides genetics and getting older, there are environmental reasons why skin gets so dry. These include:
The air out there (or in there). The main reason you get scaly skin is low humidity.
Anywhere you encounter low humidity, you’ll encounter dry skin. Heating or air conditioning can both dry out your skin.
Too much water, especially from hot showers or baths or from hot tubs, can cause problems.
The more you wet down and dry off, the less able your skin is to retain water. So if you take a couple of hot showers a day, you can remove vital oils from your skin that help keep your skin moist.
Spending too much time in hot tubs can cause the same itchy, flaky skin problems.
Cleaning up can leave you dry. Harsh detergents, soaps, and household cleaners could give you a case of alligator hands.