To combat dry skin, turn down your shower and care for your microbes

We might have become better at hand washing but how good are your moisturising habits? Photograph: LaylaBird/Getty Images

As we’re buffeted by changing weather, many people have been grappling with dry skin and chapped lips. It’s a common problem at the best of times. Not only can dry skin be annoying and cosmetically challenging, it can lead to more serious problems, particularly if it’s accompanied by itchiness or a rash.

The clinical professor and dermatologist Saxon Smith says dry skin, or xerosis as it’s otherwise known, becomes more common as we get older. “Part of the reason is our skin doesn’t hold moisture and those natural moisturising factors,” he says. “So our skin starts to be a little drier.”