5 Foods That Can Help Heal Insanely Dry Skin

This article was written by Nora Horvath and provided by our partners at Prevention.

Between cold wind and dry indoor heat, the fall and winter months can be exceptionally harsh on our skin. And many of us are making our chapped skin worse by using harsh cleansers and toners that really aren’t necessary, says dermatologist Lisa Donofrio, M.D., a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology with private practices in New Orleans and Madison, Connecticut. “A common loop that I see people in is they wash their skin with a cleanser that gets the grease off, then they tone it with something that gets even more of the natural oils off, then their skin feels dry so they have to put a moisturizer on,” says Donofrio. “But if you just cleansed your skin with something that wasn’t stripping, you wouldn’t need the moisturizer.” (Here are 14 beauty secrets dermatologists swear by.)

To keep skin healthy from the inside out, Donofrio recommends incorporating foods into your diet like tomato paste, which protects the skin from the harmful effects of UV light; sardines, which are loaded with anti-inflammatory omega-3s; and kale, which absorbs and neutralizes free radicals.

But what about when your skin is thirsty and begging to be quenched right now? Try one of these moisturizers made with superfoods that are proven to do good from the outside, too.