How to truly cleanse your face

try steel wool. it will get off all flaky skin.
just kidding.

go to any chinese, korean, or japanese supermarket, and they sell some scrubbing towels that work great to remove dead skin

Sounds like what I have... It's basically dandruff of the face.
Go to a dermatologist, you can get some creams that will make it go away.

You just need to hydrate your skin well. Use a mild exfoliator (with little scrubbing beads) 1x/week unless you shave - in which case you'll be fine if you just get a good moisturizer. Most men's face moisturizers aren't hydrating enough, fyi.

Chemical exfoliation (i.e acids) is generally believed to be better for your skin than mechanical exfoliation (i.e. towels and "scrub" washes). Try an acid (such as salicylic or glycolic) in lieu of a scrub. You can go with a weak acid that you use often (such as a 2% salicylic wash used daily) or a more potent formula that you use less frequently (such as a 20% peel used weekly) or a combination of the two. Moisturize after exfoliating.

Chemical exfoliation (especially salicylic & glycolic) can be surprisingly potent even in trace amounts, especially on a dry skin. A face cream with some kind of AHA in it would be a better option (though I'd still suggest just getting a good, hydrating face cream), or even an enzyme exfoliant.

In "guy" terms, just get a good face cream, bra.

Try Clinique Men's Face Scrub. It removes dry loose skin and gives you a bit of a glow.

The other option is a prescription for Renova. I had a 50 year old Demotologist who had the skin of a 25 year old. She said she began using Renova in Med School and avoided the sun. It was amazing!

Watch that the cleanser you're using isn't too harsh, stripping away too many oils and leaving you dry from the get go. +1 on Clinique, it's an excellent scrub. tomgirl's right on salicylic acid, it's potent and the last thing you want if you already have dry skin. You need to moisturize and for the problem area's, you might to look into a particularly intense, thick moisturizer.

sounds like (over-)cleansing is your problem.

you say you have dry skin, so try to repair from the inside out. ingest a tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil (great to add to your chai) per day. best to space intake out between two or more timepoints.

within two weeks you should notice a difference. i know i did and have been swearing by it for six years.

Everything recommended here will dry skin. Can chemicals exfoliation over-dry skin? Of course. So can mechanical exfoliation. However when used properly chemical exfoliation can work for dry skin. And others may disagree but I believe chemical exfoliation is superior to mechanical exfoliation.

PSG's recommendation of a retinol (Renova is the brand name for a retinol) is a very good one. Retinols are a subset of the are chemical/acidic exfoliant category. IMO everyone should use a retinol. Generic Tretinoin can be purchased very cheaply.

Whichever route OP (or anyone else) decides to go, it's important to go slowly. Find what strength/amounts/frequency works for your skin without over-drying.

On a related note, I think OP should look into additional moisture. As mentioned above all exfoliants will dry skin. I'd try adding an Na-PCA product to supplement a regular SPF moisturizer (which I will presume OP is using). Na-PCA comes in a liquid, not cream or lotion, form so it absorbs really quickly (apply, wait a few seconds, apply moisturizer). I've found Na-PCA very effective and there are tons of reviews online that are universally positive.

I love it when you talk about face cream, you sexy goth vampire vixen.

I'm a goth vampire now!?

I do agree with the "vixen" part.

I dunno, everyone's always going on about how pale you are. Etc.

uhhh... use an exfoliator once or twice/week, followed by cleanser... then moisturize. i'd recommend clinique men's for the exfoliator, philosophy purity for the cleanser and murad skin perfecting lotion for moisturizer.