Winter Skin Care Guidelines
Winter is a wonderful time of the year – holidays, warm fires, crisp air and fresh fallen snow. But the colder temperature and lower humidity affect the condition of your skin. Winter often brings with it drier skin with itchiness, chapped lips and cracked heels. Dry skin is a very common skin problem and is often worse during the winter when environmental humidity is low. It can occur at all ages and in people with or without other skin problems. Here we will discuss the causes of dry skin and how to treat and prevent this problem. We hope the readers will find it useful.
What causes dryness in skin?
The skin is made up of several layers of cells and thousands of oil glands. The oil that the glands produce prevents skin from losing moisture and makes it supple and soft. These natural skin oils keep the water inside our body from escaping into the air and also keep irritating substances and germs from entering the body. But our skin constantly loses moisture into the air. Every time we wash our skin, much of the oil is striped away, letting evaporation of moisture and resultant drying of the skin. However, in humid conditions, the skin can replenish itself by absorbing moisture from the air. So, when the humidity drops, as it does in many places in the winter, our skin loses another opportunity to moisturise itself. The condition of the skin becomes worse with the low humidity of indoor heating, hotter showers and baths. Again too much soapy water, exposure to harsh chemicals, the normal aging process and certain types of skin diseases are some of the causes of decreased amounts of protective skin oils. As the stratum corneum (outer layer of the skin) dries out it shrinks and, as it shrinks, small cracks can occur. This exposes the underlying living cells to irritating substances and germs in the environment.
But we can combat these winter woes by following these simple tips.
Its cold outside. Low temperature, low humidity and harsh wind can work havoc on your skin. Then what to do? It is very important to follow good daily skin care routine to continue looking great throughout the winter. Here they are.
Sunscreen a must
Contrary to popular belief the sun is most brutal during winter. So it is advisable to use sunscreen lotion with better SPF, generally SPF 15 works good brfore heading out. A better and convenient suggestion is to use foundation or moisturizer with an in-built sunscreen everyday.
No harsh soap
Use luke warm water for shower and for washing hands, hard water depletes the skin off moistures and stick with soap free hydrating cleansers.
Lather lotions
The skin on our hands is thinner than in other areas of our body, so it needs extra protection and care. Make sure that after washing your hands you dry them thoroughly and use a good hand cream. Wearing gloves outdoors will also protect them and keep your skin soft. Apply some hand lotions before wearing gloves or some other protective covering. For foot protection apply thick foot cream on your heels and soles.
Lip balm for lips
Do not forget your lip has very few oil glands so they need extra protection. Here is a simple trick, apply a little petroleum jelly and brush them in a circular motion with a toothbrush to exfoliate and leave them soft and supple. Always use a lip balm.
Fluids
Drink lot of water as it hydrates your skin and keeps skin cells plump and healthy
Exfoliate
It’s a great idea to exfoliate your skin weekly on weekly or biweekly basis to remove dead cells and prevent the skin from looking dull.
Use humidifier
Other tips are sleep with a humidifier in the room with doors closed to lock in moisture.
Now you are ready to face the winter.