One of the advantages of living in the southern part of the USA is that winter is really a mild condition.  No snow, but still the air is cold and dry. After you have lived in the south for a few years, your body becomes acclimated and winter skin is indeed a problem.

Dry Winter Skin: How to Deal with it

By Katrina Price

Your skin in winter can become dry to the point of being painful. I myself began feeling the effects of the cooler weather in early October. My lips became tender and chapped, and I had to switch to a different formula of daily facial cleanser because the exfoliating beads in my current cleanser were irritating my skin. I’ll have to limit my daily exfoliation to just twice a week.  Also my hands and feet became very dry.

Indoors you’re subjected to dry heat and outdoors you’re bombarded with harsh winter UV rays from the sun and chilling winds. Yes, the sun’s rays are still just as dangerous as in summer and they will reflect off any snowy surfaces, bouncing the rays right back on to you. You’re going to need a good facial moisturizer with SPF in it.

Here are some more tips to help you combat dry winter skin:
Use a lip balm (preferably with SPF) and do not lick your lips under any circumstances. That just makes it worse. Keep your hands moisturized with a good quality hand cream.

Drink plenty of water and limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol is a dehydrator.

Buy a humidifier if you don’t already have one. It may help keep your heating bills down as well. You know, the whole heat and humidity thing. Think Amazon rainforest.

Use a shower filter. It will filter out the skin-drying chlorine in your tap water. Avoid hot water even though it feels good on a cold winter morning. It will only strip your skin of its natural oils and cause water to evaporate more quickly. Also, it pays to switch from soap which can dry the skin, to a silky body wash which will help your skin retain moisture. Pat your skin dry when exiting the shower, don’t rub. Apply a nice moisturizer to help seal in moisture.

When the humidity drops to 50 percent or less, you will need to pay even more attention to your moisturization routine. Stay away from harsh scrubs or cleansers since they will eliminate most of the skin’s oils and dry your skin out more easily. This applies to skin care products as well as cleaning products.

My favorite winter skin care tip is before you go to bed, apply a thick, rich moisturizer to your feet, concentrating on the heel area. Then put on a nice cushy pair of socks. When you wake up your feet will be soft and smooth and well-hydrated.

Not paying attention to extremely dry skin can lead to health issues and act as a welcome mat for rashes and skin infections. So take good care of your skin and enjoy your winter!

Katrina Price is a skin care consultant and the owner of www.skincareteacher.com
and it’s accompanying blog, skincareteacher.blogspot.com

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