The hot summer sun can be murder on your skin, drying it out. That day at the beach didn't help either. The salt water of the ocean turned your skin in a dry, flaky mess. Then, after getting all cleaned up and moisturized, the air conditioning at work just seemed to pull all the water out of your skin. And again, you were dry and itchy.
When summer is over you may think you are getting a break. Sorry, winter has just as many things that conspire against you and your efforts to keep your skin moist.
That furnace that keeps you warm and toasty is drying the air around you. The cold winter air is usually lower in humidity and skin exposed to winter blasts dries out quickly. So what do you do?
The first thing you need to do is understand exactly what the cause of dry skin is. Many people think if they don't have oily skin they have dry skin. Not so. Dry skin isn't the lack of oil; it is the lack of moisture, as in water. In fact, we need and want some oil on our skin for it to be healthy and retain moisture.
Like all the other cells in our bodies, our skin cells are made up mostly of water. If they don't have enough water, they get dry with all the problems that go along with that. Therefore, the effort in the winter is the same as it is in the summer, keep your body hydrated and your skin cells full of water.
To accomplish that, keep yourself hydrated. That means drinking enough fluids to keep your body happy. Many times during the winter, people get dehydrated because they aren't aware of the water they are losing. During the summer, we realize it as our bodies sweat to help keep us cool. However, the process is the same in the winter. We lose fluids and we have to replace them. If you workout and workup a sweat on a regular basis, then you need to drink even more fluids.
When you are outside, in the cold winter air, cover up exposed skin. Wrap a scarf around your face to protect your cheeks and your lips. Use lip balm to keep the lips moist.
At home, you can run humidifiers to increase the humidity of the air. It will serve two purposes. The first is that it will help keep your skin from drying out as much, but we also feel warmer in higher humidity. It will allow you to keep your house at a lower temperature and save some money.
When you take a shower or a bath, take it easy on the temperature as well. Hotter water is more drying to the skin. After you bathe, be sure to apply some baby oil or moisturizer to help hold the water in your skin.
With just a little effort, you won't have to spend the winter trying to find a way to scratch your back.
Author Resource:-
Ed Nichols is a health and medical writer.
![[Valid RSS feed]](/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
