Taking Care of Your Dry Skin

Winter weather takes a beating on skin, leaving your skin flaky, red, and rough. These are indications of dry skin that show up on your arms, hands, lower legs, and ankles. Making a few changes in your daily skin regimen can help beat dry skin. When taking a bath or shower, try to keep it short. Hot water strips the essential oils from your skin, drying out your skin. Limit yourself to a single 5- or 10-miute warm shower or bath. When you’re shopping for a shower gel, look for unscented, soap-free, or mild soap cleaners. These will be the least likely to irritate and exacerbate dry skin problems. When you pop out of the shower, pat your skin damp and then apply moisturizer. Your skin is more accepting to lotions within 3-5 minutes after washing. Speaking of moisturizers, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get successful results. Read the labels and look for certain ingredients. Ceramides, or synthetic ceramides, helps skin retain water and soothe dry skin. Dimethicone and glycerin draws water to the skin and keeps it there. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is like ceramides and also helps keep water in. Lanolin, mineral, and petroleum jelly are other ingredients that help skin hold on to the water absorbed during bathing. And don’t forget sunscreen when you leave the house.

We recommend you apply sunscreen on all exposed parts of your body. Look for SPF 15 or higher. In addition to changing your daily regimen and finding a non-scented moisturizer, here are a few more tips we want to share with you. Use a humidifier at home to keep skin hydrated during winter months. Indoor air is dry so you want to make sure your skin won’t suffer. Drink plenty of water and eat foods heavy in omega-3. Essential fatty acids can be found in cold-water fish like salmon and halibut, flax, walnuts, and safflower oil; it helps fortify skin’s natural oil-retaining barriers. If you feel your skin is itchy or inflamed, apply a cool compress or a hydrocortisone cream on the area for a week.