Dryness is a consistent and widespread problem during the winter. It seems strange that a season when water falls from the sky, can cause so much dryness!
There are many reasons that our skin tends to get more dry during the winter. Firstly, the humidity lowers drastically during the wintertime, reducing the moisture in the air outside and in the home, thus causing dryness. Many of us also get more exposure to cold, drying wind during the winter.
The good news is that seasonal dryness isn’t a serious medical condition. Sure it can be unsightly, itchy and uncomfortable. But if you take care of it, you can avoid the itchy, flakey, cracked skin and even enjoy a comfortable winter suit.
Although seasonal dryness isn’t serious, extreme dry skin can result in dermatitis, in which red, inflamed, itchy and scaly patches may appear. Severe dry skin that appears to have crust, puss, or inflammation should be treated with the help of a dermatologist or family doctor.
The itchy stuff that most of us deal with during the winter, however, can be treated with a little TLC:
Switch to creams instead of sticking with the lotions you’ve been using year-round. Lotions are mostly water based and don’t do much to help really dry skin.
Avoid overly hot showers. Although that’s what we want in the wintertime, hot water can strip away the oils in our skin and dry us out.
If it’s the hot water you crave, take a bath instead! Add moisturizers like colloidal oatmeal and essential oils.
Avoid deodorant soaps that can strip the moisture from your skin. Switch to something that promotes moisture.
After a shower or bath, make sure to moisturize with your new, thick and hydrating cream. Just-wet skin is the prime time to apply moisturizer.
Hydrate from the inside out. This is a great time to practice drinking enough water to stay hydrated.
For dry hair:
Avoid soaking your hair in scalding hot showers. In addition to causing dryness, hot water can open up the hair cuticles, stripping away moisture. A little cold water will make your hair look soft, shiny, and less frizzy.
Make sure you’re conditioning, and consider using periodic deep conditioning treatments.
Consider a leave-in conditioning treatment that will keep your hair moisturized throughout the day.
Try to maintain a healthy, nutritious diet. Remember, what you put in is what you get out.
Invest in oil for your hair. Having a dad as a hair dresser obviously has it’s perks—Moroccan oil being one of them. Although Moroccan oil is my favorite, there are tons of oil treatments for hair out there!
Stay healthy this winter!
Sources:
H, C. (n.d.). dry skin remedies | Natural Dry Skin Remedies. Natural Dry Skin Remedies. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.naturaldryskinremedies.com/dry-skin-remedies
Winter Dry Skin. (n.d.). UI Health Care Home. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/skinhealth/winterskin.html
Winter dry skin - Why do we get dry skin in winter? | the dynamic nature - skin care. (n.d.). the dynamic nature - skin care. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://dynamicnaturesite.blogspot.com/2010/09/winter-dry-skin.html
in A.M. » Blog Archive » Is Your Hot Morning Shower Sabotaging Your Hair?. (n.d.). in A.M. . Retrieved January 15, 2012, from
http://www.in-am.org/is-your-hot-morning-shower-sabotaging-your-hair
Reviewed January 18, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith