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Dry skin is common, especially in winter and cold weather. It can be an uncomfortable condition, leaving your skin scaly and flaky. Worst of all, it reflects poorly on your appearance, giving you patchy skin that doesn’t look its best.
The majority of the time, dry skin is nothing that can’t be cured with a few simple changes to one’s day-to-day routine. If you suffer from dry skin, don’t be discouraged. Improving your skin takes weeks, not months.
Here is how to improve dry skin in the winter season:
1. Oils and Ointments
Oils and ointments are only meant to be used with extremely dry skin. While your skin is still moist, some baby oil can go a long way in retaining moisture. Unlike moisturizers, the oil will prevent water from evaporating on the skin’s surface and keep it there longer.
Use essential oils for skin care. Mixed in with a moisturizer, they are nice to freshen up your look. Many can help dry skin. However, not all are meant for topical use. Essential oils for dry skin include lavender, helichrysum, myrrh, frankincense, geranium, carrot seed, cucumber seed, and sandalwood. A lot of these in oil form are natural moisturizers. A little can go a long way, protecting against the discomfort accompanying dry skin.
Some ointments with petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, can work as well but are very greasy and really should only be used at night. Please note that oils and ointments can cause pimples and breakouts in many people.
2. Use Moisturizers Often
Use a skin-appropriate moisturizer. Moisturize after the shower. Moisturize before bed. Moisturize when you wake up. Make it a point to apply moisturizer when the skin is feeling a little dry, and you’ll find this to be the best way to treat dryness at the moment. Moisturizers will proactively protect against certain causes of dryness as well.
3. Exercise
When you exercise, you increase blood flow, and with that, more oxygen and nutrients are circulated to your skin. Toxins and stagnant blood are moved out. Collagen production is increased. New cell growth happens. There are dozens of other benefits of exercise that can impact dry skin and help you achieve a more moistened overall look.
4 Cover Your Skin
When the cold air hits your skin, it will start to dry it out. The best thing to do other than putting on moisturizer before you go out is to cover as much of your skin as possible. A scarf and a hat will retain heat and limit how much cold air reaches your skin. If you don’t make an effort to cover up, you will likely have to compensate with more moisturizer when you arrive indoors at your destination.
5. Avoid Hot Showers
A hot shower feels great because it’s warming you up, but the hot water is an absolute moisture killer. Do your best to avoid taking extremely hot showers in the winter. If you do, moisturize immediately afterwards.
Also, taking a long shower – in hot or warm water – will remove natural oils from the skin. Limit all baths and showers to 5-10 minutes. This will help lock in moisture and protect your skin from having a dry look.
6. Avoid Harsh Skin Products
Be careful with what you apply to your skin. Some products are excessively drying and harsh. Plenty of soaps is like this. This can cause dry skin to grow more severely.
You also don’t want to overdo it when using cleansers and exfoliants. Try to avoid using them more than weekly. Instead, search out mild soaps with added oil and fat, gentle skin cleansers, and bath or shower gels with added moisturizer in them.
7. Wear Protective Gloves
Some of us get dry skin from our jobs or chores. We may be exposed to cleaning chemicals or other harsh products that we can’t avoid. If you have to get your hands on these products, wearing rubber gloves can help. Even if all you’re doing is immersing your hands in hot water, gloves will prevent the heat from drying out your skin.
8. Buy A Humidifier
During colder months, moisture in the air tumbles. This happens not only outside but indoors as well. When you go outside, some moisturizer in your pocket is a way to guard against it. When indoors, a humidifier is an answer. You can easily add moisture to the air and raise the hydration to where you need it.
9. Adjust Your Diet
Diet has an immense impact on the skin. A diet high in fat, sugar, baked goods, or alcohol or smoking can cause loss of hydration, inflammation, and dry skin. Make changes to eat more hydrating fruits and vegetables, get in more antioxidants, and eliminate inflammatory foods. Although dietary changes can take months to have a strong effect on dry skin, healthier habits pay off in a big way for skincare.
