Protecting The Skin Against Damage in Winter

Protecting The Skin Against Damage in Winter

Low temperatures and decreased humidity during winter make the skin all the more dry and irritated with itching and patches of dryness. Cold winter days can cause the skin on your face, hands and feet to become uncomfortably dry. In some people, the skin might also start to develop flakes and cracks. Such changes in the skin can be related to eczema, a serious skin disorder. Thus, our skin needs to be carefully protected against damage in winter. One needs to understand the changing needs of the skin, with the lowering temperature. Accordingly a skin care regime suitable for one’s skin can be adopted to protect the skin against drying during the cold months of the year.

Winter Skin Care – Do’s and Don’ts

Moisturizers play a key role for the skin during winter. It becomes important to keep the skin’s moisture content intact and thus, you should also select an appropriate body lotion. Though oil based lotions are said to work best for skin by protecting it against dry winter winds, sometimes, the oils in these products can give your skin an undesirable, greasy look. Products with oil extracts as base ingredients can be best replaced with those containing glycerine, sorbitol or alpha-hydroxy acids for use in winter. Before selecting any product, you must also make sure that it will not result in clogging your pores. Therefore, it is recommended that you test each product on your skin.

Additionally, summertime is not the only sunscreen time. One needs to apply sunscreen year round to avoid sun damage. The SPF value for the sunscreen to be used in winter can be a little lower than those used in summer. But when exposure to sunlight is anticipated to be for longer durations, higher SPF lotions should be used. Also during this time, one should reapply the sun guard every 2 to 3 hours.

Harsh facial peels and alcohol products have to be strictly banned during winter. These products end up removing the natural layer of protective oils from one’s face making it drier. Again, hot water baths might sooth the body when the temperature outside falls, but you should stick to warm water for bathing and showers. Hot water can breakdown and destroy the protective layer of lipids over the skin making it drier. Such scenarios should be avoided. One can add a little amount of bathing oil in the tub or just use a body lotion after bathing.

Protecting One’s Hands and Feet

The skin on hands and feet is more prone to losing moisture and becoming dry and itchy during the winter than other parts of the body. They might need to be repeatedly moisturized several times during the day. Regular use of body lotions work well for retaining the moisture in hands, but for the feet try and opt for lotion containing glycerine or petroleum jelly. Such products create a protective layer over the feet and also help retain moisture in them, enough to avoid cracked heels or dry soles. When going out in winters, covering up with hand gloves and socks is also a good idea.

The Author:

Naomi Andrews is a reputed esthetician who has authored several articles about skin care cosmetics products. She believes that by choosing the correct skin care moisturizer, every woman can get healthy and flawless skin.

Photo. Monfocus

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