How To Prevent Dry Skin In Winter

What are the things that I can do to prevent dry skin from developing during the winter season?

Winter is a very beautiful time of the year. The holiday, cold and the snow come together to make winter the most beautiful and exciting time of the year. But sadly, winter always comes with dry skin problems for many people. The reason why the average person develops dry skin during the winter period is because of the fact that as the temperature drops, the air becomes colder and drier leading to drier skin. And YES, if you didn’t know, cold air is dry. This is the reason why a lot of us develop dry skin during the winter.

Despite this, there are so many simple things that you can do to prevent dry skin during the winter. Here are some of the best and most effective ways to combat dry skin in the winter.

Below are some of the best things that I recommend that you do when winter approaches in order to save yourself the embarrassing and highly uncomfortable problem of dry skin.

Always moisturize

I can’t stress enough on how important it is for your skin to be constantly moisturized during the winter. Since the cold air of the winter dries out your skin, you’ll be doing yourself a huge disservice if you fail to apply a good moisturizer on your skin from time to time. When looking for a good moisturizer, remember to always go for a product that is compatible with your skin and capable of effectively doing the job. I personally recommend thick moisturizers such as Cetaphil and Eucerin. These are very good and effective over-the-counter moisturizers that when you apply on your skin help in keeping the skin moist for a very long time. When applying moisturizers, it is best to apply the moisturizer immediately after you have finished having your bath and have gently dried yourself with a towel so that the moisturizer will be able to trap as much water as possible while your skin is still moist. It’s not advisable to wait for a long time after you have finished having your bath (when your skin is totally dry) before applying the moisturizer.

Applying oil on the skin is also another fantastic way of moisturizing the skin. According to dermatologists, applying oil on the skin will prevent the skin from getting dry since oil prevents water from escaping from the skin. A good type of oil that you can use on the skin is baby oil. I recommend using the most popular and effective baby oil in the world, Johnson’s Baby Oil. Not only is Johnson’s Baby Oil capable of moisturizing your skin and leaving it beautiful but it is also keeps the skin soft and healthy. This is the reason why many dermatologists recommend it. It will give you fast relief from dry and rough skin. It is advisable to apply the baby oil on your skin when your skin is still moist so that the oil can prevent as much water as possible from evaporating the surface of your skin and hydrating your skin effectively.

You should know that the amount of water or liquid that you take into you also plays an important role in determining how hydrated your skin is going to be. This means the more liquid you drink, the more moisturized your skin is going to be. My advice to you is to endeavor to drink lots of water, fruit juice, soup, herbal tea, etc during the winter in order to keep yourself very hydrated. Your skin will thank you for that.

This is a very important thing to be mindful of if you want to avoid developing dry skin during the winter season. It is highly tempting to take a long, hot bath or shower during the winter. But you should take note of the fact that while taking a long and hot shower or bath during the cold times of the winter is soothing, it is not the best thing to do for your skin. The longer you spend in hot water, the more the hot water removes the natural oils from your skin and leaves you prone to developing a dry skin. Dermatologists therefore advise us to use warm water instead of hot water to bathe and to limit the amount of time we spend bathing in hot water to between 5 and 10 minutes. Going excessively beyond 10 minutes isn’t the best for the skin. Also, limit the amount of time you bathe your skin in any water (whether hot or cold), for too much bathing will increase your risk of developing dry skin.

Even during the summer season and other seasons where your likelihood of suffering from a dry skin is drastically minimized, dermatologists advise against the use of harsh soaps since they are capable of drying out your skin. Now, imagine the harm you cause to your skin when you use a harsh soap (drying soap) on your skin during the winter (a season that dries out the skin). I shudder to think how dry and itchy the skin will get if you do that! So what do you need to do? The best thing you can do for yourself when bathing or showering during the winter months is to use a shower gel which has a moisturizer in it. Bathing with moisturizing shower gels is one of the best things you can do for your skin during the winter since it will leave your skin moisturized for a long time. An example of a very good moisturizing shower gel that you can use to keep your skin perfectly hydrated during the winter months or any other time of the year is the Nivea Body Touch of Frangipani Hydrating Shower Gel. Why many people like this particular shower gel is because it lathers up very well and of course keeps the skin hydrated for a very long time – something you need during winter. On top of this, the gel has a very sweet and long-lasting fragrance.

The above are some of the simplest yet most effective things that you can do during the winter season in order to keep your skin hydrated and healthy. When you religiously do these simple things, you massively decrease your chances of developing dry skin in winter.

NOTE: Don't Forget Your Hands And Lips During Winter

Don’t forget to take care of your hands and lips during the winter. It’s interesting to note how more often than not, we spend a lot of time focusing on our skin and forgetting other important parts of the body – our hands and lips. We tend to forget that these parts of the body are very prone to dehydration and can easily get dry and irritated during winter. Take the hands for instance which are placed in water more than the rest of the body. The average person washes his or her hands at least three times a day. Washing of the hands is very important, and there is no substitute to that. This means that whether we like it or not, we have to wash our hands during the winter season. We must wash our hands before eating, after eating, after visiting the bathroom, before cooking, after cooking, while washing dishes, etc. The more we deep our hands in water during the winter season, the more the skin on the hands becomes irritated. Even if one decides not to put their hands in water during winter, the cold air of winter can easily dry out the hands. To protect your hands during the winter, you should always remember to use hand creams or lotions after you have dipped your hands in water or used a hand sanitizer. And always remember to wear a good pair of gloves if you are going to be spending some time outside. These simple things will help in protecting your hands and preventing them from drying out during the winter.

And for preventing the cold winter winds from drying your lips and making them to crack or bleed, you should endeavor to apply lip balms on your lips. If you are a female who puts on lipstick, make sure to apply the lip balm before you apply your lipstick. One of my personal favorite lip balms is Burt’s Bees 100% Lip Balm, Beeswax from Burt’s Bees. This is one of the best lip balms out there. It has been in existence since 1991 and has been doing wonders for dry lips since then. It is enriched with ingredients such as sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, castor seed oil, peppermint oil, etc which are very good in moisturizing, nourishing the lips and keeping them beautiful all the time – even in extremely cold and dry conditions.

Other great lip balms that you can also consider include the following: Burst’s Bees Honey Lip Balm, Aquaphor Lip Repair, Chap-Ice Assorted Lip Balm, and Your Natural Planet Beeswax Pellets.