How To Protect Your Skin in Winter

As the season changes, so does the effect it gives on our skin.  Keeping our skin healthy and protected during the hot summer days is very important, but it becomes even more so during the cold winter months.

This is due to the fact that low humidity causes the skin to lose moisture and become seriously dry.  Wearing thick clothes and additional layers of clothing worsens the situation as it prevents the skin to breathe, thus making the skin to look flaky, dull, and feel irritated. 

To prevent your skin from too much dryness, try to follow these simple tips to help keep your skin healthy and protected all throughout the cold winter season.

Exfoliate.

Skin exfoliation is very important for maintaining a healthy skin during cold winters. Everytime you exfoliate, you scrub off dead skin cells making way for new skin cells to develop.

You can exfoliate your skin naturally by using body scrubs, sponges, and skin cleansing products. There are also ready-to-use skin care exfoliants in the form of powdered crystals, pads, masks and other natural organic substances that are available in the market for specific skin types.

Moisturize.

Applying moisturizers and body lotions on your face and body everyday is a must. It’s probably best to this after you shower as the skin tends to easily absorb moisture when its damp. Taking short warm baths before going to bed at nights and applying a generous amount of natural moisturizing creams and lotions on your face and body will work great as your body absorbs the moisture overnight.

When choosing moisturizers, find one that works best on your type of skin. Keep in mind that what works for another may not always work for you. Try to look for less expensive moisturizers but with a good brand name as expensive ones may not always give the best desired results.

Also, try to opt for oil based moisturizers as its great for retaining moisture on your body for longer periods. You may also find that there are specially formulated winter face and body creams as well as rich moisturizers that are specifically recommended for use only during the winter season. These products tend to keep your skin moisturized and protected from the harshness of cold air.

Protect your lips.

It is very common to see people whose lips are sore and chapped especially during winter. This is caused by the harsh effects of cold dry winds on the skin – especially the lips which unlike the rest of our body, don’t have sebaceous glands to retain moisture in. Therefore, it is very important to apply lip balms or lip moisturizers regularly to protect your lips from chapping and cracking. Look for lip balms made with natural ingredients such as shea butter, beeswax, and aloe vera gel rather than those of highly commercial lip balms that only focuses on flavor, taste and smell. The lip balms made with truly natural ingredients such as shea butter will actually protect and heal your lips from looking chapped and sore as they are more likely to keep moisture from escaping.

Protect your hands.

As we usually do almost everything with our hands, they are also the ones that probably gets easily damaged during the cold winter days. Frequent hand washing with soap and warm water may even cause more dryness leaving your hands drier, dull and withered.

To protect your hands from too much dryness, use handcrafted soaps with glycerin when washing. These soaps can retain moisture for long periods. Most handcrafted soaps which are made from all natural ingredients may contain higher glycerin levels than those of other regular highly commercialized soap products. Read product labels carefully and opt for soaps that contain high amounts of glycerin. They can be very beneficial for retaining moisture on your skin during the harsh cold winter season.

After every wash, you can moisturize your hand with creams, non-greasy lotions, or try using a hard lotion bar if your hands are looking quite dull and dry. Hand lotion bars are waxy solid products made of shea butter, beeswax, and pure essential oils that are mostly used for treating seriously dry damaged areas of the body such as dull hands, calloused elbows, knees and foot heels.

Humidify.

Use humidifiers inside your home as indoor air usually becomes very dry during the cold winter days. By using humidifiers, you can regulate indoor air temperature from becoming too dry to help prevent your skin from becoming chapped, cracked and irritated.

Drink plenty of water.

As always, water is the best remedy for dry dehydrated skin. Try following the recommended at least 8 glasses of water a day to keep your skin hydrated and healthy. Remember, the more water you drink the healthier it is – not just for your skin but for your entire body as well.