Winter’s cold air and low humidity, the ancient furnace in your basement and your favorite wool sweater. What do they all have in common? They can cause dryness and irritation in the body’s largest organ: our skin.
Our very delicate skin is connected to many aspects of our health. There are many ways in which our lifestyle or environment can impact our skin’s well-being and just as many ways for us to make sure we are properly caring for it.
Moisture reaches our skin through the air around us and through bodily processes within its own layers. Because of low humidity in the wintertime – both outside in the cold air and inside where the heating system has a drying effect – the skin loses access to precious moisture particles. In New England, it is not surprising to see indoor humidity levels in the 15% to 20% range in the winter. Consider buying a roughly $10 hygrometer to measure the humidity in your house, and if humidity drops below 40%, it might be time to invest in a free-standing humidifier. Be sure to regularly clean out the base to keep it free of mold and bacteria, and if it is a wicking humidifier, change the wick as recommended.
We also have to moisturize our skin by staying hydrated. In the summertime, because we’re more likely to be outside and active, we generally consume more water than in the wintertime. It’s important to buck this trend and drink plenty of water so that there is more of it to flow throughout the body and to the skin. If you are not fluid restricted, a good rule to follow is to drink at least half your weight in ounces, so if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking over 2 liters a day.
Because the cells along the respiratory system are similar to skin cells, a lack of hydration can also impact our body’s ability to fight viruses. So our conscious efforts to humidify the air and drink more water is not only good for our skin, but for our overall well-being.
Don’t let your shower fool you into thinking it’s the no-brainer way to moisturize – in the wintertime, an enticing, long hot shower is bad for our skin. The chlorine found in the water of some municipalities can add to the hot shower’s drying effect. Take brief, warm showers; swap chemical-heavy soaps for those rich with moisturizing natural ingredients; pat skin dry with a soft towel; and apply a moisturizer to the skin immediately after to lock in the moisture. Even better, a warm, evening bath with bath salts and oils are a great way to relax and guarantee a good night’s sleep.
Maintaining a healthy diet that is rich in “good” fats like omega-3 and reduces “bad” trans fats can bolster our body’s efforts to keep skin from getting too dry. Try consuming more nuts, avocados, and olive oil, or take supplements like fish oil and collagen peptides – both of which come can be incorporated into healthy recipes.
There are many great moisturizing creams, serums or mists that can help our skin, in addition to the lifestyle changes we’ve mentioned, which you can use before symptoms arise. But if you are already noticing symptoms of dry skin – itching, flaking, peeling, cracks, redness and even broken skin – they are also a soothing way to help reverse symptoms and provide relief. Avoid products with chemicals like phthalates, triethanolamine and sodium lauryl sulfate. Instead, check the ingredients label for shea butter, plant oils and floral extracts.
As skin becomes more irritated, resist the temptation to scratch the itch. Instead, reach for the moisturizer – as opposed to hydrocortisone, which is bad for skin when overused – and apply as needed. If symptoms of dry skin do not improve after using a moisturizer, consult a medical professional.
Life during the pandemic has taken its toll on our skin as well. Face masks can dry out and irritate our skin, so consider employing a facial product with hyaluronic acid, a moisturizer that works all day. Similar to how long, hot showers have a drying effect on skin, the extra hand washing we should be doing to ward off the coronavirus may result in painful, chapped hands. A hand cream with sea buckthorn oil, rich with good fatty acids like omega-7, can soothe and heal dry hands.
Our skin is the body’s first line of defense against accidents and infection. So this winter, if your skin feels dry, try the above tips to ensure that this critical organ is better able to keep you safe and healthy all year round.
Gary Kracoff has a degree in naturopathic medicine and is a registered pharmacist and John Walczyk is a compounding pharmacist at Johnson Compounding & Wellness in Waltham, Mass. For more information, visit www.naturalcompounder.com. Readers with questions about natural or homeopathic medicine, compounded medications, or health in general can e-mail gary@naturalcompounder.com or call 781-893-3870.
The Link LonkJanuary 08, 2021 at 05:53AM
https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/healthcare/2021/01/07/ways-combat-dry-skin-cold-and-dry-air/6588435002/
Over the Counter: How to keep your skin healthy this winter - MetroWest Daily News
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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