Summertime causes many skin care issues - we need more sun protection, for example, and sweat can clog pores. The sun can also dry skin, as can salt water from the ocean. Even too much air conditioning can dry skin out. The result can be skin that looks and feels like a problem.
But summer isn't the only issue. Winter has its own set of problems.When you run a furnace all day, it is really drying the air around you. Chilly winter air outdoors is also lower in humidity and your skin dries out quickly. So what can you do?
One thing that's important - cover up. While outdoors, in the chilly winter air, cover up your exposed skin as much as possible. Wear gloves to protect your hands. Wrap a scarf around your face so you can protect your cheeks and your lips. Use lip balm to keep the lips moist.
It's also important to understand what the cause of dry skin is. Dry skin isn't the lack of oil; it is the lack of moisture, and that means water. Like all our other cells, our skin cells are made up mostly of water. If they don't have enough water, they will get dry. So, the effort in the winter is the same as it is in the summer - try to keep your body hydrated and your skin cells full of water.
You have to keep yourself hydrated. That means drinking lots of fluids to keep your body in good shape. Many times during the winter, people get dehydrated because they don't feel as thirsty as they do in summer. During the summer, we realize we need to drink water as our bodies sweat to help keep us cool. But, the process is the same in the winter. We lose fluids and we have to replace them. If you go to the gym and workout or if you workup a sweat on a regular basis, then you need to drink even more fluids.
When you take a shower or a bath, don't use super hot water. Hotter water is more drying to the skin. And after you bathe, be sure to apply some baby oil or moisturizer to help hold the water in your skin.
You can also run humidifiers so you will increase the humidity of the air. This will help you to do two things that are key to healthier skin. The first is that it will help keep your skin from drying out as much, but we also feel warmer in higher humidity. It will allow you to keep your house at a lower temperature and save some money - which you can then use on a good moisturizer!
With just a little effort, your skin will feel better and look better year round.
