How to Winterize Your Skin

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Cold weather can come with some unwelcome side effects, such as dry, chapped or cracking skin.

In cold weather, the skin produces less moisture, causing it to dry out and even crack. Chapped or cracked skin, isn’t just unsightly, it can also be painful.

In cold weather, we take steps to winterize our homes and our cars. Why not do the same for our bodies? Cooper Clinic Dermatology offers these five skincare tips to winterize your skin, and help protect against dry, itchy, cracked and chapped skin.

1. Take a not-so-hot shower. Before you jump in the shower or bathtub, make sure the water temperature is as close to lukewarm as possible. Even though it feels good to get into a hot shower, especially in cold weather, hot water can dry the skin out, a double whammy in the winter.
2. Use moisturizing soap or body wash. It may sound like a no brainer, but you might be surprised to find the number of soap products on store shelves that will dry out your skin, not moisturize. Consider the type of soap or body wash -- stay away from deodorant and antibacterial soaps. These soaps won’t do you any favors in the winter when it comes to dry skin.
3. Blot dry. As soon as you come out of the shower or bath, blot your skin until there is just a bit of moisture left on your skin, then put on a moisturizing cream. Lotion isn’t always sufficient. A cream is thick and heavy, and will come in a jar where you have to scoop it out. As a general rule of thumb, if you have to pump your moisturizer out of a bottle, the product is liquefied and will not keep your skin as moisturized as it should. Seal in moisture with a cream soon after you get out of the shower.
4. Exfoliate, but choose wisely. If your skin gets scaly and rough in the winter, exfoliating is a good idea, but be careful which products you use. Not all exfoliants are created equal and choosing the wrong product can do a lot of damage to your skin. Choose a product that contains microbeads. You don’t need to exfoliate on a daily basis. Once a week is sufficient to remove the rough, dead skin.
5. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! You may not be lying out by the pool this winter, but you still need to put on sunscreen every day. The sun’s UV rays are just as strong in the winter as they are in the summer. The sun can do as much damage to your skin in the winter as it can in the summer. Don’t back off on the sunscreen just because it’s winter, make it part of your daily regimen year round.

Generally speaking, your skincare regimen in the winter will be different than it is in the summer. Your skin is more likely to be oily and shiny in the summer, but in the winter, heaters and cooler weather can make your skin drier. You may need to switch your face wash and body wash products and moisturizer and make a switch from a lotion or a gel to a moisturizing cream that will be more hydrating.

Dry, chapped, cracked skin is painful and can be embarrassing, but it doesn’t have to be. Take steps to take care of it and your skin can be as soft and healthy in the winter as it is in the summer.

Article provide by Cooper Aerobics Marketing and Communications.