Friday, December 4, 2009
Protect Your Skin in Winter
Apply liberal amounts of sunscreen when you spend time outside. Snow and ice reflect UV rays back to your skin, increasing the amount of exposure you receive to these harmful rays. This is not the time to put away your sunscreen.
Use a deep penetrating moisturizer on your face. These products are formulated to help moisture work its way into the layers of skin on your face, protecting you from the drying affects of winter wind and central heating.
Stash a lip balm in your pocket, in your purse, in your desk and in your car's glove box. This essential product will prevent and heal chapped lips.
Turn on your humidifier. Cold winter air and central heating pull all the moisture out of the air and out of your skin. Use your humidifier to counteract the biggest cause of dry winter skin.
Store your favorite hand lotion beside both the kitchen and bathroom sinks and beside the bathtub. Apply hand lotion immediately after washing and drying your hands. Slather your body with lotion within 3 minutes of getting out of the tub or shower.
Start at the top.
After coming in from the cold, nothing knocks off the chill like a steaming shower or a hot bath. Just remember that the hot water and shampoo that you use can strip your scalp of its natural moisture, leaving it dry and itchy. As a remedy, skip the shampoo and try just conditioning your hair once a week. If your scalp still itches, try rinsing your hair with cool water to soothe your skin.
Revitalize your lips.
Winter brings with it the losing battle of keeping your lips moist. Resist the temptation to lick your lips. As your saliva evaporates, it robs your lips of their natural moisture as well. Apply a lip balm instead. Look for products that contain glycerin or lanolin along with a sunscreen. Flavored versions may smell good and they usually taste good as well. Be careful that your lip balm doesn’t cause you to lick your lips more and be wary of cinnamon flavors as the cinnamon oil can irritate or burn tender winter lips.
Pamper yourself.
Your moisturizer can only help you as much as you help yourself. If you apply it over dead scaly skin, it’s not going to do you much good. To give your moisturizer the best possible surface, use a sugar scrub every two days to help exfoliate your skin and gently pat your skin dry with a soft towel afterwards (indulge and buy new bath towels for the winter). Then apply a glycerin moisturizer. Also be sure to use a new razor blade every three shaves. A dull blade can cause irritation.
Pay attention to your hands.
No part of your body bears as much of the brunt of winter weather as your hands. They are the one part of our body that is exposed the most to the elements – and the one that suffers the most. Look for hydrating soaps and be wary of antibacterial varieties as the active ingredient (triclosan) can irritate already dry chapped hands. Remove any jewelry as well so that water and excess soap do not get trapped against your skin. And don’t for get to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.
Don’t forget your feet.
They spend most of the winter hidden from view, but be sure to take care of them. Pay special attention to your heels where the skin is thickest – and most prone to taking on that attractive sandpaper-like texture. Use your pumice judiciously and look for creams that contain urea to help moisturize and exfoliate.
Winter will soon be over and your skin will see the light of day again, be sure to keep it healthy so it looks its best when those warm days of spring entice you to show it off.