7 Healthy Skin Tips for Winter

If you live in a place where you experience a real winter, where temperature’s can drop below zero sometimes for days or even weeks then regardless of whether you are young or have aging skin you are very likely to experience dry itchy skin which can become very annoying.  Even for those living with less severe winters many people will find their skin change as the weather changes especially when spending more time indoors and the heating starts to be used again.  This can  leave many prone to dry skin which can actually be irritating as well as embarrassing.

The colder weather plus the need to turn up the heating causes the skin to dry out and without the moisture to keep normally healthy skin supple you can end up with dry flaking skin and winter itch.

Follow these 7 healthy skin tips

1. Moisturize — we know that it’s moisture that keeps our skin supple so it’s important to be extra vigilant when moisturizing your skin in winter. When the weather is cold outside it’s tempting to also turn up temperature of the water you use too, but this is harmful to your skin. Water that is too hot will extract moisture from your skin even more. Choose to use warm water and not hot when taking a shower or whenever you need to put your hand in water and keep using the moisturizer.

2. Humidify — it can be difficult to keep your skin properly moisturized during the winter months in cold climate. You’ll probably have noticed that those who live in moist climates, that they usually have good healthy looking skin. So if you are in a dry climate consider getting a humidifier for your home. It’s a good idea to use the humidifier in your bedroom while you sleep. Do your best to keep the moisture contained to that room for best results for your skin.

3. It’s not just your face — healthy skin is not just about your face if you’ve suffered from constant itching legs and back that you can’t reach to scratch you know how miserable that feels. Exfoliating your skin once or twice a week while in the shower will help to get rid of dry flaking skin. Always use a good moisturizer after exfoliating this will make your moisture treatments more effective.

4. Forget the soap — stick with a good moisturizing cleanser. Most soap will dry out your skin and just make the situation worse. If you must use it make sure it is a good natural product and not harsh because it can be extremely drying

5. Hands — keep a moisturizing hand cream by the sink and in your purse and be sure to use it each time you’ve had your hands in water, also make sure that you dry your hands properly. Hands can really dry out during the cold weather especially when they spend a lot of time in water.

6. Lips — treat them well by using a lip balm several times a day. This will help to stop your lips from drying and cracking. Lips dry out even quicker than other parts of our body as you may have already discovered throughout the year.

7. Stay hydrated — for general good health you need good nutrition and to drink adequate amounts of water, to have healthy skin you need the same thing. Consider a plant in your home, if you don’t give it water it starts to dry out and shrivel up. As long as you haven’t neglected the plant to the point that it dies once you give it what it needs (water) if you watch you will actually see it start to revive as the water starts to replenish it. It is similar with our body and skin.

To keep your skin looking its best it will need extra care during the cold winter months. Use healthy skin tips all year round and it will certainly pay off especially as you get older. It’s worth the extra effort.