5 Easy Ways to Combat Dry Winter Skin

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Dry winter skin is the absolute worst. The itching. The scratching. The cracking. The constant need to re-moisturize. Here are five ways to combat dry winter skin.

Dry winter skin can leave your skin is not only irritating but prone to infection. Eventually, all those dry cracks and skin fissures can all allow unwanted bacteria to get in. Ouch!

And while handwashing is vitally important, it can head to dry, cracked hands. Alcohol (which is found hand sanitizers) and hot water, strips the skin of natural oils and is also to blame. 

When it comes to winter skincare, here are some things that you can do to fight back.

Avoid Long Hot Baths and Showers

It feels good but, hot showers are just the worst for skin. Especially in the winter. Crank up the heater in your home and use tepid water instead. Once you are out of the shower, gently blot your skin with a towel. Don’t get totally dry though. The droplets left behind counts as extra moisture and in this case, holding on is a good thing.

Lock that moisture in by applying an oil or lotion to keep the skin supple. 

Switch Out Your Soap 

All soaps are not created equal, especially when it comes to combating dry winter skin. Use a soap that contains natural moisturizers like those found in Shea butter soap.

Avoid artificial colors, additives and alcohols in your soaps. Pro tip: Any ingredient that ends in (OH) is considered an alcohol. 

Buy a Humidifier

Humidifiers are not just for kids rooms. Adding a humidifier to your most highly trafficked areas are a pivotal step to adding moisture back into the air. 

Use the Right Products

During the winter months is not the time to skimp on quality products. Switch to thicker and heavier moisturizers like this Raw Shea Butter lotion.  It’s good stuff and worth every penny.  You could also amp up your regular moisturizer by adding some pure vitamin e oil to the bottle.  I usually add a couple good squirts but, you can use as much or as little as you like.

After that, lather up with some Aquaphor. Aquaphor is highly recommended by dermatologists, pharmacists  and other health care professionals, to soothe and protect dry skin. 

Slip on some cotton socks or gloves (on your hands and feet)after application of the Aquaphor at bedtime to really lock in the moisture. Don’t forget to reapply moisturizer to hands as needed after hand washing too. 

Drink Lots of Water

Even though it doesn’t seem like it, its just as important to drink water in the winter as it is in the summer. 

Drinking water not only flushes out toxins but, keeps skin supple and helps keep dry winter skin at bay. Moisturize your skin, by drinking lots of water from the inside out. 

To get the most accurate measurement of how much water to drink, multiply 67% by your total weight. 

That’ll tell you how much water you need to drink in a day in ounces. You can then divide the number of ounces into the number of glasses of water you intend to drink each day, to determine how many ounces of water you need in each serving. 

Follow these tips to combat and prevent dry winter skin all winter long. 

Original: January 12 2017 Updated: December 6 2020