The low humidity common in many parts of the United States during winter can cause dry, irritated skin. When skin becomes dry and irritated, eczema can flare. Here are some tips to help skin feel more comfortable during winter or anytime the air is dry:

1. Use a humidifier. With the heat on and the windows closed, the air inside can become very dry in the winter, making the dryness and itching of eczema even worse. Use a humidifier to place moisture in the air. If you don’t want to invest in an expensive humidifying system, smaller, relatively inexpensive humidifiers can be obtained at a local drug store. Placing two or three of these around your home will help to humidify the dry air. This can keep skin from drying and becoming cracked and itchy.

2. Switch to an oil-based moisturizer and moisturize frequently. The more oil a moisturizer contains the more effectively it protects against moisture loss. Moisturizers that come in ointment form contain the most oil because an ointment, by definition, consists of 80% oil and 20% water. This water-in-oil emulsion forms a protective layer on the skin and makes it more “moisturizing” than creams and lotions. Ointments are especially beneficial when humidity is low. Ointments should not be used on areas of the body that tend to get hot and sweaty.

3. Before Going Outside in Winter:

Apply a heavy layer of moisturizing broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher to the face, hands, and any other skin that may be exposed. This will act as a barrier to help protect against the harsh elements and is especially important if you will be outside for any length of time. Sunscreen is important in winter as the sun’s reflective powers are great year round – 17% on the sand and 80% on the snow. Today, several products are available that combine oily, moisturizing cream with sunscreen. If you are unsure of which product to use, ask a dermatologist.

Grab those gloves. Protecting hands from the cold air and low humidity plays an important role in preventing flare-ups. Make sure the gloves are made from material that does not irritate your skin. Some patients find that wearing a cotton mitten next to the skin and a woolen mitten over the cotton one, keeps hands warm and dry.

4. Dress in layers. The most common triggers of the scratch/itch cycle are sweating and overheating. Wearing layers allows you to remove clothing as needed to prevent overheating. Be sure to wear loose-fitting cotton fabrics next to your skin.

5. Shed wet clothes and shoes immediately. These can irritate the skin and cause a flare-up.

Source: skincarephysicians.com

We all know the feeling – we kick on the furnace for the winter and within days our skin starts screaming… loudly… for attention! It “screams” by getting dry and itchy, developing rough flaky patches, and just generally acting cranky! We have to DO something – we rush to buy the latest, greatest moisturizer – shell out the big bucks for whatever the magazines and TV or our next door neighbor says will WORK. Trouble is, it doesn’t. We are still dry, we still itch, our skin seems to drink in the moisturizer insatiably. WHY?

The answer is amazingly simple. Our skin cells die every single day. They stack up in little not-so-pretty layers. This is true of our faces, hands, body. Some of the cells do manage to flake and fall off but the vast majority like to stick together and hang around, causing problems. Think of it this way – even the best moisturizer in the world can’t fix dead skin!

The key to living with winter dry skin is regular exfoliation. You will need an exfoliating product (like a scrub or masque) gentle enough for your face, and another for the rest of you. You need to exfoliate 2-3 times a week and follow with an intensive moisturizer. (If your skin is normally oily, use an oil-free moisturizer. Even oily skin needs moisture – it just doesn’t need oil.) You will see an immediate and dramatic improvement!!

Here is a recipe for an at-home spa treatment you can make yourself easily that will instantly relieve dry, flaky skin! You’ll need a jar with a lid to keep it in. Fill the jar half full of your choice of salt OR sugar. Now fill the jar up with your choice of almond oil, baby oil, olive oil, or another beneficial oil and stir before each use. (I enjoy using various aromatherapy oils for this). If desired you can break open a few vitamin E capsules and mix into your scrub, and maybe a little aloe gel. Be creative!

Put yourself in a warm (not hot) bath and use the scrub all over your body. Pay special attention to areas like heels, elbows, hands. Then relax and soak for a few minutes – the oils and salts will mix with your bath water and moisturize you everywhere. When you get out, just pat dry – do not rub. You probably won’t even need to apply moisturizer after this bath! You’ll just feel wonderful. If you do this exfoliating bath 2-3 times a week and moisturize all over daily, you should not suffer from winter dry skin!

Written by: Sheila Talley © 2007
Source: butyoudontlooksick.com

Sure a hot bath sounds mighty in an unforgiving winter. But don’t you know that taking hot baths for long periods of time in the winter decreases the natural oils of your skin? Our skin has these natural oils to keep it supple and to lock the moisture in. During winter, our skin loses the moisture and becomes dry and flaky.

To combat this, take shorter periods of bath. Also, combat the oil-decreasing effects of hot baths by adding oils so that your skin can retain its moisture. For a soft and supple skin, use ground green gram powder paste instead of soap. A little coconut oil on the skin to heal chaps will do wonders before bath.

Rosemary + Lemon softening sock salve foot smoothing balm with eucalyptus oil and Foot Patrol AHA exfoliating & softening cream with aloe leaf and peppermint uses familiar ingredients to restore that silky feel to heels instantly. Used alternately, you’ll have different scents and natural extracts working to fight cracked heels regardless of the season.

Images from drugstore.com

There are few problems that are as bad in winter as in summer. Cracked heels is one of those select few. During winter, the heels dry out. During summer, they dry out again because of sandals and flipflops. There’s really no other way than to apply a thick oil-based moisturizer on the heels and wear socks overnight. But you can put your own twist to it.

Crabtree & Evelyn’s La Source 60 Second Fix for Feet has Revitalising Foot Smoother that cleans and exfoliates using mineral salts, macadamia oil, shea butter and algae extracts, and Extreme Foot Therapy to smooth the rough areas.

Image from drugstore.com

Kiss My Face and Eco Lips are two brands offering organic alternatives to your regular ChapStick and Blistex. These alternatives aren’t too pricey at less under $4. Looking at their product descriptions closely, it is worth mentioning that the lip balms with sun protection are not fully organic. Kiss My Face lip balms are 72 percent organic and have SPF 15 except for the Sport variant at SPF 30, which is 52 percent organic. Eco Lips’ variants without SPF are 90 to 99 percent organic; but Eco Berry and Eco Mint which have SPF 15 are 87 percent organic; SPF 30 Sport is 81% organic.

Nivea body Rich Caring Milk has Natural Minerals, caring Almond Oil, Vitamin E for intense moisturization. It reduces roughness and activates your skin’s natural moisture.

Nivea body Rich Caring Oil is for extra dry skin. It provides pure intensive care for taut, stressed skin. It contains Avocado Oil, which creates a protective layer, helps prevent stretchmarks, and softens flaky skin.