It is cold and dry when it comes to winter days. This is worsened by the fact that we use heaters which further dries the air. It can be very challenging to keep your skin moist during these cold months. Here are a few tips on taking care of your skin during winter.
- Keep yourself covered with warm clothing. If possible, wear gloves to keep your hands warm. When you go to bed, wear socks to keep your feet warm and this will also prevent your feet from drying out. For added moisture, after you wash your feet at night, apply foot cream thoroughly on your feet and immediately put on your socks. This will soften your feet during the night as you sleep.
- Moisturise your body. Apply lotion or body cream to prevent your skin from drying by sealing in the moisture. Your skin will flake and dry very easily if you don’t apply any moisturiser to your body. Be sure to apply a good moisturiser in the morning before you leave home and the evening before you go to bed. Apply moisturiser to your hands every time you wash them. There are a variety of lotions, body creams and body moisturisers that you could use.
- Wash with a moisturising soap or body wash. Use a body wash or soap that has added lotion or cream so that it doesn’t dry your skin as you wash. An oil based soap is also a good idea.
- Add a few drops of baby oil to your bath. The oil can seal a bit of moisture into your skin.
- Stay hydrated throughout the day. When it’s cold we tend to drink less water. But you need to keep up your water intake during winter. You need to hydrate your body and your skin from the inside. If you can’t drink water often, at least drink fluids throughout the day; whether it is juice, tea or hot chocolate.
- Keep the air moist. You could use a humidifier to humidify the air. Or you could place a small bowl of water in front of the heater. This should add some moisture to the air so that it’s not so dry.
It is important to take care of your skin during the colder months so it’s a good idea to stock up on body creams and lotions which you could get in bulk at a cosmetic wholesaler.