6 Ways to Prevent Dry Skin in the Winter

It’s winter.  It’s cold, and skin seems to be one of the first casualties when the temperature drops.  From dry, cracked hands to an itchy back, these 6 ways to prevent dry skin in the winter will help you combat old man winter, leaving you comfortable, hydrated, and moisturized.

A decrease in temperature generally means a decrease in humidity levels.  This dry, cold air strips skin of its moisture, leading to flakiness, itchiness, noticeable wrinkles, and in extreme cases, bleeding cracks.

Fortunately, there are ways to treat and prevent dry skin in the winter, keeping you comfortable and flake free.

Disclaimer: A lot of the things I’m going to suggest in this post are hard.  Really hard.  In fact, most of the things I’m going to suggest will go against what you naturally want to do and what feels good.  I personally hate being cold and am guilty of doing the opposite of what I’m suggesting.  As a result, I’m constantly itchy and my skin looks dry and dull in the winter.  My hope is that by writing these tips down, they not only help you feel more comfortable in the winter, but they also help me break some bad habits as well.

6 Ways to Treat and Prevent Dry Skin in the Winter

1. Limit Shower Time

According to the University of Utah Health, excessively hot showers tend to strip essential oils and moisture from the body.  Taking prolonged hot showers only serves to strip oils and moisture for a longer period of time.

So, it is best to take warm showers for shorter periods.

Tips:

1. Listen to music while you take a shower! The average song lasts about 3 minutes.  By limiting yourself to two songs while showering, you’ll prevent yourself from standing in there for too long and losing track of time.  This will then limit the amount of moisture and oil stripped away from your skin.
2. If you want to take decreasing shower time to a new level, and you care about saving water, try turning the shower off when washing. Initially rinse to get wet and turn the water off.  Apply shampoo and body wash, then turn the water back on to rinse.  After rinsing, turn the water back off and apply face cleanser, then conditioner.  Then, rinse!
3. Try to blot dry with a towel instead of rubbing. This will prevent irritation and prevent the removal of the protective protein, lipid and fatty acid layer on the outside of the skin. (Source)

2. Moisturize

Moisturizers contain humectants, which work by trapping existing moisture within the skin.  It is beneficial to apply moisturizer immediately after showering, when skin is a little damp, in order to retain some of that water. (Source)

Choose a moisturizer that contains ingredients such as ceramides, oils (coconut oil, hempseed oil, sweet almond oil, etc.), shea butter, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid), or dimethicone.  These create a good barrier, preventing moisture from being stripped away from the winter cold.

Note: Some of the oils above can clog pores on the face.  Check out Easy, Natural DIY Face Moisturizer Recipe for Dry Skin for natural moisturizing ingredients that have a much lower comedogenicy (tendency to clog pores) if you plan on using moisturizing oils on your face.

Tip:

The thicker the cream or moisturizer the better.  Although not good for the face, petroleum jelly can also be a highly effective humectant.  If you put a blob of moisturizer on your palm, and it falls off when you turn it upside down, it needs to be thicker.

3. Avoid Stripping Cleansers

All cleaners and soaps will strip the skin of essential oils.  Harsh cleansers containing perfume/fragrance, or alcohol can dehydrate the skin further.  This means putting away the heavily scented Irish Spring bar soap for a few months.

Less is more when it comes to soap, so only use what you need to get clean.  You don’t need to rub over the same spot several times, especially on areas like the legs, arms or torso.  Instead, focus on skin to skin contact areas, such as armpits, balls, and butt…feet too.

Liquid body washes tend to have more moisturizing ingredients in them vs. bar soaps.  So, these should be chosen in the wintertime to mitigate the stripping effects cleansers can have.

Tip:

Choose gentle cleansers marketed as “fragrance free” and “moisturizing” for best results.

4. Hydrate

There are numerous benefits to increased water consumption including: decreased headaches, increased energy, and a healthy, glowing skin complexion.

Skin is the largest bodily organ, so it takes a beating when your body isn’t properly hydrated, which leads to dryness and flakiness.  Dry skin is also prone to exposing wrinkles.

By increasing water consumption to at least 64 ounces per day, you’ll be on your way to plumping skin cells, reducing dehydration, and alleviating dry skin.

For more reading on the benefits of increased water consumption, check out the 8 Fantastic Benefits of Drinking Water After Waking Up.

Tip:

Try the “Japanese Water Therapy” to get a jumpstart on your daily hydration goal.  You just might notice more benefits as well after giving it a shot.

5. Increase Humidity in Your House

As stated earlier, dry air saps away the moisture from your skin, which leads to flakiness.

By adding moisture into the air, you will slow down the evaporation process on your skin.  This is why hot, sticky, humid air is worse than dry, hot air in the summertime.  Humid air doesn’t pull moisture off your skin as effectively as dry air, which is why people find Phoenix heat more bearable than New Orleans heat.

In order to add moisture into the dry, wintertime air, the easiest thing to use is a humidifier.  Check out DIY options here, but they might not be as effective or consistent as a purposeful humidifier.

There are a few different types of humidifiers: cool mist, warm mist, ultrasonic and vaporizers.  You can learn about them here.

Our Choice Humidifier: VicTsing Cool Mist Humidifier $38.99

Whether you choose to purchase a humidifier or go for the DIY options, the point is to add moisture into the air, so you and your skin are more comfortable.

Tip:

If you don’t want to invest in a furnace humidifier or a large, standalone whole house humidifier, go for a smaller unit like the one pictured above and put it into your bedroom when you sleep at night.  Leave the door closed to get the most benefits of a humidified room.

6. Avoid Sitting Next to Heat Sources

This one is hard.  Nothing is better than sitting next to a roaring fireplace fire in the middle of January, ditto for space heaters and those old cast-iron radiant heaters found in old houses.

Unfortunately, as good as they feel when you’re frozen to the core, they don’t do any justice for your skin.  These dry sources of heat quickly evaporate moisture from your body and dehydrate your mucous membranes.  If you wake up with a dry, sore throat and dry, bleeding noses in the morning, the likely culprit is your heat source (furnace, wood stove, etc.).

In order to mitigate this, see #5 about increasing the humidity within your house and add a little extra space between you and the fireplace next time you’re around one.

That’s it!

By following these 6 ways to prevent dry skin in the winter, you’ll be on your way to having flake free, non-itchy, hydrated skin in the coldest months of the year.

Thanks for reading 6 Ways to Prevent Dry Skin in the Winter!

For further reading of ways to prevent dry skin in the winter, check out my sources:

• Consumer Reports
• WebMD
• American Academy of Dermatology
• Everyday Health