Look after your skin this winter
Christmas is coming, the days are getting colder, and for many of us the battle against dry skin begins.
Here are some top tips to make sure your skin survives the festive period.
- Your busy month of Christmas parties may already be sorted, but try and take it easy on the alcohol (and caffeine the next day). They are diuretics and can cause dehydration, depleting water and causing dry skin. Drink plenty of H2O to keep hydrated.
- Nipping out of your office Christmas party and braving the cold every time you have a cigarette can dry out your skin and make conditions like eczema worse. Maybe giving up before Christmas could be a plan?
- That woolly jumper you desperately want for Christmas may keep you nice and toasty, but they can also chafe and give you the itches. So if you’re still mulling over what to ask for in your bumper festive list, go for looser fitting, kinder fabrics, such as cotton.
- Use warm water instead of hot when having baths or showers, and pat yourself dry instead of rubbing. As nice as a long soak feels in freezing temperatures, the hot soapy water strips away the natural oils, making dry skin worse.
- Ditch the SLS. Keeping your skin moisturised is vital and there are loads of ointments, creams and oils which you can pop into your bath. Ones with simple ingredients are best. SLS is a thickening agent found in many high street products and cleansers, and is used as a thickening agent to make bubbles and lather. It can aggravate dry skin by thinning the natural protective barrier, which causes water loss. Try brand new Care Aqueous Emollient Cream (available from independent pharmacies nationwide), a 2-in-1 emollient and soap substitute for dry skin, and 100% SLS free. It can be used as a leave on moisturiser or a non-drying alternative to a soap or shower gel.
- And finally just relax! All that stress over the festive season can bring about bouts of psoriasis and even eczema. When you’re stressed out, the skin’s ability to retain water isn’t as good, so chill out!
A quick rundown of the common winter skin ailments:
- Chilblains: Symptoms include redness, itchiness on hands and feet after exposure to cold weather. More likely to occur when cold skin is heated up too quickly, for example in front of a fire or heater. Smoking makes it worse because nicotine constricts blood vessels.
- Eczema: Aggravated by cold weather, Eczema causes inflammation of the skin and makes it red and itchy.
- Frostnip: An early stage of frostbite, it is common in people who live or work in cold climates. Fingers, toes and ears are most commonly affected and symptoms include tingling, throbbing or aching and the skin becomes cold, numb and white.
- Psoriasis: Dry air, less exposure to sun rays and stress can make symptoms worse during the winter. The dry heat indoors and lack of humidity in the air outside can deprive your skin of the moisture it so badly needs.
- Raynaud’s disease: Triggered by cold temperatures, anxiety and stress, Raynaud’s disease can affect the blood supply to certain parts of the body such as the fingers and toes. Causes pain, numbness, pins and needles and the skin becomes white, blue and then red.
**Tips given to us by community pharmacist and Care spokesperson Steve Riley
Tagged in Beauty Tips Skin