Oh boy, it’s cold outside and I’m seeing a lot of chapped skin in my dermatology practice.
Even our relatively temperate winter here in Northern California is hard on your skin – if you live somewhere that has a “real” winter (like in this photo), then your skin is even more vulnerable to winter chapping.
Preventing chapped skin and treating chapped skin is actually easy. There are 3 simple tricks. Do them every day and you’ll make it through the winter without skin that’s itchy, painful, cracked, dry, scaly, sensitive … and chapped.
What are the 3 essential tricks to preventing and treating chapped winter skin?
- Moisturize every day
- Use only gentle soaps on your skin
- Protect your skin from harsh, cold weather
That’s it. Yep, really!
Now, there are some key details to help you do this right so that it works.
First, moisturizing every day means applying moisturizer only after water contact.
Putting moisturizer on skin that didn’t just get wet is useless. Moisturizers trap water but they don’t add water. You do that when you wet your skin in the shower or when you wash your hands, face, etc. You have to trap that added water and you do that by applying a rich moisturizer within a few minutes after toweling the excess skin surface water off.
You also need a rich moisturizer for winter. This means one that includes some oils and water binding ingredients. My absolute favorites for winter skin care are my All Natural Body and Face Butter Cream and my All Natural Face and Body Lotion. I love these new products and they’re the hydrating heroes for my sensitive skin this winter.
Other options include VaniCream, which like my Natural Butter and Lotion, is also hypoallergenic. Alternatively, you could use jojoba oil, olive oil, shea butter, or one of the good old standard dermatologic moisturizers such as Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream, Eucerin Original Healing Creme, or Nivea Cream. These brands also make thinner lotion products, but for winter you want a thick and rich product.
Hand moisturizers need to be applied multiple times during the day since you you wash your hands repeatedly. Keep a practical, non-greasy moisturizer by your sinks so that you apply it many times a day. This will make a huge difference. My absolute favorite is my Dry Skin Hand Cream; I keep a tube in my lab coat and it saves my winter hands.
Don’t forget your lips. Apply a simple, but long-lasting, moisturizing lip balm all day long. My favorite is Ceralip. Pick a lip balm with simple ingredients because many “healing” lip balms contain ingredients that can cause allergic reactions that mimic chapped lips.
Use only gentle soaps and skin cleansers during the winter. Many soaps are harsh, pulling out too many of your skin’s natural oils during the winter. Use a syndet (synthetic detergent) such as unscented Dove soap, Cetaphil, Aquanil Cleansers, or Toleriane Cleanser. If you want natural skin care, try a glycerin bar soap or a naturally saponified soap made by a master soap maker who knows how to remove excess alkali such as my Naturally Best Bar Soap for Dry Skin. For your hands, use a foaming cleanser that rinses off thoroughly such as Vermont Foaming Hand Soap.
Lastly, protect your skin from the harsh and drying cold weather by wearing mufflers, face masks, and gloves when you are outside. Remember heated indoor air is also drying, so stay moisturized. Consider using a humidifier if your skin is still dry; it can be miraculous, as one dry skin eczema patient of mine demonstrated last week. She added an indoor humidifier and her skin is so much better.
Photo Attribution: Thanks and Gratitude to Pixitart
What is your opinion on taking colder showers? I have heard a lot health-related tips regarding colder showers, but are there any real advantages for your skin if you avoid hot showers in the winter?
Great post.
I grew up believing that cold showers were health promoting and in fact did them as a teen on one of my “health and fitness kicks”. As a physician though I have not seen evidence to convince me that they are beneficial. Cool water however soothes inflamed skin by causing slight constriction of the skin’s blood vessels and thus shunting inflammatory mediators away from skin inflammation so it can resolve faster.
Dr Bailey, what’s your take on alcohol free toners such as Thayers to use after facial cleansing? Do they help to remove residue from water? Do they prep in any way skin for serums/creams? I read that damp skin allows for products to be absorbed better. Thank you.
I actually like witch hazel based “toners” and I love glycerin and rose water so the Thayers gets a thumbs up from me! What it does is add another cleansing step to help remove oils. That can help products penetrate better. Also, the layers of the skin are still damp for several minutes after toweling excess surface water off, which is why we apply products immediately after washing because we want to trap that water, and that’s partly how products “work” to transform skin.
Moisturizers and hand creams are the best to locate especially for this kind of climate that I think will be more important as any other stuffs or beauty regimen products out there because these products can prolong the beauty and moisture of your skin on this cold weather.
very original skin care tips, What a cold year it has been! it’s unreal!
I also run a site on skin care mostly boils though aha. Nice post, thanks for sharing :’)
I live in a place with a “real winter” I’ve noticed that my children also suffer from dry skin during the winter months. A humidifier has always helped the whole family
I have used the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream and like it very much!
Dr. Bailey,
If you use acne products, how should you moisturize? Typically people with acne are instructed to cleanse, wait for their skin to dry, apply their acne treatment, and then apply moisturizer once the treatment has dried. However, this results in applying moisturizer to dry skin. Would it be better to apply moisturizer immediately after cleansing/showering and then apply the acne product?
Thanks.
I don’t tell my patients to let product dry. I have them cleanse, apply medicated product and then apply moisturizer (oil freehttp://www.drbaileyskincare.com/daily-moisturizing-face-cream-oily-to-normal-skin.shtml ) where needed. Some of the acne treatment products will trap moisture so moisturizer is applied where needed. Sunscreen goes on top and my favorite for acne is the Elta MD Clearhttp://www.drbaileyskincare.com/eltamd-uv-clear-spf-46-sunscreen.shtml . It too will act as moisturizer for daytime.
I find that in the winter when it’s cold, the hot shower or bath is inclined to make my skin dry up more so it’s important so get a good quality moisurizer like the ones you recommended.
I also find that the hotter I take a shower the more my skin dries out but I don’t understand why there is a difference between a hot or a cold shower.
Hot water is better at cleaning off the skin’s oils just like it’s better for cleaning dirty and oily pots and pans.
I live in the Northeast, and yes it has been an awful, cold, and windy winter. Not a good combination for our skin! Thank you for your tips.