We all know to moisturize our skin during the winter months, but there are ways we can help from keeping our skin from drying out.
Dr. Eva Parker, a board certified dermatologist and an assistant professor of Dermatology at Vanderbilt University, said, “Please don’t scrub your skin, it really is a terrible thing. Our skin is like a coated armor for us, we have a dead layer that is meant to be there, it naturally exfoliates and when we go to mechanically remove it daily, with scrubbers we actually end up dehydrating our skin and create a situation where irritants and pathogens and bacteria can get in and air pollution and we leak moisture and it really damages our barriers.”
Dr. Parker’s other top tips for our skin include, taking warm showers less than 10 minutes in length, using a mild soap, and moisturize! But, what about if our lips our chapped? The answer may surprise you. Don’t go running for the Chapstick, products like that can actually dehydrate your lips over time.
Dr. Parker told us, “That is a really common problem and then we make it worse because we lick our lips when their chapped and we keep licking them which makes them even more chapped. I would recommend the greasy emollient-based lip balm and honestly Vaseline works great and is inexpensive but there are other greasy ones you can use as well.”
Dr. Parker also suggested to use a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen on your face and neck during the wintertime because yes, the bad UV rays can still make their way through the clouds and damage your skin and cause wrinkles, even on the overcast winter days.