Why Your Skin Dries Out In The Winter?
Why your skin dries out in the winter is a topic I have been interested in for a while now. I decided that it would a good topic of discussion today. No doubt, dry skin is a condition most people suffer from at least once in their lifetime. Sometimes it affects only a small area of the body. Nevertheless, it’s something at least the majority of people are aware of.
For some people, dry skin is a more permanent setup while for others, it’s temporary and goes away on its own or after a while. Sometimes it’s a side effect of some medications. I won’t be going into reaons why people experience dry skin, rather, I am going to focus on dry skin in the winter.
Below, I have compiled a list of common reasons why your skin dries out in the winter. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. So let’s dive in.
So What are some of the reasons why your skin dries out in the winter?
There are a lot of reasons why people suffer from dry skin in the winter. Here are just a few:
1.Dehydration
I feel like dehydration has to be at the top of this list. I find it extremely hard to drink water anytime the temperature goes below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m sure most people don’t drink as much water as they should in the winter time.
It is a lot easier to forget to drink water in the winter because it’s just too cold and the idea of drinking water is not appealing. At least not to me.Not drinking enough water leads to dehydration not just in your internal organs but also in your external organ-your skin.
Dehydration happens way before you feel the dryness in your throat. It definitely happens way before your lips dry out and begin flaking.When you are dehydrated, it affects your skin a lot more ways than you can tell.
When you don’t drink enough water, your skin dries out but this is not the only side effect. Some of the high prices your skin might pay for your not drinking water include: dark circles under your eyes, breakouts, wrinkes, etc. If you have a hard time drinking water, I wrote a post on how to drink more water. You can read it here.
2. Less Moisture in the atmosphere
In the winter, the air holds less water vapor compared to the warmer months when the air hold a lot more water vapor.That and the freezing cold makes that much harder for our skin to absorb any additional moisture from the air.
3.Indoor heating
During the winter, the majority of our time is spent indoors because, for one, it is mostly nasty outside and for two, it is way warmer and more comfortable indoors. Central heating and other forms of heating are used in our homes to keep us warm.
These suck up whatever little moisture we have in the atmosphere and further contributes to the reasons why your skin dries out in the winter.
You can use a humidifier to add some moisture into the atmosphere and definitely drink lots of water and other beverages. Additionally, use intensely moisturizing lotions that help lock in moisture for hours that way your skin will stay feeling comfortable throughout winter.
4. Indoor Pools
This does not strictly apply to winters, but I thought it fit because most people turn to indoor/heated pools during the winter. The chlorine used in the pools wreack havoc in any skin that’s prone to dryness and even one that’s not. Always shower or take a bath; make sure to use a good moisturizing soap or body wash to wash away any traces of chlorine on your skin and immediately follow with body lotion like this one. This will ensure your skin stays nice and smooth after swimming.
5. Less sebum Production
Sebum serves many purposes, among them, is to keep the skin moisturized. It does this by trapping moisture next to the skin. The cold winter air tightens the skin’s pores and reduces blood circulation which in turn reduces the production of sebum. This results in much drier and possibly cracked and flaky skin. Use a non-comedogenic face moisturizer on your face to keep it moist and glowing all winter long.
That’s it people! At least for this article. These are the five reasons I could come up with for why skin is just darn dry in the winter.