Why Winter Induces Chapped Skin

November 10, 2012 sarah Uncategorized

As the year comes to a close, and long, cold dark nights loom over the horizon, some people have little to celebrate when they consider the condition of their skin. Poor skin health, it appears, is an annual concern for a vast section of the population. The chill weather can sometimes lead to dry, flaky skin. This, in turn, may result in the red soreness of chapped hands.

Thankfully, successfully treating chapped hands is normally just a matter of employing a little commonsense and care.

If you sustain seasonal induced chapped skin or sore hands, you will have only one essential question. What is the most suitable course of action to help improve the condition?

The following simple tips will help you treat your dry skin.

Somewhat illogically, recurring wetting of the hands can cause a drying of the skin. This is because the continually wetting, cleaning and drying of the hands can harm the outer stratum of lipids that safeguard and help maintain the correct hydration levels of the skin. So, when washing:

 

 

 

• Aspire to wash your hands as few times as possible in the course of the day, but always observe the need for cleanliness.

 

 

• When you do wash, use a gentle, fragrant free soap.

 

 

• Cleaning in lukewarm water places the skin under less strain than washing in very hot water. Similarly, a shower is preferential to a bath.

 

 

• Use a soft cotton towel, with a blotting motion, to dry. This will lessen the amount of friction that your skin receives.

 

 

 

Wearing rubber gloves may be a tempting solution to stop the hands getting wet. However, rubber gloves can contribute to unnecessary skin abrasion and also hinder normal perspiration. Further, some people have an allergy to latex. The last thing you want to do is aggravate existing sensitive chapped skin

Using a barrier cream is another common method of protecting the skin from wetness. You should be aware of the following issues regarding barrier creams:

 

 

 

• To be efficient, many barrier creams leave a thick, greasy and slippery residue on your hands. This may make your hands feel less clean as you go about your everyday jobs.

 

 

• When picking a barrier cream check for one that is alcohol free. The product you settle upon should also give you some protection against contact allergens.

 

 

• Care will need to be used when using cosmetic barrier cream skin protectants. Any extra fragrance can stimulate an unfavourable response. Don’t forget, the desired result is to have silky, supple skin – not sore, chapped skin that carries a nice scent.

 

 

 

Finally, make sure you do not scratch any area of soreness or chapped skin. Scratching may provide short-term relief for any dry itchiness, but it will likely increase the sensitivity of the skin. Perpetual scratching will also probably damage the epidermis.

An comprehensive resource giving skin care information is http://www.dermashield.co.uk.

Using this simple approach, and by applying just a little commonsense, you will be pleasantly surprised at how soon your chapped hands are healed.

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