You Can Have Healthy Winter Skin!

Senior-Health-Update-from-Dans-Wellness-Pharmacy-Newsletter-November-2014As we get older, our skin naturally becomes drier.  Add winter’s dry, heated indoor air to the equation, and dry skin can become a real issue.  Fortunately, there are things you can do to treat this common condition.

Long, hot, soapy baths are out, as they leach the natural oils out of the skim.  Water should be as cool as is comfortable.  Keep baths and showers short – just long enough to accomplish soaping and rinsing.  Use moisturizing soaps such as Basis, Aveeno, Neutrogena or Dove Unscented.

When you get out of the bath, blot your skin.  Don’t rub it dry.  Vigorous toweling removes an almost microscopically thin layer of protective skin that helps fight against dryness.  While the skin is still damp, apply a skin moisturizer to trap moisture in the skin.

Keep your bedroom moist.  A cold-steam vaporizer is your best bet, and it should run constantly.  Unless you are putting close to a gallon of water a day into the air in a room, the humidity is going to be low.

–Source: Brown University Health Services