Q: What other skin problems beyond dehydration worsen in winter months?
A: Eczema and body acne, Kauvar says. Eczema will worsen as your skin gets dryer. So if you have eczema, Kauvar suggests taking your preventative maintenance seriously (moisturizing, protecting skin, taking any prescribed medications, etc.). It's very hard to control eczema once it starts getting bad. If you're already to the point where you are itching, take an over-the-counter antihistamine to help stop it.
Body acne can also worsen in winter months. When we bundle up in layers of clothing we often sweat. The sweat then sits on our skin and causes breakouts. To prevent this, wear multiple layers and peel them off as you get warm -- before you start sweating. When exercising, keep sweat from sitting on your skin by wearing moisture-wicking fabrics to prevent sweat from sitting on your skin.
When the weather turns from sunny and mild to cold and blustery, our skin often turns too -- from supple and hydrated to cracked, flaky and ashy. We know that adding moisture-infused products to our skin will help hydrate it. We also know (and have heard a thousand times) that in the winter we usually need to switch from lighter moisturizers to more intensely hydrating ones, right? Right.
So why is it that the moisturizers we slather on don't always work? Are we using the wrong products? Is moisturizer alone not enough? And when our skin goes from simply feeling dry to looking alligator-like, what do we do then?
These are questions we hear often, which is why we decided to sit down with Arielle N.B. Kauvar, M.D., director of New York Laser & Skin Care and Liz Earle, natural skin care expert. Here, they address some of your most pressing winter skin problems. They share solutions on everything from crusty lips to painfully cracked skin. Best of all, they share the key ingredients we should look for in our skin care moisturizers so we don't waste another precious dollar on products that don't work. Pretty nice, huh?
