Skin care in winter

If you live in a part of the world that experiences cold weather, you’ll know that frigid temperatures can wreak havoc on your skin, both on the face and body. It gets dry, flaky and can sometimes even crack, which can be painful or itchy.

On a quest to find out how to best protect the skin we’re in, we asked dermatologists to share their top tips for keeping our body’s largest organ healthy and hydrated throughout the cold months.

1. Keep Moisture In The Air

As Dr. Angela Lamb, director of the Westside Mount Sinai Dermatology Faculty Practice in New York City, told HuffPost, our skin “is the barrier that keeps water inside of your body, so when it is dry and cold, water evaporates off of the surface faster and easier.”

To prevent dryness, Lamb recommended using a humidifier and suggested “drinking an extra glass or two of water.”

Dr. Michele Farber, a dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group, echoed Lamb’s advice, explaining that humidifiers are a great way to add moisture back into your home, especially if you’re prone to blasting the heat.

2. Use Gentler Products“The key is to use gentle cleansers,” said Lamb, who is also director of dermatology at the Institute of Family Health and an assistant dermatology professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “I LOVE Dove foaming body wash for body. [It’s] very moisturizing and Dr. Samer Jaber, a board-certified dermatologist based at Washington Square Dermatology in New York City, provided different suggestions for face and body.“For your face, you might want to use a more bland cleanser, something like Cetaphil,” he said. “For your body, you might normally in the summer use a nice fragranced body wash, but in the winter you might have to switch to something like Dove or Cetaphil or Vanicream, something more gentle.”If you’re also dealing with breakouts, Farber said to just use water on those areas. Otherwise, she recommended using products with ceramides (CeraVe products are a common example) and glycerin (The Ordinary’s Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA hydration serum contains both glycerin and ceramides) to repair and protect your skin’s moisture barrier.

3. Avoid Hot Showers And Baths“In the winter months, taking hot showers and not moisturizing can create cracks in the surface of the skin. Hot water evaporates fast, and if the skin is not immediately moisturized, the cracks in the skin let the skin nerves get exposed to air, resulting in what feels like lots of paper cuts and eczema, or ‘winter’s itch,’ Dr. Purvisha Patel, board certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare, explained.“I know it sounds like common sense, but with the weather we’ve been having, the thing we want to do is come home after a long walk and take a hot shower or bath,” Dr. Melda Isaac, founder and director of MI Skin Dermatology and Laser Center in Washington, D.C., told HuffPost, noting that water that’s too hot actually dehydrates our skin.“If you do indulge in a hot shower or bath, keep your bathroom door closed if possible, and after you dry, moisturize,” Isaac added. She, too, recommended looking for products with ceramides as well as hyaluronic acid, to “keep the barrier of your skin from losing a lot of water.”does not strip moisture away from the skin.”

4. Don’t Go Out In The Cold With Damp Skin“A lot of people will run outside after they’ve washed their hands or finished doing a chore to walk their dog or take out trash, but if your skin is damp and you go out in the cold, it’s going to chap a lot more frequently,” Isaac said. ”[It’s] just like when your lips are dry and when you lick them more it makes the problem worse.”

6. Exfoliate LessAs Jaber explained, when it comes to exfoliating, the answer to whether or not you should do it isn’t the same for everyone.“If your skin is really, really dry, then you certainly don’t exfoliate,” he said. “But if it’s OK, then you can. Certainly you’re going to exfoliate less than you would normally, because your skin barrier is going to be a little bit compromised because of the dryness and the cold air.”If your skin is fine with exfoliation, Isaacsuggested doing it once a week “to help speed up the skin’s regeneration [and] allow better penetration of your moisturizer.”