Oh, so soft: winter doesn't have to mean dry skin disaster - here's how to stay supple and smooth

Vegetarian Times, Feb, 1998 by Kara Corridan

Aaah, winter. That glorious season filled with big, fluffy sweaters, the occasional ski weekend, comfort food, crackling fires ... and dry, scaly, itchy skin. While dry skin is a year-round concern for some people, just about everyone experiences it this time of year. "I'd say 80 percent to 90 percent of the people I see in winter are coming in for problems relating to dry skin," says Kelly Hood, M.D., a dermatologist in Dothan, Ala., and a member of the American Association of Dermatology's Post-Graduate Education Committee.

What makes winter weather so damaging to skin? Air. Outside it's less humid; inside it's hot and dry. "This makes the water inside our skin cells evaporate," Hood explains. The result is rough, chapped, windblown skin that looks like you spent your vacation crossing the desert.

But winter weather doesn't mean you've got to sit back and take it. You don't have to watch (and scratch), helpless, as your skin itches and flakes. Nature's pharmacy contains many skin savers--from vitamins and foods to herbs and essential oils--all of which can help repair dry skin and keep you comfortable (and kissably soft) till springtime.

NEW BATHING HABITS

According to dermatologists, moisture retention is the key to beating dry skin. The first step is rethinking your bathing habits. "Most of us take one or two hot showers every day," says Hood. "That's too much. Hot water takes oils away, so there's less to lubricate the skin. Plus, as your body ages, your oil glands shrink, so that's double trouble."

According to Joseph Bark, M.D., a Kentucky-based dermatologist and author of Your Skin ... An Owner's Manual (Prentice Hall, 1995), dry skin is a "modern phenomenon," the result of an advertising industry that cajoles us into buying and using more and more personal cleansing products. When people bathed less, dry skin didn't exist, Bark says, because the skin's natural protective oils were replenished between weekly baths.

Since cutting your shower schedule probably won't win you friends at the office, try spending less time in the shower and using lukewarm water. And given soap's notorious reputation for drying out skin--even in the most humid conditions--try using a natural (chemical-free), non-soap cleanser that contains Moisturizing vegetable oils and vegetable glycerin, a plant sugar.

After bathing, pat--don't rub--your skin with a towel. And while you're still damp, apply a natural moisturizer over your entire body. This seats in your skin's moisture with a slight film of oil that prevents water from evaporating, and it soothes the top layer of skin by putting moisture back in.

KITCHEN SINK CARE

Many dry skin remedies can be found right in your kitchen. According to Dina Falcom, a New York-based herbalist and author of Earthly Bodies, Heavenly Hair (Ceres Press, 1997), food based treatments work wonders. "You should be able to eat most of what you put on your skin, she says.

Avocados, packed with moisture-retaining oils, are a particular favorite with James A. Duke, Ph.D., ethnobotanist author of The Green Pharmacy (Rodale, 1997) and dry skin sufferer. He suggests mashing one (or as many as needed), then applying it to dry areas on your body and face. Leave it on for 15 minutes, then wash it off with warm water. Feel free to do this every day.

Cornstarch, which contains skin-softening emollients, is another time-honored natural remedy. Mix enough to make a paste with a small amount of cold water (you also can add in some of that avocado), then apply it to dry spots up to three times a day.

Vegetable and nut oils also rank high as skin soothers. When the temperature dips, Duke reaches for wheat germ, almond or Brazil nut oils. All contain vitamin E, a moisturizer, collagen-booster and antioxidant that quenches skin-aging free radicals. Slather them on your body after bathing, drizzle them on salads or simply take capsules (200 to 400 international units/day).

"There's no question vitamin E works," Duke confirms, adding that dryness should clear up within a week of daily use. "That's what I go for in my diet and on my skin." For winter dry skin, start the routine in mid to late fall. "If I'd put the oils on as soon as I put the heat on in my house, I probably never would've gotten dry skin," he says.

Olive oil is another favorite, either as a topical treatment or mixed in baths. Mary Pereira, a supervising aesthetician at the Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa in Ft. Meyers, Fla., recommends coating hands and feet in warmed olive Oil, then wrapping them in cotton gloves and socks. And Falconi suggests adding two tablespoons of olive oil to warm bath water, then soaking for 15 to 30 minutes. "Afterward, you'll notice your skin feels more lubricated, and you'll balance out the drying effect of bathing," she says.

If dry skin is driving you to scratch, try adding one-quarter cup of vinegar (which reduces itchiness by maintaining skin's PH levels) to bath water, suggests herbalist Kathi Keville, author of Herbs for Health & Healing (Rodale, 1996). Rubbing skin with the inside of a banana peel, a natural source of antihistamines, also can neutralize itch, says Duke.