Is your skin drier in the winter time? Here's why!

Cold air holds less water.

When water evaporates, it is drawn into the air, which "holds" it. (That isn’t exactly the right way to think about it, but it will do for now.)

Air can "hold" varying amounts of water. The warmer and drier the air, the more water it can hold. If the air has as much water it can hold, it is "saturated." If saturated air becomes cooler, the air loses some of its water-holding capacity and it has to lose some water, either as fog or rain or frost or possibly snow.
In the winter, the air can’t hold much water, so the air stays pretty dry. That is okay when you are outside, because even though the air is dry, it can’t draw much water from your skin, since its capacity is low anyway. (But if it is windy, you can still get pretty dry.)

The big problem is when you go inside, where the cold dry air is warmed up by the building’s heating system. Then the warm dry air has a huge capacity for water, and it sucks the water out of your skin like a leech.




Dry Skin

 
Healthy skin can be pictured as a multi-layer cake covered by a single sheet of clear plastic food wrap to keep it fresh. The plastic food wrap prevents the frosting and underlying layers of the cake from drying out by preventing loss (evaporation) of the water from the cake into the air. It is the moisture in the cake that gives it its freshness. The outermost layer of the skin, which acts like the plastic food wrap and is about the same thickness, is called the stratum corneum. (This is the layer that peels off after a sunburn). The stratum corneum consists of dead skin cells embedded in a mixture of natural oils (lipids) that are made by underlying living skin cells. These natural skin oils keep the water inside our body from escaping into the air and also keep irritating substances and germs from entering the body. Both the skin oils and the dead skin cells hold a certain amount of water in the stratum corneum and it is this stratum corneum water that helps keep the skin soft, pliable and smooth.
Dry skin results when there is not enough water in the stratum corneum for it to function properly. One way this can happen is when protective oils in the stratum corneum are lost and the water that is normally present in the skin is allowed to escape. Too much soapy water, exposure to harsh chemicals, the normal aging process and certain types of skin diseases are some of the causes of decreased amounts of protective skin oils. As the stratum corneum dries out it shrinks and, as it shrinks, small cracks can occur. This exposes the underlying living cells to irritating substances and germs in the environment.


Here are a few ways to winterize your skin:

• Use a humidifier in the bedroom or living room once the relative humidity inside drops below 60 percent.
• Hot showers are a no-no: The cold temperatures may make a long, hot bath or shower sound like heaven, but hot water can wreak havoc on your skin. Instead take lukewarm showers, patting gently afterward with a towel and applying a moisturizer within three minutes of stepping out of the shower to lock in moisture.
• Look for lotions or creams according to your skin type and or skin condition
• Keep well hydrated. This may be easier to remember during the summer months, but drinking lots of water keeps the skin moisturized and flushes the toxins out of your body.
• Use lip balms and lipsticks with moisturizers.
• Use sun block. Although the skin is less exposed in the winter, ultraviolet rays can be particularly intense on a clear winter day. Even when cloudy, UV rays still penetrate. If you go skiing UV exposure is even greater, so use a sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB radiation.
• Brittle nails can be helped by using Vaseline to moisturize and a nail polish with nail protein. Also, keep nails short so fungus does not get in.

All of the above will help maintain healthy skin for the most part, but there are some conditions like eczema, psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis which flare up particularly during the winter months. For these you should see a dermatologist for diagnosis and treatment.