3 Daily Tips To Take Care Of Your Dry Skin
After a long, stressful day doesn't a relaxing, extra-hot shower sound wonderful?
You may stay in there for a long time, just feeling that sizzling spray cascading down your back. Feels pretty zen, right?
Although it may take away the day’s stress, it doesn’t do any good for your skin.
As the sun is starting to shine for Spring, the shorts and t-shirt season is upon us. These top three tips are simple and easy ways to moisturize that dry, scaly skin that you've been living with all winter.
1.Turn The Temperature Down
Using extra hot water to bathe in (think 100 degrees or higher) can significantly dry out your skin. In essence, the hot water is burning the top layer of your skin, the epidermis. This damages the cells so they can’t retain moisture. An easy change, albeit a little disheartening after a long day, is to flip that knob to a bit cooler temperature. You don’t have to go all ‘Wim Hof’ and stand in a freezing shower (yes, people choose to do this.) Just a couple degrees will do the trick. Think ‘tepid’ next time you hop in the shower and you will stop burning those skin cells.
2. The Two Minute Rule
Now that we’ve got the right temperature of our showers down, let’s chat about when to moisturize. Are you someone who brushes their teeth, styles their hair, or picks out an outfit still in your towel? If this is you, you’re missing that optimal window to moisturize your body. Yes, there is an optimal time. I recommend moisturizing within two minutes of stepping out of that shower or bath. Why? Roughly at about two minutes, your cells start to shrink up and cannot absorb moisture. So as soon you get out of that shower, slap that moisturizer all over your body so it will absorb right away.
3. Pick A Tub Over A Pump
Ok, got it. Turn the temperature down, apply moisturizer right away. But what kind of moisturizer? If you’ve ever taken a stroll down an aisle that reads ‘body moisturizers’ you know how many options there are. Are some better than others? Absolutely. Just as in all products, each brand has their own technology and marketing to tell us they are the best.
We won’t get into all the different brands in this post, but there are two main ways to narrow down the best moisturizer for your body.
First, look for a tub rather than a pump dispenser. Products sold in tubs are thicker, and therefore will retain more moisture. Secondly, look for the word cream, rather than lotion. Lotions are typically thinned with water or alcohol, making them less greasy but also less concentrated in oils (which you want for optimum moisturizing).
The Top 3 Recommendations
To recap, use tepid water for your showers, moisturize within 2 minutes of getting out, and use a cream from a tub. Got it? Now, keep in mind these recommendations are for the body only. The face is a whole different ball game and will be another blog post entirely. If you follow these three recommendations, you will combat that dry, itchy skin and be left with supple, glowing skin from the inside out!
-Amanda Lundberg, RN, BSN
