Scented gels could worsen dry skin
By Karen Shideler
That lavender-scented shower gel you love?
Put it away until spring.
If your skin is feeling the ravages of dry winter weather, scented bath gels are the last thing it needs, says dermatologist Chris Moeller of Wichita, Kan.
The two biggest causes of tight, itchy, dry skin are cold, dry weather and the heaters in our homes and workplaces.
No. 3 on the list: How we care for our skin.
Here are Moeller’s five steps to getting through the dry-skin season:
1. Don’t take a shower or bath every day if you don’t have to. Frequent bathing aggravates the other drying effects.
2. Keep water tepid. Don’t use hot shower or bath water.
3. Use a kind cleanser. Fragrances can irritate skin; gels can dry and irritate. Instead, try a gentle liquid or bar.
“Dove, believe it or not, in test after test for 20 years, is the least irritating you can get,” Moeller says.
Cetaphil is another mild option. (Neither will cure dry skin; they’ll just keep it from getting worse.)
4. Pat dry. No rubbing.
5. Cream up. “I didn’t say lotion up,” Moeller says.
Lotion rubs in easily and disappears, but “a cream is going to have more oil in it.”
A few brand names to try: Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream, CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream.
If those measures don’t work, check with your doctor.
You might have something besides dry skin, such as eczema or dermatitis, or you might need a prescription moisturizer.
Two dry-skin myths:
1. Drinking more water will cure dry skin. Wrong. It’s a lack of oil, not water, that causes dry skin.
2. Eating more oil will help dry skin. Wrong again. Diet is not related to the dry skin of winter.