OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — You probably know that your skin gets drier in the cold winter months or noticed some spots on your hands that are cracked or raw.
We asked Dr. Thomas Hocker with Advanced Dermatologic Surgery in Overland Park what can be done to keep your skin safe and protect it from the bitter cold temperatures.
Hocker said the skin has a hard time retaining moisture through the bitter cold temperatures and low humidity, and that causes it to become dry, flaky or in some cases bleed.
"All those conditions are at increased risk during these cold winter months, so you really want to stick to good moisturizing habits, really good bathing habits in order to minimize that," Hocker explained.
Hocker said avoiding hot showers during the winter helps alleviate dry skin. His advice is to take showers with lukewarm water to minimize impact.
"The hot water just strips you of all your natural body oils and that just totally dries you out, so if you do take a hot shower it's important to use a very gentle soap like Dove and then immediately moisturize as soon as you get out," Hocker said.
Hocker says it's important to avoid moisturizers and lotions with fragrances. He recommends using skin lines like Cerave. Our lips can also be impacted by the winter, so a good lip balm is another way to protect your skin. In some cases, Hocker said eczema or rosacea flares can occur during the winter. Due to different fat content found in children, their skin sensitivity increases in the winter and it's important to dress them in layers to protect their skin.
"Their skin's a little different than us adults so they have a higher percentage of what's called brown fat and we have white fat," Hocker said. "The brown fat freezes a lot easier than the white fat so kids can get very bad frostbite-like symptoms a lot quicker on the cheeks."
The CDC says redness or pain are early signs of frostbite as well as a white or grayish-yellow skin area and numbness. If you start seeing these symptoms, get medical attention right away.
