Though winter in Texas is anticipated to be comparatively common this 12 months, it’s nonetheless vital to be prepared for the drop in temperatures and put together for a way the colder climate may have an effect on your pores and skin.

Baylor Faculty of Medication dermatology professor Dr. John Wolf warned that the mix of chilly exterior air, with hotter inside air, can dry out the pores and skin and result in “winter itch.” 

“What you have to do is undertake some habits and actions that can assist management the dryness,” Wolf mentioned. 

Wolf mentioned dry pores and skin can typically develop right into a rash, notably eczema or dermatitis. Along with inflicting dry pores and skin, colder, drier air may cause redness, flaking or pores and skin peeling.

“Folks with pre-existing pores and skin circumstances can see these issues exacerbated within the winter,” Wolf mentioned.

You need to solely bathe or bathe as soon as a day in lukewarm water for a reasonably quick interval. In accordance with Wolf, bathing in lukewarm water is very vital as a result of water that’s too scorching will dry out and irritate the pores and skin.

“Neglect the steaming scorching bathtub or bathe,” Wolf mentioned.

Once you do bathe, ensure you use cleaning soap that’s designed for delicate pores and skin. Some soaps have elements that dry out pores and skin, similar to some fragrances or an antibacterial substance.

In accordance with Healthline, fragrances can throw off the pH stability of your pores and skin and trigger irritation, zits and different issues. 

Wolf additionally really helpful utilizing milder shampoo and reducing again on the frequency of shampooing hair. 

The second you’re achieved bathing and when you’re nonetheless damp, it’s “critically vital” to use moisturizer to your physique, mentioned Wolf. 

“That may be a cream, a lotion and even an ointment,” Wolf mentioned. “It must at the least be thick sufficient to entice the water within the pores and skin.”

Lips additionally want to stay moisturized throughout drier, colder climate, so Wolf really helpful carrying lip balm, ideally one with SPF safety.

A humidifier might not be one thing each Texan has round their home, as individuals alongside the Gulf Coast need to lower the humidity that naturally accumulates within the area.

Nevertheless, “within the wintertime you need to add some moisture to your atmosphere,” Wolf mentioned. 

Wolf recommends carrying gloves and masking the scalp through the winter months.

Chilly wind may cause pores and skin to look prefer it has a sunburn, a situation generally known as “windburn,” though, Wolf identified, windburn just isn’t a medical time period.

“If you happen to’re exterior and the air just isn’t solely chilly however you’re getting heavy breezes, your pores and skin may look type of purple and irritated, not simply dry,” Wolf mentioned. “The easiest way to forestall that’s to guard your self from that kind of chilly air. If you happen to’re exterior and gown correctly, you’re a lot much less more likely to expertise windburn.”