Cold air, hot showers, and harsh soaps are the usual suspects. Here’s how to fight back
What’s Going on With Your Skin
Winter turns up the heat indoors and drops the humidity both outside and in. Your skin feels it. The outermost layer of skin, called the epidermis, pulls moisture from the air around it. When that air turns dry and cold, the skin dries out too.
The result: tight, flaky, itchy, sometimes cracked skin, especially on the hands, legs, and arms. These tips can help whether you have itchy skin from winter cold, stress, or medication side effects.
The Shower Problem
Hot showers feel great in winter, but they strip the natural oils from your skin. The same goes for scrubbing hard with a washcloth or bath brush.
Keep showers to five or ten minutes. Use lukewarm water instead of hot. Pat yourself dry with a towel rather than rubbing and apply moisturizer right away while your skin is still a little damp. That’s when it absorbs best and locks in moisture.
Choose Your Products Carefully
Harsh soaps, deodorant soaps, and anything with fragrance or alcohol pull the oils out of your skin. Stick to gentle, moisturizing bars like Dove, Olay, or Basis. Soap-free cleansers like Cetaphil, Oilatum-AD, and Aquanil are also good options.
For your laundry, switch to fragrance-free detergent and skip the fabric softener.
Products That Help
A few over-the-counter products work well for dry, itchy skin:
- Aveeno oatmeal bath (follow the package directions)
- Sarna Lotion for itching (sarna-skincare.com)
- Shampoos with menthol or eucalyptus, which ease scalp itch
- Any hypoallergenic moisturizing lotion for face and body
Drink plenty of water too. Hydration starts from the inside.
Protect Your Skin Every Day
Wear gloves and protective clothing in the cold. Avoid wool and synthetic fabrics, which irritate dry skin.
Set a humidifier to around 60% humidity in your home. The air inside gets just as dry as the air outside in winter, and a humidifier makes a real difference.
Wear sunscreen. Yes, even in winter. UV rays still reach your skin on cloudy days and through car windows.
When to Call Your Doctor
Dry skin is rarely dangerous, but it can lead to real problems if left untreated. Deep cracks in the skin can bleed or become infected, with redness, swelling, and pus. Chronic dry skin can also develop into eczema, which shows up as red, inflamed patches.
If home treatment isn’t working after a few weeks, or if you notice signs of infection, call your doctor. For severe cases, a prescription cream with lactic acid, urea, or a mild steroid can help.
Your doctor may also want to rule out medical conditions that dry out the skin, including hypothyroidism, diabetes, psoriasis, kidney disease, liver disease, and atopic dermatitis.
A little extra care in winter goes a long way for your skin.
—Chris Aiken, MD
Director, Psych Partners
Editor in Chief, Carlat Psychiatry Report
