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A D.C. dermatologist has tips on how to help your skin combat the cold, dry air of winter and avoid flare-ups of conditions like eczema.
WTOP’s Alan Etter on how to winterize your skin in dry weather.
The cold, dry air of winter can make your skin drier than usual and make skin conditions like eczema harder to keep under control.
But there are strategies to help winterize your skin and combat the weather changes.
Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and chair of dermatology at George Washington University School Medicine and Health Sciences, said there are certain things you can be doing to keep your skin hydrated.
“Your moisturizer needs a winter upgrade,” Friedman said. “Lotions will not cut it this time of year. I recommend creams and ointments to actually trap and hold moisture in the skin, giving the skin a time to repair and actually stay calm.”
So what should you be looking for on the bottles and tubes?
“Products that say ‘for eczema,’ as this is an FDA regulated term requiring a barrier protectant called colloidal oatmeal, which has decades of supporting data,” he said.
And if your skin is really thick and flakey, he said to look for exfoliating products.
“Keratolytics like urea, mandelic acid … ammonium lactate, these can safely exfoliate that thick skin and help pull water in,” he said.
He said the simpler the better, when it comes to what is in the products. You want to limit how often you’re cleansing and avoid lengthy showers.
“We want mild cleansers, because bathing, how one bathes, can play a very big role in how dry one’s skin is during the wintertime,” he said. “We want to keep showers short, not scalding hot, lukewarm. The most important thing is using a mild cleanser, and honestly, not to the whole body.”
He said not every body part needs to be cleaned everyday. So what should you be doing?
“The only areas that need soap every day are the underarms, face and groin,” Friedman said. “We can skip a day here and there, because soap is very drying. But then even more importantly is applying that cream or ointment based moisturizer to damp skin, usually within 30 seconds after getting out of the shower.”
And when it comes to which brands to buy?
“If a claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” he said. “My advice is, go for the bigger name brands that have the resources and take the time to actually evaluate their products with clinical studies.”
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
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Valerie Bonk
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