How to Protect Your Skin From the Cold

The sudden temperature changes during autumn are already challenging enough for our skin’s health, but the arrival of the cold presents a real challenge. After all, how many of us have never experienced dry hands or lips, irritation, or flaking during the winter? That’s why today I want to talk to you about how to protect your skin from the cold during the coldest seasons.

How to Protect the Skin on Your Hands, Face, and Body From the Cold

Protecting yourself from the cold is essential to take care of yourself and your body, otherwise the consequences can be particularly painful, with cracks and irritation. Most often, the solution lies in cosmetic products, such as moisturizers, cocoa butters, or invigorating masks, all of which are easily found online at sites like drmax.it. But let’s take a closer look at the care we should give our skin this time of year.

How to Protect Your Hands

The signs of a cold on the hands are among the most painful. Unfortunately, these are among the most exposed areas of our body, along with the face, and their skin is very delicate, especially on the back. What mainly damages them, beyond the simple cold, is the thermal shock they are often exposed to when entering or leaving the house, or when removing and putting on gloves. Furthermore, given the COVID-19 emergency, the increasingly common use of sanitizing products affects the sensitivity of our skin, making it more easily damaged and irritated. This area of ​​the body is, therefore, one of those that most deserve our attention.

First, let’s never forget to wear gloves, which should be worn frequently when outdoors. Given the daily use of smartphones, it’s recommended to purchase gloves that also have a touch screen, so you don’t have to take them off every time you need to answer a text or make a phone call.

Hydration is also essential, by drinking enough water daily and applying a suitable hand cream daily. Among all the products available, the best ones are those containing shea butter, olive oil, honey, beeswax, almond oil, or jojoba butter.

Finally, when washing your hands, it’s best to choose soaps with a neutral pH, so as not to overly alter the skin’s natural pH.

How to Protect Your Face

The face, as mentioned, is also one of the parts of the body constantly exposed during the winter and can most easily become weakened and irritated by the cold.

We can try to partially protect it with a scarf, pulling it over our nose, but this is a very temporary and uncomfortable solution.

In this case, it’s important to follow proper and regular skin care to provide the skin with all the nutrients and care it needs to be strong enough to defend itself from low temperatures.

Cleansing the face, already important in itself, becomes crucial during this time: clean, well-cleansed skin is strong and healthy.

To avoid further stressing it, it’s essential to use a neutral and gentle soap; overly harsh soaps can cause irritation and dryness.

When washing, it’s best to use lukewarm water; excessively high temperatures can damage the skin’s natural barrier. Finally, apply a good moisturizer, based on natural oils or butters.

Don’t forget to pamper your lips, too, using cocoa butter before applying makeup and a scrub to remove flaky skin at least once a week.

Finally, a little extra tip before leaving the house to keep your face safe and protected: always apply sunscreen against UV rays. Even though it’s winter and temperatures are lower, UV rays still penetrate and affect our skin, which is deficient in vitamin D due to the stress of the cold and the limited sun exposure.

How to Protect the Rest of Your Body From the Cold

Even when well-covered, your body and feet are still at risk due to the very low temperatures. The tips given for hands and face can also be applied here to protect ourselves and prevent flaking and irritation.

So, first and foremost, let’s make sure we always keep warm and covered, but with one extra precaution: be careful to wear breathable clothing and shoes. Indeed, even during this time, the body still produces sweat to help regulate the skin’s temperature, and if this sweat has no chance to evaporate but remains trapped under clothing, it can cause serious irritation.

After bathing or showering, I recommend always applying a moisturizing cream and taking good care of your feet by treating yourself to a foot bath at least two or three times a week.

Finally, while the cold may make us want to significantly raise the water temperature when we bathe, remember that high temperatures destroy the body’s natural barrier and dehydrate it. Therefore, it’s always preferable to bathe in lukewarm water, or at least one that doesn’t exceed our natural temperature of 36 degrees Celsius.