Dermatologists Offer Solutions To Wintertime Dry Skin

NEW HAVEN — For many people, the long, cold winter months can mean dealing with a variety of health ailments, ranging from colds, flu, and other common respiratory afflictions. One health concern when the temperature and relative humidity drop, however, is the occurrence of dry skin. Yale-New Haven Hospital dermatologist Dr Richard Antaya acknowledges that dry skin during the winter months can be challenging for everyone.

“The main thing that we have to remember is that when cold weather strikes and the temperature drops, along with the relative humidity, our skin begins to evaporate moisture much more than normal,” said Dr Antaya, director of pediatric dermatology at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital.

“The first line of defense we usually go to is a moisturizer,” he said. “When you put on a moisturizer, you are looking to lock in the moisture that’s already in your skin. Unfortunately, most people will run to a lotion quickly because it goes on very smoothly and the water contest is very high. However, once the water content evaporates, you are left with very little in the way of grease actually left on the skin to actually protect the skin. Therefore, while lotions are cosmetically pleasing, they are the least effective method of protection.”

Dr Antaya suggests people educate themselves about what different products do for the skin. Lotions, creams, and ointments, while effective, do a different job when it comes to skin treatment.

“While lotions have the least amount of amount of oil in them, creams do have substantially more oil and ointments have the most,” advises Dr Antaya. “For really dry skin, most dermatologists will recommend that patients use a cream or ointment that has a higher oil base. The higher the oil base, the greater concentration of moisture that will penetrate the skin and not evaporate as quickly.

Dr Antaya also suggest people consider their choice of soap, which can also contribute to dry skin. “The purpose of most soaps is to lift and remove dirt, and therefore, the better the soap, the more it lifts and unfortunately, dries your skin,” he explained. “We recommend people use mild soap-free cleansers which don’t dry your skin out. Anything that moisturizes as you use it will be more beneficial and help protect your skin.”