It is winter time again and the first thing that tells us the season is here is the condition of the skin. Skin happens to be the reflection of how we are affected by changes in our environment.70% of the Fil­ipinas who come for treatments have the same observation. Their skin became problematic when they came to Canada. Brown spots or solar damage, acne flare-ups , extreme dryness, and ecze­ma are some of the common skin problems. These conditions are caused by a lot of factors such as lifestyle, hormones and the effects of the environment. Life in Canada is very stressful. The cost of living is high, and personal circumstanc­es dictate how “fast” you should move around to perform our daily grind. Because of this hectic pace, our lifestyle, in different degrees of healthiness, has a huge effect on our skin. Compound this with the vicious attack of the atmosphere, and you are most likely faced with different skin problems.
Winter is very harsh on the skin. After the summer heat spells, our skin may still be recovering from the UV assaults. We know very well that during the hot moisture-de­prived summer days, drying effects of chlorinated pool water and de­hydrating effects of air condition­ ing have caused a great deal of stress and damage to the skin. We might think that winter will finally give our skin a break to rest and rejuvenate but the reality is, winter makes our skin work harder as it prepares for the demanding task of protecting itself against the forthcoming aggrava­tions of the winter weather chills. The sudden change of seasons can leave our skin extremely dry and chapped. Indoor heating and the scarcity of humidity in the win­ter atmosphere give our skin “de­hydration” shocks. This is the rea­son why eczema flare ups become a major problem among people who suffer from eczema dilemma. The worsened dehydration effects of the winter atmosphere results in faster “deaths” of the skin cells so you will see flaking of the skin, grayish complexion and more vis­ible fine lines. This is a disaster! Can you imagine your biggest as­set becoming your biggest source of worry?

How then do we prepare our skin for winter?
The most important aspect of winter skin care is keeping the whole body properly hydrated. Drink up and be not afraid to con­sume more than the required wa­ter intake. Water doesn’t give you any hang over! Water is so ben­eficial to the skin and most of all to the overall health of the body. Limit caffeine and alcohol intake (my regular clients know how I dread coffee drinking though I used to be a coffee addict!) More so if you are taking diuretics be­cause these pills together with caf­feine and alcohol will release fluids from the body thereby causing de­hydration. Unfortunately, the skin suffers the most from the lack of water and you will hate how your skin responds to dehydration.

Use an appropriate moisturizer for your type of skin. I have always repeated myself on this, wear sun protection!! Sun reflection is usu­ally 17% on sand 80% or more on snow. On a snowy day, make sure your skin is adequately protected with a good sunscreen. Remem­ber, cream sunscreen needs to be reapplied every 2 hours. But if you are using Jane Iredale Sunscreen powder like majority of my clients, then you are assured that you are protected!

It is a good idea to exfoliate once a week with a gentle non- abrasive product to get rid of the dead skin flakes. You can have dia­mond peel microdermabrasion to make sure you get a professionally done exfoliation. The doctor may recommend going to the shower only once a day but some people simply can not go to bed without taking a shower and taking a complete bath the next morning. With this habit that I share with the major­ity of Filipinas, the skin will tend to dry up more. The use of moistur­izing body soap and lotions after taking a bath, applied on a damp skin, will help lessen the dryness.

It might also be good to invest on a humidifier to place some moisture in the air. Dry air from heaters can make our skin very dehydrated and itchy. Allow the skin to breathe by wearing cotton fabrics next to your skin. Layering may be a solution to keeping the body warm. Wear­ing layers allow you to remove the clothing to prevent sweating and overheating. When you overheat your body, the skin starts to trig­ger the scratch/itch cycle.
I hope with these simple tips, your skin will be better equipped to minimize the harsh effects of winter!

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