Living in your skin – glowing during the winter

This winter has been harsh. Record cold, big snows, icing on trees, electricity and water out for days have stressed everyone out.

One thing I always notice during this time of year is how the texture and resiliency of my client’s (and my) skin changes. Gone is the softness and smooth texture. Feet are chapped and cracked, scaly patches are everywhere, our poor skin even looks ‘tired’ and ‘dull.’ Stress and cold have effect on this important part of your body.

Most people take their skin for granted, thinking about it only when there’s a problem or concern. If you find a strange irregular shaped bump on your arm you’ll probably head for the doctor. Or if your sunscreen wore off too soon and you ended up with a burn you may grab the aloe lotion in your medicine cabinet. But, just like with everything else, prevention and awareness actually keeps everything healthier (including your skin) and helps problems heal faster.

Your skin is the largest ‘organ’ in your body, about 18-20 sq ft for the average adult, and weighs around 6 lbs. There are 3 layers of skin cells (and many sub-layers within each layer). Cells ‘grow’ away from the outside surface, and shed every 2 month or so.

Healthy skin has three purposes. This is pretty amazing, since most skin it only .07 inches (about 2mm) thick.

First, it protects your body, creating a barrier from pathogens and disease. Think of what would happen if every time you touched someone else you immediately picked up whatever virus they had. We’d be sick all the time! We’re constantly being exposed to dirt, pollution, chemicals, and other environmental toxins. But the skin keeps all these away from our ‘vital’ organs, giving you an opportunity to clean up before your body is compromised.

Second, skin helps regulate the temperature of your body. We all know that we sweat a lot more when we’re hot. Our skin keeps our internal temperature constant, releases fluids to cool our body when needed, and holding moisture in to help us keep warm.

Finally, skin, and it’s nerves, are responsible for the feeling around our beautiful sense of touch.

Winter creates special problems for skin. Outside temperatures and wind draw moisture away. And then we go inside and our heated houses also dries out our skin. Skin gets no relief!

The Mayo Clinic lists several ‘symptoms’ of dry skin on their website, www.mayoclinic.com:
 A feeling of skin tightness, especially after showering, bathing or swimming
 Skin that appears shrunken or dehydrated
 Skin that feels and looks rough rather than smooth
 Itching (pruritus) that sometimes may be intense
 Slight to severe flaking, scaling or peeling
 Fine lines or cracks
 Redness
 Deep fissures that may bleed in severe cases

So what can we do? Here are some simple things to help keep this important organ healthy and happy.

• Hydrate and rehydrate. Good water is best, but juices, tea, soups, milk, or any other fluids count too. Remember, tap water is sometimes healthier than bottled water, and it’s right there in the next room. Avoid or limit dehydrators – caffeine, alcohol, any drink that lists ‘sodium laurel sulfates’ as an ingredient.

Do you have a humidifier? I’ve notice striking improvements with both my skin and my allergies since I’ve been turning a cool steam humidifier on for a few hours a day. Adding a few drop of your favorite essential oil gives a healthy dose of fragrance and helps prevent bacteria growth.

Hydrating to me also means bumping up my ‘fatty’ vitamins – E, Omega 3s, and similar.

• Clean. Time to really look at what kind of chemicals we’re putting on our skin. Most have some type of chemical which removes oil, which is great if you’re 15! But most of us need the extra oil in winter. Find a gentle cleaner, like the Dr. Bonner products, and use smaller amounts – less is more. Consider using warm instead of hot water, because hot water ‘evaporates’ oils in your oil, increasing dryness.

Also, consider exfoliating a couple times a month. This helps remove dead skin cells, letting the ‘younger’ cells come to the top. You can make a simple home remedy with Dead Sea salt and good quality cooking oil, like grape seed. Or you can buy ready to use products in most stores.

• Protect. Be sure to use more moisturizer, or try a ‘thicker’ formula. I personally like a lot of the lotions that contain collagens. In fact, keep a bottle of lotion or oil by your shower, and apply a thick layer before your dry off. Then wait a minute or two, and pat dry your skin. This one thing can seal in lots of moisture, creating a barrier keeps your skin healthier.

I’m not a big fan of sunscreen during winter, except when I know I’m going to be outside for more than 30 minutes. Pay special attention to lips, eyes, hands, and feet. These spots are often where I see the first signs of problems.
So, keeping your skin healthier actually keeps your body healthier. It’s simple to do, too!


Paraffin wax treatments

Ok, I’m the first to admit that I was a little skeptical (well, more than a little) about this treatment. Maybe it was the way it was explained to me — relief for tired, aching feet, soothing to dry and cracked skin. But I tried it, and found I really like it!

Here’s the process. While paraffin wax is heating up, I massage a rich oil into your feet (or hands). Then a little hot wax is scooped into a plastic bag, the wax is swished around to coat the bag, and the whole thing is slipped onto your foot. The bag is pressed into your skin, helping to seal in that oil. Your feet are then wrapped in a warm towel to keep that heat in.

A few minutes later (while I’m massaging other parts of your body) I pull the baggy and the extra wax off your feet. Then a little more oil is massaged in, making your skin feel elastic and smooth.

And the heat from the wax helps with muscle aches and pains. I have one arthritic client who loves this treatment, saying it provides almost instantaneous relief!