Avoiding Dry Skin In Winter

Cold temperatures outside and dry heat inside are rough on your skin, especially your hands and lips.

So, in the latest installment of "Simple Solutions," The Early Show and Kris Connel of Real Simple magazine have some great suggestions on ways to keep your skin moist during the winter.

Here is how you can provide TLC to your skin and say goodbye to chapped, itchy, rough winter hands and lips:

• Keep bathing time short: Five to ten minutes per day is enough to cleanse and hydrate without losing your body's natural oils. And don't use hot water. Although the hot water may feel great, it can aggravate already dry skin. So stick with warm water, nothing that's going to turn your skin red.
• Moisturize within three minutes of getting out of the shower, after this time your skin starts to lose its moisture.
• Dab your body with a towel, rather than rubbing it, to keep some of the water on your skin.
• Apply a generous coat of cream to your legs, arms and glutes first, where dryness sets in most quickly, then move on to your face.

• Bundle up: If you're going to be outside more than 20 minutes, coat your skin with a heavy-duty protectant to seal in water and shield skin. Wear gloves and a hat, as well as sunglasses to protect the delicate skin around your eyes.
• Plug in the humidifier when you're at home. This helps bring moisture back into the air. But remember: It's important to clean your filter regularly to prevent the growth of bacteria.

Here are some suggestions to help protect them:

Hands

First, cold weather is the main cause of dry hands, so it's important that you put your gloves on before you go outside.

Main winter hand problems: dull nails, ragged cuticles, dry, rough hands, nails that won't grow, and weak, brittle nails.

Using cream specifically for hands is better than using just overall body lotion. Because the skin on your hands is thin, hand lotion tends to be a bit heavier, to really provide moisture and protection.

Tips:

• Avoid products with alcohol, which will suck the moisture out of skin.
• For extremely dry skin, coat wet hands with cream; then layer on damp cotton gloves (available at drugstores). Then cover the cotton gloves with rubber gloves for the night. This will help prevent ragged cuticles and dry hands.
• Also, use olive oil to restore the shine to dull, lackluster nails. Massage a few drops of olive oil onto the nails, then buff well with a tissue.
• For weak, brittle nails, apply lip balm a couple times a day to give them a protective coating and seal in moisture. Also, keep your nails short, to prevent breaks and tears.
• For nails that won't grow, drink lots of water. Nails need moisture to grow. Nourishing your nails from the inside by drinking plenty of water will help.