“The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful!”

And unfortunately, both the cold outside and the heat inside can be damaging for your skin.

The holiday season is over, but we still have several more month of winter. Here at Advanced Skin Fitness, in Dallas Texas, this means “typical Dallas weather”: ice storms and freezing winds one week, and 70 degree sunshine the next.

And it puts your skin through a lot. Both freezing wind outside and artificially heated air inside can lead to dehydration, drying out not only your skin but your entire body.

The number one way to protect your skin from winter weather is to keep hydrated. Drink lots of water: this not only keeps your muscles and entire body healthy, but it allows your body to moisturize your skin from the inside.

You can also use a hydrating gel, like the Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel. It holds 1000x its weight in water and will form a protective layer against the drying effects of overly-cold and over-heated air. You can then use a regular moisturizer on top of the hydrating gel, to get the best effect.

Finally, don’t forget sunblock.

Sunblock? In the winter?

Absolutely! People don’t realize it, but the ultraviolet light that causes sunburn can still to you when it’s cloudy out, and it still gets you to when it’s cold. Just because you’re not in a bikini on the beach doesn’t mean you can’t get a sunburn. In fact, avid skiers can sometimes even get sunburn from the glare of the light reflected off of the snow!

So keep applying sunblock to your hands and face, and anywhere exposed to the light, even during the winter months. Avoid sunblocks full of chemicals, and instead try to use sunblock with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.  These not only block out the damaging rays of the sun, but they also promote healing for sun damaged skin, as well.

Stay warm, and don’t let the winter weather wear you down!