How to Fight Dry Skin Up On The High Line

Everybody who lives in NE Montana knows the burden of fighting dry skin especially in the winter given our very dry air. This author is no exception and speaks from both professional and personal experience. This time of year I almost daily see folks coming into my office asking about rashes that turn out to be dry skin and do not need a prescription as must as proper skin care.

To begin our discussion we must first understand that we cannot actually "moisturize" our skin effectively but can only effectively do things that trap our body's natural moisture in. Our body was designed to do this with our skin oils. We are all big on trying to get the proper soaps and body/face washed to help remove as much oil from our skin as we can but this is the worst things we can do for dry skin. Since we don't want to be oily we need to come up with the balance of keeping our skin lubricated without being a "grease ball."

The advice I give patients in my office is a combination of:

1) Shower no more than once a day unless absolutely necessary. Showering, especially with hot water, is one of the worst things we can do for drying out our skin. The only thing that dries us our more is soaking in a hot tub. When it comes to babies I recommend bathing no more than two or three times a week.

2) After showering pat dry with a towel, don't rub. Rubbing removes more of those natural oils that help hydrate our skin and further irritates already irritated skin.

3) Before you open the bathroom door and let the steam out apply lotion everywhere. The best moisturizer is Vaseline but it's obvious why most people do not want to use this one. I recommend Cetaphil, Eucerin or CeraVe. These are a little more expensive but are engineered to moisturize without increasing acne. All three are available locally and the first two are available in large sizes at Costco in Billings. Cheaper moisturizers often are more silky smooth but that is because they are water based rather than oil based so they do not trap in any of your body's moisture and their effects wear off after an hour or so. Many people will need to moisturize twice a day but with a good moisturizer few people need to do more than that.

I have found that these things will take care of most dry skin and prevent eczema from returning. If this does not work for you or you have questions I would be happy to discuss your individually situation. Just cal the Glasgow Clinic to schedule.