As we head into the cold season, we have started to dress with a lot more layers of clothing to keep warm. The heating systems of radiators are put on, get turned up higher as we approach the deep winter. It may be all snug and cosy, but all those layers of clothing, along with the central heating systems, can be to some degree, quite drying out, on the skin. The cold weather in itself will dry out the skin. The skin may feel dry, flaky and taught. The tight clothing can cause friction, with rubbing of the skin in the snug clothing making it even more dry and scaly to then flake even more, than it would do naturally. Let’s then add the effect of the central heating systems, that will add even further dehydration and drying out of the skin. It all becomes hardly surprising that the skin starts to suffer, with skin disorders of under nourished skin, possibly with an onset of psoriasis, eczema and other disorders.
The skin is quite amazing. It is protective, waterproof and extremely useful, constantly changing, as well as regenerating itself. The skin is composed of several layers. The layer that is visible is the epidermis. It is composed of cells made of keratin, the hard substance that also forms hair and nails. The individual cells known as keratinocytes, grow at the lower level of the epidermis, bonding with the next layer, the dermis. The newer skin cells gradually push their way to the top layer. As they reach the top, they die and are weather beaten by the environment, along with varied personal daily activities. It is estimated that the human body is made up of around 10 trillion cells, and since skin makes up 16 percent of the body weight, that means 1.6 percent trillion skin cells, give or take, of course according to a person’s size and body weight.
The skin sheds old skin daily, leaving the new skin exposed. In fact it is said that humans, shed their entire outer layer of skin every 2-4 weeks at a rate of 0.001-0.003 ones of skin flakes every hour. So the next time you do some dusting at home, bear in mind, that it is a lot of dead human accumulated skin cells laying around. Nice huh!
So avoid the over dry, over shedding, scaling skin, by simply keeping it clean followed with good moisturising. It is quite simple really. Don’t use drying out shower gels, instead use one that is as near to the natural PH scale of the natural skin. Keeping it as pure as possible without strong soaps and perfumes. There are many nowadays that are perfume free, like Sanex or Simple, that are kind and gentle. If you want to remove the dead skin cells once a week, that is plenty, and you can do so by adding a little oatmeal to your shower gel and use a soft sponge to do so.
Follow with a really good hydrating and nourishing moisturiser. Do this daily and regularly throughout the day if exposed to central heating or other drying out factors of the environment. Keep a moisturizer at the ready for face and hands, as these areas will be more exposed to the air, in or out. There are some super moisturising creams out there made from natural ingredients for young and mature skin. Find one to suit you and once again, keep it perfume free, especially for the face. Whatever brand you decide on, just stay moisturised.
Love and Sparkles
Samsara x
