Does your skin feel tight after coming in contact with water? Are your hands white from dryness? Well, you’re not the only one dealing with dry skin. Most Winnipeggers have had to deal with it at some point.

Face

If your face feels tight after washing, use a foaming or moisturizing face wash. This will help prevent excessive striping of the skin. Also, don’t exfoliate more than three times a week and don’t use a washcloth to wash your face.

When drying your face or body, pat your skin with a towel rather than rubbing.

When choosing a moisturizer for your face and body, Kristie Leong, MD, at BeyondJane.com, suggests looking for these ingredients:

• Glycerin – It’s a humectant, meaning it draws moisture from the atmosphere and bonds it to your skin.
• Lanolin – It’s an occlusive, a substance that helps to prevent loss of water from the deeper skin layers.
• Petrolatum – It’s one of the best occlusives that won’t aggravate acne or promote allergic reactions.

Melanie Drain from Holt Renfrew suggests shea butter, which is a great emollient -it softens and soothes the skin- and moisturizer. It draws moisture to the skin and binds it.

Drain recommends using a vitamin serum before your moisturizer to add some extra nourishment to your skin, like Bobbi Brown’s Vitamin Face Base (available at Holt Renfrew for $55).

It’s important to note that whenever you change your skin regimen, it’s likely that you will experience a minor break out. Try using the product for a few weeks (if it is comfortable) before you return it to the place of purchase. Your skin will get used to its new “diet” and you will start to see the intended results.

Try using Nivea Crème, which is available at Shoppers Drug Mart, as a face moisturizer. Use about a dime-sized amount and warm it in your fingers. By warming the product, you release the active ingredients, making the cream more effective. Then massage it onto your face and neck, avoiding the eyes.

Dry, chapped lips can hurt, so try using a lip balm like Rosebud, available at Frockstar in Osborne Village. If you don’t want a tinted lip balm, try using good old Vaseline on your lips, during the day or as a night treatment.

Body

When taking a shower, choose lathering and moisturizing body washes. If you’re extremely dry, you can use baby oil in the shower. But, be careful not to fall-it creates a slick surface!

Try to stay away from fragrance creams as your only source for moisture. The excessive fragrance (alcohol) can actually dry out your skin more. Instead, try using it over a moisturizer like Jergens or Glysomed, both of which are available at Shoppers Drug Mart.

If your hands or feet are extremely dry, apply a lot of moisturizer and put on a pair of socks or mitts, or even a plastic bag. Do this at night, and you will wake up with softer, more hydrated feet and hands.

Velangeline Ferrigno has spent the past eight years working as a make-up artist.

Published in Volume 63, Number 20 of The Uniter (February 12, 2009)