Ways you can fight dry skin in winter
- col-bobbie-randall
- February 20, 2025
- 427
While checking out at a popular clothing store, I noticed a display of hand and body lotions. At the grocery store, I found skin balms strategically placed near the checkout aisle. Scented and unscented ointments were displayed at the shoe store, and I even found a tube of skin gel at the register of the hardware store.
Every store wants to get in the game of selling skin-softening products during the winter months. There is money and marketing involved with the public obtaining pliable epidermis products during the harsh winter temperatures.
The effects of cold air, biting winds and hot, arid air from furnaces can result in dry, itchy, cracked skin. Painful hands and feet can lead to infection if bacteria get into open cracks and wounds.
Expensive and inexpensive lotions and creams treat the outside of the body, but hydration and good nutrition form the foundation beneath the skin structure. When the network of cells that hold moisture in the body is not properly hydrated or nourished, it is less able to keep the moisture in. It all starts at the bottom of the skin, not the top.
The more water that escapes from your skin, the drier the skin becomes. Your skin cells do not function properly without enough water. You can even see it happening. If you are hydrated, your skin will be fuller, plumper, more elastic. With dehydration your skin shows more wrinkles and looks drawn.
Depending on your health and age, 6-12 cups of fluid daily is recommended. Foods and drinks add to hydration. Watery foods like fruits and vegetables contribute toward fighting dry skin in the winter. Watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers, celery, soups, milk and other beverages, even Jell-O, add fluid and nutrition to your cells.
There are many complex nutrients that keep skin cells healthy. Omega 3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that ward off inflammation. Adequate protein helps repair and build damaged cell tissue.
The minerals, zinc and copper, support skin health. They protect against sun damage and help with wound healing. Vitamins A, E and C also fight inflammation beneath the skin, supporting the outside cells to avoid dryness.
Yet everyone reaches for the topical skin solutions. Save money. Drink between 48-96 ounces of fluid daily. Limit sugary drinks to avoid empty calories.
Nightly use a pair of gloves and goop up your hands with one of those greasy topical creams. The white stuff in the blue can from the grocery store baking aisle, Crisco, can work just as well as the expensive smelly stuff. Go figure!
Adding foods in every color of the rainbow and a variety of unprocessed foods can improve skin all over the body, not just hands and feet. There is not one particular nutrient that makes your skin healthy; it’s a combination of multiple factors and plenty of fluids that work together from the inside and out.
It is hard to connect a healthy diet and drinking fluids with dry, itchy, bleeding hands in the winter. Don’t substitute topical skin applications for a poor diet and a lack of fluid. Fill your water bottle and sip dry skin away.
Bobbie Randall is a registered, licensed dietitian. Email her at bobbierandallrd@gmail.com.