Let's start by stating that skin care goes beyond just the skin of your face!
Our skin is our first defence to infection and has amazing other functions such a heat and water regulation, amongst many others.
When there are cracks in our defences, the whole body feels it. This is why we must be prudent to look after it.
This brings me to my first and most important point....MOISTURE...MOISTURE....MOISTURE!
Absence of moisture in the skin leads to breakdown in the skin's barrier and what you and I see as dry skin.
Dehydrated - meaning the loss of water - skin is often itchy, dull and can look lifeless.
In darker skin this can be very obvious with a whiteness in appearance of the skin. Restoration of the skin with moisturerisers does exactly what it says - injects moisture back into the skin.
Dry skin is a common problem in the winter months and I frequently see patients of all skin tones and types who have much more obviously dry skin in the winter months.
As the season shifts, this is also when I see another flare up of common skin conditions such as Eczema and patients desperately seek solutions to the problem.
I frequently prescribe my patients emollients, to tackle all areas of their skin with my mantra... the greasier, the better!
My tip is that you should be able to see the sheen on the skin from where they have applied.
To those with known dry skin confditions, it is important to moisturise on the go. Another tip, is that you may be able to get samples of some creams from your friendly pharmacist, which you can keep in your bag and use when you're out and about.
Use of emollients to wash your hands with or reapply after washing your hands or applying alcohol hand gel helps prevent further drying of the skin tht comes with regular washing.
Here's some of my favourite moisturisers for the Winter months for your body and face:
This list is not exhaustive.
Ointments
La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume
Epaderm ointment*
Cetraben ointment*
Doublebase Once Emollient gel - 24hr hydratiom
Creams
CeraVe moisturising cream
Diprobase cream
Eucerin Urea Repair PLUS 10% Urea Body Lotion
* These come in both cream and ointment preparations.
There's far more to say on this topic, so we will retrun to discuss this further in another post.
Tell me, what are your favourite moisturisers for winter skin care?
"Remember - Black will crack if you are slack!"
- Dija Ayodele, Black Skin
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