Why Is My Skin So Dry This Winter?
KPIX 5 Morning Weather Anchor Roberta Gonzales answers the questions you never get to ask on-air.
Q: Hey Roberta! Why is my skin so dry and I feel dehydrated? Can I blame it on the Weather? It is especially bad when I am skiing!
A: The Weather is partly to blame!
Dry skin is especially common in the winter months, when the humidity level outside drops. When the air outside is cold and dry, the water in your skin evaporates more quickly and this makes your skin feel dry and tight. Windy weather can also beat down on your skin and make it look and feel dry and chapped. You have all that going on while hitting the slopes!
Another huge contributing factor to dry skin and dehydration is home or building heaters. Dry indoor air not only dries out your skin, it also dries out your mucous membranes, leading to dry, chapped lips, dry noses (nosebleeds), and dry throat (hoarseness, sore throat). If possible, try using a humidifier in your home. This will replace the moisture in the air that gets sucked out by dry indoor heat. A humidifier helps hydrate dry skin and soothes chapped lips, dry throat, and nasal passages. I could not survive without a humidifier in my home in Chicago during the Winter months. It seriously helped!
You can read more of my posts on cbssf.com/Roberta. Any questions or observations? I would love to hear from you! Please email me at:Gonzales@kpix.cbs.com