How do you know if your skincare routine is working?
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. -- The length of time we've spent in winter can be measured by how often you've needed to moisturize. Trying to treat dry, cracked skin can be a daily battle.
How do you know if your skincare routine is working? Is the cure more lotion or less soap? Good Question.
Jeff Wagner learned simple steps to soothe your skin.
No matter how wet this winter has been, there's a dryness factor we simply can't escape.
Now add seasonal sickness forcing people to wash their hands often, and it's a recipe that keeps dermatologist Dr. Neil Shah, of Clarus Dermatology, busy.
"The average house is drier in Minnesota in winter than Death Valley [California] in the summer," he said.
How do I know if my skincare routine is working?
"No blemishes, not having a breakout," was WCCO Anchor Erin Hassanzadeh's guess.
Dr. Shah said you just need to ask yourself if your skin feels good.
"It's the same as the rest of your body. Does your body feel good? Is your skin nice and pliable? Do you have rashes? Are you breaking out on your face? Is it comfortable or is it dry and tight? If your skin feels good, you're probably doing a good job with it," he said.
If someone has no skincare routine, what would be a good start?
The first step isn't the type of lotion you use, but the soap. Dr. Shah said people should limit soap use and only use a gentle cleanser when they need it, where they need it.
"We tell kids to, wash like an airplane. Under the wings [arms], under the tail [rear]. Water everywhere else. So limit your soap use," he said.
If you must wash your hands with soap, follow up with a moisturizer. An easy way to remember is to keep a lotion dispenser next to the soap by the sink.
"Every time you wash hands with soap, you take that protective oil your skin has worked hard to make and wash it down the drain. So, you have to replace it afterward," said Dr. Shah.
The same advice applies to your face.
"I have a cleanser that I use every day and once I use the cleanser, then I use a lotion over that," said WCCO Anchor Shayla Reaves. Her favorite product is Urban Skin RX. "I use it in the morning. I use it again in the evening and it serves me well."
Erin has a few more steps in her routine, one she learned while living in South Korea.
"First it's a toner. Then it's an essence, kind of like a watery layer. Eye cream, a moisturizer and sunscreen," she said.
For many people though, Dr. Shah said simple body lotion is just fine for your face.
"If you have more sensitive skin, you want to use a face lotion [that's] unscented, unfragranced," he said.
How does age factor into the skincare routine? Dr. Shah says as we get older, our skin gets drier.
"We see tons of rashes, particularly on the legs of patients as they get older because it's far from the heart, gets nice and dry, we put a lot of soap down there and we don't moisturize," said Dr. Shah.
That means moisturizing twice a day, every day is necessary in our older years. Moisturizer with SPF remains important in the winter since UV rays reflect off the snow toward your face.
