Send That Dry Winter Skin Packing

Anyone ever heard of keratosis pilaris? My mother hadn’t, and she spend the whole of her life trying to treat the bumpy rough skin (a condition that can be easily mistaken with early signs of acne, another frustrating yet relatively harmless skin alternation. Clearawayacne knows all about the topic, and has been trying to help everyone have a better time at getting rid of it. Many ways exist to combat this condition, and it’s best to always research as much as you can before applying any foreign substance to your skin!) The amount of creams and lotions she slathered upon us solely supported the skin care industry for years, I’m certain. She sometimes called it eczema.

Then my son was born with the same teeny bumps on his skin, and the doctor informed me that it was not eczema nor was it just dry skin. She explained that we had keratosis pilaris and that it was genetic and harmless–just annoying. Huh.

Yet my mother’s dedicated anti-dryness efforts weren’t for naught. In addition to the keratosis, I most certainly have very dry skin and so do my kiddos. My mother taught me early on that moisturizing skin and lips well is important. I’ve learned with my kids, if don’t coat their cheeks with a thick cream at night, their skin becomes raw, red and itchy in these brutal winter months.

While we don’t have eczema, this skin condition is becoming more prevalent, so the interest in maintaining healthy, itch-free skin is important to so many of us.

What can we do to help boot the dryness? The info in this guide written by Val Jones, M. D. is very helpful, and I love the way OTCSafety has broken down healthy skin care for whatever type of skin you have into 6 clear steps below.

1) Use sunscreen. This might be the step we are the worst at doing. I do put sunscreen on in the morning with my facial lotion, but then…Even though it’s cold outside, our skin is susceptible to those use UV rays.  Daily regular application of sunscreen on the face should never be forgotten, and my family needs to work on this.

2) Humidifiers help. We do have humidifiers for all our bedrooms, but I tend to only break them out when someone has a cold. It would be wonderful for our skin if I could run them more frequently.

3) Moisturize! Thanks to my mother’s vigilance teaching, we are pretty good about this. As you are slathering up yourselves and your children with creams and lotions, don’t forget to read the label first, as you should with any OTC medication.

4) Take short showers and baths. This is another one that’s not tough for us.  As much as I would love to linger under a steamy stream, no time for such fancy luxury. A quick hosing off of myself and the kiddos is pure victory around these parts.

5) Drink water. Yes! When I was at yoga the other morning, the instructor reminded us that even though it’s colder out and we might not feel as thirsty, our bodies still need hydration. I’ve noticed that not only does keeping up with my water intake help me battle dry skin, it benefits my energy level tremendously.

6). Break out the lip balm. Score one for my lip gloss addiction. I have approximately 16 of every brand and color in every purse, drawer, and vehicle console I own. The clutter might irk my husband, but hey, my lips are always soft and protected, so it’s a win 😉

I like how OTCSafety has broken skincare down into these manageable steps–helps me gauge what we are doing well with and what areas need work.  How are you doing with caring for your family’s skin this winter? What are you acing out and what do you still need to work on? Any smart tips to share with us?  I would love to hear them!

However you make it happen, protect that skin and let’s beat that winter dryness.

****I am compensated as an OTCsafety blogging ambassador for this post, but my opinions are my own.****

First image credit: depositphotos.com, image ID:42883711, copyright:Voyagerix

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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