3 Skin-Damaging Habits You Should Kick to the Curb

What habits exacerbate dry skin?

With the arrival of winter, the cold weather can cause your skin to dry out. Certain lifestyle habits can further aggravate sensitive winter skin. Our routines, intended to combat the cold weather or warm our bodies, can harm our skin. Let’s take a look at the habits we should avoid during winter.

1. Use of car heaters

Turning on the heater in your car can cause the temperature to rise, leading to dryness. As the temperature rises, sebum secretion increases. For every 1-degree increase in temperature, sebum secretion increases by 10%. This can also damage the skin’s barrier due to dryness.

When the skin becomes dry due to low humidity, the skin barrier breaks down, allowing viruses or allergens to penetrate, which can cause itching or burning sensations. Dryness can also increase sebum secretion. This happens because the skin tries to protect itself by producing more oil when drying. Additionally, this can worsen rosacea.

2. Long hot baths and saunas

Bathing in hot water for an extended period can decrease the skin’s natural moisturizing factors and lipids. This can damage the skin barrier, leading to even drier skin. If the skin becomes too dry and inflammation occurs, it can cause dry eczema, leading to itching. Therefore, it is recommended to shower with lukewarm water for no more than 10 minutes and to avoid saunas and half baths during winter. Also, the ingredients in cleansers or soaps can cause the skin’s oils to deplete faster, so it’s best to minimize soap use.

3. Decreased water intake

In the summer, we sweat more due to the heat and tend to drink more water, but in the winter, we might not drink as much. According to research, drinking an additional 1.5L-2L (approximately 50.7-67.6 oz) of water significantly increases the skin’s moisture content. However, caffeinated or caffeinated beverages can decrease hydration. Therefore, drinking too much-caffeinated beverages can worsen dryness.