Winter and Our Skin Care.

I spoke with Mary K. Overby, Medical Skin Care Specialist,asking her to tell us the three most important things we should know about caring for our skin this winter Here are her three pieces of advice.

With winter upon us, many of us are experiencing dry patches on our skin. Several things contribute to this condition and some steps which you can take to combat this condition would include: 1. Drink more water. most of us are not getting drinking enough water daily and that can cause dry and dull skin. 2. Exfoliate twice weekly. The skin which is exposed on us is already dead skin, just waiting to come off. As time goes on, more skin cells are added up underneath the top dead skin cells and the top layer is dry, and no longer oblong in shape, If that skin stays on, the top layers become flatter and thinner. This creates dull, lifeless looking skin. Exfoliation removes the dull, dry cells on top of our skin and lets the rosy, fresher newer cells come to the top to start the process all over again. 3. Use sunscreen daily. Most people do not realize that over 90% of the UV light emitted from our sun is UVA rays. For years we have all been told about the tanning rays and burning, SPF factors. UVA rays will initially give you a little red color and then disappear. You don't tan or burn from UVA rays, yet they are the worst. UVA ages us, and it is just as strong in the winter as in the summer. UVA rays come through windows, so being indoors won't stop the damage. UVA are the long distance rays that travel all the way down into the dermis, causing damage. If you post questions for Mary K Overby, Mary Marvella will send them to her and ask them for you. Look for a post with advice from another skin care specialist! Mary Marvella BarfieldLoading... 2:02 AM (2 minutes ago)