Skin care is a challenge in part because there are a variety of factors that impact the health of your skin. In this article we go over some of the things you need to keep in mind when you periodically evaluate your skin–care practices.
Internet searches for ‘dry skin’ and related terms like ‘dry face’ and ‘skin moisturizer’ demonstrate distinct variations by season of the year and location. The frequency of searches for ‘dry skin’ indicates that many people are unprepared to deal with seasonal drying stressors on their skin.
The water vapor content of outdoor air is the key driver causing seasonal changes in the humidity levels in your residence and hence the magnitude of drying stresses on skin. In fact, because climatic patterns differ across the US (e.g., arid Southwest to temperate Midwest), skin-care practices will also vary.
With spring comes warmer weather and more opportunities to spend time outdoors exercising, recreating, gardening, etc. However, the intensity of solar radiation is also increasing, which means that precautions should be taken to reduce the likelihood of sunburns, and on the longer term, the risk of skin cancers and the photoaging of skin.
Adaptive Skin Care refers to the ability to adjust your skin care to changes in external skin stressors such as indoor temperature and humidity as well as solar ultraviolet radiation.
If you experience dry, flaky skin—especially during the colder months of the year—then you should actively track changes in the Dry Skin Index (DSI). This proprietary index measures the external drying stresses on skin caused by indoor humidity and temperature.
Cold, dry air that occurs during the fall, winter, and early spring is the principal source of low indoor humidities that exert drying stresses on skin. These stressors increase the likelihood of dry skin conditions that can subsequently lead to itchy skin (i.e., termed pruritus).
Aging skin is accompanied by biochemical changes that occur in the outer layer of your skin (i.e., the stratum corneum, or SC). These changes degrade the skin’s barrier function as well as its ability to retain water. Consequently, you’re more apt to experience dry skin in response to indoor skin stressors—moderated by both the weather and building properties of your residence.
The month of October for most of the United States marks the transition between the warm, humid, part of the year and the cooler months. Cooler weather produces higher indoor drying stresses on skin due to lower indoor humidities and temperatures. Now is a good time to evaluate your skin-care practices before dry, itchy skin develops!
Managing exposures to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of skin cancer. Control of UV exposures includes both short-term benefits (i.e., prevention of sunburned skin) and long-term benefits (i.e., reduced skin cancer risk).
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