If you’re finding winter makes your skin itchy, dry or inflamed, you’ll need an effective strategy for dealing with it! We take a look at how to fix skin damaged by winter’s cold, dry air.

Skin gets dry in the winter because it’s more likely to lose moisture to the cold, dry air. The environment actually sucks moisture from the skin, leaving it flaky, sensitive and often really itchy as well. And a drier epidermis can lead in turn to more irritation, more moisture loss and more damaged skin.

The best way of stopping moisture loss in its tracks, allowing skin to heal, is to use an effective emollient.

We’re not talking about any old moisturiser here; damaged skin needs something extra, and the best option is a thick, oil-based emollient, rather than a water-based cream. Let’s take a closer look why that’s important.

Your chosen emollient needs to provide an effective barrier against moisture loss.

Cold, dry air is dehydrating, so covering skin with a very fine layer of oily balm or salve provides a protective barrier to keep moisture in the skin; think of it like a waterproof plaster or raincoat, which supports the skin’s natural oils in doing their job of locking water into skin cells.

The higher the oil content, the more effective the barrier will be.

It needs to provide an effective barrier against external irritants.

The protective barrier has another function: it keeps allergens and irritants out. Dust, mould spores, pet hair, perfume, detergents, household cleaners etc can all set off an inflammatory reaction if they enter the bloodstream. If you’ve got eczema, this could become a flare, and lead to itching, scratching and skin damage.

An effective oil-based barrier applied over your damaged skin can reduce itching significantly, allowing skin cells to get on with the job of healing, reducing further damage.

It should provide nutrients

A really good emollient can go one step further to to support healing, if it contains nutrients vital to skin cell regeneration. Balmonds Skin Salvation is perfect for this job, as it is made not with paraffin, but with nutritious hemp, olive and safflower oils, which feed the skin with the building blocks of skin repair.

Skin Salvation also includes herbal tinctures of plants renowned for their skin-calming properties, which are natural anti-inflammatories designed to take the sting out of itchy skin, and dial down the heat.

It needs to be free from irritants

Most moisturisers contain perfumes and preservatives, as well as scent-maskers, emulsifiers and other ingredients, all included to keep the cream fresh and free from microbe growth. The downside of these necessary additions to water-based creams is that a large proportion of these ingredients are irritating to sensitive skin.

Skin Salvation ticks all those boxes, and can play a key part in repairing winter skin damage.

Remember to reapply frequently, especially after bathing or washing your hands.

As well as emollients to lock moisture into the skin and allow it to heal, the other main strategy for fixing damaged skin in winter is to avoid the various triggers and irritants that exacerbate the problem. For more information on these triggers, see our blog How Do I Get Rid Of Winter Rash?

Recommended products:

Balmonds Skin Salvation
with hemp and beeswax

Bath & Body Oil
with lavender, hemp and olive