Living in Dry Areas can Speed Up Skin Aging Process

• What causes dry skin and dry skin irritation is a lack of moisture. Thus living in a dry climate will greatly increase the chances of developing this skin problem
• When left untreated for long periods of time, dry skin can lead to an older-looking appearance, making dry skin remedies especially important for those living in drier climates
• Dry itchy skin can be treated with any good dry skin lotion or skin moisturizer. It is best to moisturize after a bath or shower

No one enjoys dry skin. The skin itching is annoying, and the skin redness can be embarrassing. However, dry skin is also more likely to look old and that’s why people who live in the desert or similar arid climate areas need to pay special attention to their skin unless, of course, they want to speed up the skin aging process.

Why Dry Areas Make it Worse

When people say they have dry skin, they mean it literally. That itching and redness are literally caused by a lack of moisture in the skin. And that can be a direct result of living in dry areas. The question is how does climate have any impact on your skin?

The answer is simple: evaporation. We’ve all seen evaporation in action. When you boil water on the stove, the steam rising off is a result of evaporation. Water is changing forms and heading into the atmosphere thanks to the heat. The same thing happens to your skin in some environments. If you live somewhere very hot and dry, for example, the heat is going to speed up evaporation and less moisture will be left for your skin. This is exactly what happens in our homes every winter when we heat them to stay warm.

However, if you live in a hot and humid climate you won’t have to worry as much. Humidity is caused by water vapor in the air so if the air is already very moist you won’t have to worry about as much evaporation from your skin.

Dry Skin and the Skin Aging Process

When your skin is dry, it becomes less pliable and less elastic. As a result, it can’t bounce back as well as it could when it was supple and moist. The result is that untreated dry skin over a prolonged period is going to look older, is going to be more likely to show wrinkles, and may even be more prone to skin disorders, such as psoriasis.

However, you can take active steps to prevent these problems even if you do live in an arid climate.

Tips for Keeping Skin Moist

When you are indoors, you should have a humidifier running during the winter and maybe even during the summer. Both heat and air conditioners can dry out the air so having a device that will add moisture back into the air is a good idea.

You should also steer clear of those very hot showers. Even though the shower itself is moist, the heat is going to dry out your skin. Instead, you should take short warm showers. After leaving the shower, you should apply a good moisturizer liberally to your skin to help hold in that moisturizer. You don’t have to spend a fortune on these lotions either. Almost any of them will do the trick, but the most effective will contain lanolin.

You should also make sure to drink plenty of fluids. During the winter, we may drink less water and that can also lead to drier skin. Remember that eight glasses of water a day is a good goal if you want young, healthy skin.

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.