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PRINTCold Weather Leaving You Dry?
Cold weather and wind can quickly dry out your skin and lips. Here are a few helpful ways to avoid dry, cracking skin this winter:
Dry Hands?
Try soaking your hands in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes (enough time for your skin to absorb the water). Pat your hands dry and immediately apply a thick layer of an occlusive moisturizer to seal in the water. An occlusive moisturizer has an ointment or cream base rather than the thinner lotion base, such as petrolatum (more well-known as Vaseline).
You may want to try wearing a pair of light cotton gloves to bed after you moisturize. This will help reduce water loss.
Tips to Prevent Dry Cracked Lips:
Do not lick or bite them. When lips start drying out, your first instinct is usually to add moisture to them by licking them. Don’t! Licking actually enhances the drying, and biting your lips makes them even worse.
Do apply lip balm (or lipstick) before going out into the elements. Reapply it several times while outside.
Use a lip balm with sunscreen in it.
Make sure your diet includes enough vitamin B and iron, as a deficiency of these vitamins can play a part in the scaling on your lips and the cracking at the corners of your mouth.
And don’t forget to drink your 6-8 glasses of water a day.
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dry skin, moisturize your skin, dry lips, Farmers’ Almanac skin tips, cold weather ailments
Peter Geiger is the Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. Read his full biography here.Free Weekly eNewsletter
Farmers' Almanac Long Range Weather
February 8th - February 11th
- Northeast U.S.
Wet snow mixed with rain Mid-Atlantic north through New England; slushy accumulations of 4+" possible.
- Midwest/Great Lakes U.S.
Accumulating snows Kentucky, Ohio, then clearing. Fair elsewhere.
- Southeast U.S.
Wet snow Tennessee, western North Carolina; wintry mix northern Mississippi, Alabama. Elsewhere, rain, then clearing.
- North Central U.S.
Drier, much colder.
- South Central U.S.
Snow parts of Arkansas, then clearing, cold. Clear, much colder elsewhere.
- Northwest U.S.
Drier, but colder.
- Southwest U.S.
Drier, but noticeably colder.
• View entire Long Range Weather Forecast »
• Farmers' Almanac 2011-12 Winter Outlook »
• View the Almanac Daily Planner »
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.