Winter Beauty
 By
Megan Finnerty
Features Editor
When Casey Kauffman, a sophomore in the School
of Liberal Arts, went to a cocktail party before she left for winter
break, she was greeted at the door with oohs and ahhs over her black
leather halter and perfect blond bob.
But as the evening wore on, she looked less like
a man-killer and more like a woman in pain. Her hands were so dry from
the weather and the cleaning products she had used in her apartment
that the knuckles and backs of her hands were cracked and raw.
"All week long women at the office had been
offering me their lotions, but they all hurt my skin so much that I
had to go to the bathroom immediately and just wash my hands,"
she said. "They all had fragrances or things in them that made
my skin burn. I’ve been in pain all week. This is the first time
I’ve been able to feel my hands," she said as she lathered
on Creamy Vaseline and smiled.
Nancy Lyon Havlik, a dermatologist at Lafayette’s
Arnett Clinic, recommends Creamy Vaseline, whipped petroleum jelly,
because it has no harsh chemicals, is an efficient moisturizer and can
be found at any drug store.
Lyon Havlik has written articles on winter’s
effects on skin and how to prevent injury to skin in the drying winter
months.
"Skin which has a high enough water content
is soft and pliable; however, these desirable characteristics …
change when the water content of the outermost skin layer drops below
10 percent," she said. "The skin may be scaly and rough or
appear cracked ... which leads without fail to scratching which further
traumatizes the skin."
PREVENTION PRACTICES
The best way to avoid dry skin, Lyon Havlik said,
is to prevent it before it starts. She said that people can best care
for their skin in winter by using soap sparingly, and only on places
where skin folds, like the neck, armpits and backs of knees.
"The way you bathe can be either harmful or
beneficial," Lyon Havlik said. "The idea is to add water to
the skin while avoiding removing the valuable, protective skin oils
or lipids. Avoid using very hot water... and limit the time spent in
bathing."
She also suggested avoiding deodorant soaps, which
dry out skin, and using moisturizing ones instead.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology,
it is important to use sunblock every day because sun block prevents
burning, which can damage the elasticity and lower the moisture content
of skin. The academy also said sunblock is important because the sun
may be responsible for up to 90 percent of a person’s wrinkles.
Other preventative steps can be taken, according
to Swan Dermatology Center, by keeping the heat low in living areas
and using a humidifier to add moisture to air often dried out by forced-air
heating, wood-burning stoves or fireplaces.
REPARATION RECOMMENDATIONS
However, once the damage has been done, Lyon Havlik
has some solutions for even some of the worst cases of dry or irritated
skin. She endorses the use of heavy, greasy moisturizers because they
can be more effective than thinner, more easily applied lotions. But
she admits that heavy ones are more difficult to use and less cosmetically
elegant.
"One of the most effective agents is actually
the least expensive and the safest to use, and that’s petroleum
jelly," she said. "It’s best when used on warm, moist
skin, rubbing it into the skin even before leaving the shower. The petroleum
is most easily applied thinly at this time and helps to seal in the
water which hydrated the skin during bathing."
But if slathering on Vaseline or some other petroleum
jelly doesn’t seem to be an attractive option, she recommended
several other over-the-counter products. Lyon Havlik said the thicker
the lotion, the better and that for the body.
Creamy Vaseline, Aquaphor, Cetaphil Cream and Eucerin
Cream are excellent products for the treatment of dry skin. And she
said they all work best when applied right after lightly toweling off.
For the face, she recommends using only products with sunblock such
as Cetaphil Face Cream. She said Oil of Olay Daily Care Series Complete
UV Protective Moisture Lotion blocks both UVA and UVB rays, which is
rare in moisturizers.
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