Dream Creams
Say good-bye to scaly winter skin with these super-rich moisturizers.
"My skin is like a barometer," says Sarah Carroll, a French teacher who lives in Acton, Mass. "When the air is humid, it feels fine. But as soon as it turns cold and dry, my hands and feet get so bad the skin cracks and sometimes bleeds," she explains. Carroll does what she can to protect her skin: She uses hand cream, wears gloves when she's outside, and slathers her heels in lotion and covers them in socks before going to bed. "Still," she says, "nothing seems to prevent the chapping and those tiny cuts that sting."
As Carroll knows from personal experience, dry, inflamed skin is a reaction to the environment. "When the temperature drops, the humidity decreases--and skin becomes dehydrated because there isn't enough moisture in the air," says Min-Wei Christine Lee, M.D., a dermatologic surgeon and the director of the East Bay Laser & Skin Care Center in Walnut Creek, Calif. When dehydration sets in, other problems can occur. "Your skin is your suit of armor," says Lee. "If it's dry, cracked, and peeling, your shield has been compromised and bacteria can enter."
As Carroll knows from personal experience, dry, inflamed skin is a reaction to the environment. "When the temperature drops, the humidity decreases--and skin becomes dehydrated because there isn't enough moisture in the air," says Min-Wei Christine Lee, M.D., a dermatologic surgeon and the director of the East Bay Laser & Skin Care Center in Walnut Creek, Calif. When dehydration sets in, other problems can occur. "Your skin is your suit of armor," says Lee. "If it's dry, cracked, and peeling, your shield has been compromised and bacteria can enter."
