Cold Winter Air and Skin Health: A Plastic Surgeon’s Perspective

By Mark Domanski, MD

Bluemont Plastic Surgery

. https://www.bluemontmd.com/

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Cold Winter Air and Skin Health: A Plastic Surgeon’s Perspective

Cold dry winter air can have various negative effects on the skin. Dryness and irritation are common issues leading patients to wonder if they should postpone their facelift, microneedling, or laser treatments. Winter is otherwise an ideal time for plastic surgery as people tend to travel less and the sun is less intense. So here is how I help guide my patients.

Winter air has lower humidity levels which can decrease the natural protective oils of healthy skin. Without this protective barrier, skin can become itchy, flaky, and cracked.

Cracking and chapping can allow bacteria to enter the skin, increasing the risk of infection. Cold air can also trigger redness and irritation. Cold air can exacerbate conditions such as rosacea and eczema. Windburn adds insult to injury. All of this is not ideal prior to any surgery, laser, or microneedling treatment.

To mitigate the effects of dry, cold winter air on the skin, I recommend my patients consider the following:

• Hydrate: Drink plenty of water to maintain skin hydration on the inside and out. This may be especially important before bedtime to give the skin time to recover at night. I personally enjoy a warm cup of chamomile tea with a dash of honey many evenings this time of year.
• Moisturize: Use a rich, hydrating moisturizer to replenish lost moisture to the skin. Apply regularly after washing one’s face and hands. For nighttime, I favor a thick moisturizer which may be unsightly during the day but promotes maximal recovery. More on this below.
• Protect: When I am out jogging, my go to winter combination is a baseball hat and a neck warmer. I can pull up the neck warmer for more protection as needed. Protection is key to healthy skin.
• Humidify: Adding a humidifier to an indoor space increases air moisture, preventing excessive dryness.
  Gentle Cleansing: Consider changing to lighter cleansers for the winter months.
• Sunscreen: I cannot emphasize this enough. I routinely apply sunscreen each day after I shave in the morning. This locks in moisture and prevents the worst aspects of UV radiation.

When all else fails:

I go back to basics. I recommend a skin holiday and have patients apply petroleum jelly at night, every night, for one week. The results are dramatic.

Petroleum jelly was patented in 1872 in Pennsylvania by a chemist named Robert Chesebrough. Mr. Chesebrough marketed his product by intentionally burning himself and then spreading the petroleum jelly onto his injuries. Startled observers would then be shown Mr. Chesebrough’s prior burns that had healed, with the help of his new product. Mr. Chesebrough opened his first factory in 1870, using the name Vaseline.

There are not many things from the 19th century that are still for sale in your local drugstore. One of them is Vaseline, because when all else fails, it works.