Whole Health: Weatherproof Your Skin
May/June 2008

If forced to choose, most of us would prefer to have sun freckles, wind-ruddy cheeks, and laugh lines—in other words, to have lived life—rather than skin hermetically preserved indoors and bathed daily in milk. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose. While the earthly elements—water, wind, sun, and various climate conditions—can ravage your delicate dermis, you can both prevent and heal the damage in a variety of ways, without giving up the outdoor adventures you love.

Water
Ironically, water can dehydrate your skin. “Every time you get wet without lubricating afterward, you get some drying effect,” says Alan M. Dattner, MD, a holistic dermatologist practicing in Manhattan and New Rochelle, New York. Water strips away the epidermis’s protective layer of oil, allowing the moisture in the skin cells to evaporate. Over time dehydrated skin contributes to the breakdown of collagen and, hence, to wrinkles and the loss of elasticity. Chlorine in pools further dries and irritates the skin, says Dattner. Although ocean water affects you less than chlorine, its salts and minerals draw out moisture from your cells, as well.

You can say good-bye to alligator skin, however, with a few simple steps. First, choose less chlorinated pools. “Pools with lots of small children tend to be heavily chlorinated, and you can smell the chlorine more,” says Dattner. When you leave the pool, shower immediately to remove the chlorine or saltwater so that it doesn’t deposit on your skin.

Also, “choose unscented, gentle, nonsoap cleansers since soaps are drying and artificial fragrances consistently rank as top allergens,” says Valori Treloar, MD, CNS, a holistic dermatologist at Integrative Dermatology in Newton, Massachusetts. Many swim shops carry body washes specifically formulated to remove chlorine. Right after your shower, apply a lotion or cream to lock in the moisture.

If you do most of your dipping in freshwater lakes and ponds, look for posted health warnings and rinse soon after your swim. Although freshwater lacks salt and chlorine, it may contain microbes and algae that can cause “a simply miserable” swimmer’s itch, says Treloar.

Dry Climates
Hang out a damp tent in places like the Rocky Mountains and Southwest desert, and it dries in moments. The same thing happens with your face. To prevent the arid atmosphere from sucking away your skin’s moisture, spritz your face and hands with a mister or toner before you head outdoors, and then apply an SPF lotion to trap in the water. Also use a daily moisturizer, even if you have acne-prone skin. “People get into a vicious cycle where they overdry their skin; the oil glands compensate by churning out more oil, acne results, and then they dry their skin out more,” says Treloar, who coauthored The Clear Skin Diet: A Nutritional Plan for Getting Rid of and Avoiding Acne (Cumberland House, 2007). For those with oily skin, opt for a noncomedogenic (non-pore-clogging) moisturizing lotion, while dry-skinned folks should bring out the big guns: creams and ointments.

Still, radiant skin depends just as much on what you put in your body as what you put on it. Foremost, that means staying hydrated. In arid climates your sweat quickly evaporates, which cools you down but also dehydrates you. Because you’re not hot or sweaty, you often don’t notice the dehydration (called “insensible water loss”) and can forget to drink enough water. The amount you should drink varies with exertion levels, but “your urine should be clear at least once during the day,” says Treloar. Also, your skin should have good turgor and not be doughy. “When you pinch your skin, it should quickly return to its former smooth state,” she says.

Additionally, eat plenty of healthy mono- or polyunsaturated fats, such as those in olive oil, avocados, and nuts, as well as omega-3 essential fatty acids (found in flaxseed, hempseed, and cold-water fish like salmon). “These fats have wonderful curly, kinky molecules that make your skin flexible,” says Treloar. Trans fats, on the other hand, which you find in many cookies, processed snacks, and candies, “increase inflammation in the skin and the rest of your body,” she adds. While healthy fats are important no matter what climate you live in, your skin especially needs them
in dry ones.

Humid Climates
Bad for your coiffure but great for your skin, humid weather keeps your face soft and dewy because the moisture in
your cells doesn’t evaporate as quickly. That also means your sweat doesn’t evaporate, possibly clogging pores and causing acne. Combat that by using a gentle exfoliating scrub once a week as well as a daily clarifying cleanser that opens and cleans your pores, such as cleansers with salicylic acid, glycolic acid, cranberry extract, or pumpkin extract.

Also be sure to shower soon after exercising to rinse off your sweat. “Research has shown that what you ingest shows up in your sweat: onions, garlic, narcotics, even medications,” says Treloar. When those compounds deposit on the skin, “some people may get irritated by their own sweat.” For example, if you have a latent food allergy, explains Treloar, sweating it out on your skin may contribute to eczema.

Finally, yeast and fungus thrive in humid conditions, so it’s important to rinse off sweat and salt in creases of your skin and thoroughly towel dry, says Dattner. “Keep an eye out for any red areas that may signal the beginning of an infection.”

Wind
Whether you’re whipping down the road on your bike, hiking an airy ridge, or sailing on the ocean, wind is par for the course outdoors. Unfortunately, it strips the skin of its protective oil, causing extreme dryness and dilating the blood vessels. This leads to windburn: redness, swelling, and even a burning or itching feeling. Often mistaken for sunburn, windburn doesn’t seem to cause wrinkles or skin cancer the way that UV damage from the sun does. Over time, however, “with frequent windburn, there’s a tendency for the effects to become more permanent: blood vessels stay more dilated and the face keeps a ruddier complexion, almost like rosacea,” says Dattner.

To shield your skin, apply an oil-based moisturizer before you head out and reapply it if you’re out for a long time. In high winds, wear protective facemasks or fleece gaiters. “You can take out a small mirror now and then to see if your skin is red and if the protection is adequate,” he says. Stay hydrated, and when you come in from the gusts and gales, apply soothing, anti-inflammatory lotions such as aloe vera.