When summer ends, we often put away our sunscreen and forget about protecting our skin. We stop worrying about UV rays and concentrate on keeping warm. Unfortunately, winter conditions can be even more harmful to your skin than summer sun. You should continue to protect your skin against UV rays and also against winter’s ever present dry air and cold wind.

• Drink plenty of clean water, about eight to twelve glasses a day. Dehydration is hard on the entire body, but it shows first on the skin. Skin is constantly handling incoming bacteria and releasing toxin through perspiration. Drinking plenty of water helps the body to do the job of housecleaning. At the cellular level, plenty of water is essential for fluid balance and exchange of waste material.
• If you’re breathing very dry air, get a humidifier. Indoor heating systems tend to dry the air, which dries your mucus membranes, making them more sensitive to infection. A humidifier is good for your sinuses, for your lungs, and for cold prevention. You should have one in the room you spend the most time. Always remember to keep your humidifier very clean.
• Use moisturizing lotions with vegetable oils and aloe vera, because aloe vera is loaded with healing properties. Avoid mineral oils, which may clog your pores.
• For rough, chapped skin, open a vitamin E capsule and rub directly on the affected area.
• Get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids by eating fish such as salmon, mackerel, cod, tuna, sardines, herring at least twice a week, and omega-6 fatty acids by taking supplements of evening primrose oil. These beneficial oils work at the cell level to keep skin smooth and supple.
• Try lecithin to keep skin cells flexible. You can sprinkle lecithin granules on cereals or salads or eat them straight.
• Avoid hydrogenated oils and trans-fatty acids found in refined vegetable oils (not including canola oil or olive oil) and margarine, which contain toxic oxidative molecules that cause aging and compete with the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids for cell receptors.
• Wear gloves whenever it’s cold out. Cold, dry air pulls moisture out of the skin, aging it faster.
• Drink alcohol in moderation. It’s a vitamin robber and skin ager.
• If you’re spending more than 30 minutes outside in the snow, be sure to wear a sun block with an SPF of 15 and sunglasses, because white snow is a highly reflective surface for bright sunlight.
• Take vitamin D supplement. People who live in an area where there is little sunlight are usually deprived of this vitamin. Vitamin D helps to regulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Typically there is only a small amount of vitamin D that comes from dietary source, including liver, egg yolks, fresh milk, and fatty fish. More is produced when a particular kind of cholesterol is converted by the action of ultraviolet rays in sunlight on the skin.