Dr Kalpana Sarangi is a qualified M.D. in Skin. She started as a dermatologist and subsequently established herself as the Head of the Cosmetology Centre at Mumbai’s Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital. She has nearly three decades of experience. She is among the few qualified Skin Specialists in India to have established as a Cosmetic-Dermatologist.
She has to her credit more than 100 published articles in Indian and International Journals and also co-authored ‘Textbook and Atlas of Dermato-surgery and Cosmetology’, ‘Manual of Dermatology Surgery’, etc. She is a recipient of two Gold Medals at National Level to her credit.
Due to certain unforeseeable circumstances, Dr Kalpana could not join the webinar at 1700hr, but we had a doctor in our audience, Dr Saroj who is a retired gynaecologist and was kind enough to fill in for Dr Sarangi and spoke to our audience.
Irrespective of our age, whether we are young or old, with the changing weather we experience changes in our skin as well due to the nip in the air, the air becomes dry, the moisture content in the air becomes less, less humidity, etc. because of the environmental dryness our skin also loses a lot of water from the surface.
Our skin is the largest organ of the body and has 72% of water content.
Our body breathes through the skin and similarly, loses water through the skin.
During winters, since there is no moisture in the atmosphere and no humidity in the environment, we tend to lose more water.
The dryness gets more aggravated during winters also because we do not consume as much water during winters as we do during winters. Our fluid intake is much less which leads to a deficit of water, because of more loss of water than intake, leading to dryness.
Due to this loss of water and less fluid intake, the tiny vessels on our skin (capillaries) go into a contracted state.
All of this results in:
- Felling of dryness of the skin
- Itching
- In cases where it is not taken care of in a timely fashion, it can also lead to dermatitis
General care of the skin in winters:
- Hydrate yourself internally by consuming lots of water, fluids
- Eat healthy fruits and salads since they contain natural antioxidants which is required for the health of your skin
- Have a decent amount of fatty food in your foods in the form of avocado- a good natural source of fat, dry fruits, ghee
- Moisturise yourself. This can be done in 2 ways:
- This first method is especially for the senior citizens because as you age your sweat glands atrophy i.e. there is a decrease in the number of glands producing natural oils which gives rise to the need for external moisturising. Here is what you do, before you take your bath apply some oil, let it get absorbed into your skin and then take a shower. Once you have showered, before you put your clothes back on, you moisturise your skin with a thick moisture (oil in water type), it has a creamy consistency.
- Before you go to bed, wipe yourself with a wet towel, especially your hands and feet and face and then you apply your moisturiser again.
This should be a part of your daily skincare routine in winter.
- Type of soap to be used: glycerine or a moisture based soap is recommended by Dr Sarangi for winters
- These days, there is also a bath product which contains oil in it, it is called a shower oil and it is very good for the skin.
- In case you have dandruff in its sub clinical state, you can frequently oil your scalp and hair overnight, wash it with an antidandruff shampoo at least thrice in a week.
Skin conditions seen in winter:
- Dryness of skin: this is the most common condition/ problem faced. This is also called acquired ichthyosis. Because of the lack of moisture in the skin, the skin becomes itchy and dry. It can lead to scratching and secondary infection, the secondary infection can further lead to fungal infection.
- Cracks and fissures on the feet. Care of the hands and feet is very important. Everyday before going to bed, Dr Sarangi advises that you wash your hands and feet and of course your face as well, and apply a thick moisturiser. If you have deep cuts and cracks, you should apply an antibiotic ointment on your feet before applying your moisturiser and wear a pair of socks over it.
- Dry and frizzy hair along with dandruff: dandruff is scaling from the scalp. It not only causes hairballs but also leads to severe itching. There are 2 types of dandruff
- Dry dandruff
- Wet/waxy dandruff
- Secondary infection
An easy way to differentiate between a thick and a thin moisturiser is- a thin cream (oil in water) comes in a bottle as a moisturising lotion with a thin, watery consistency. And a thick cream comes as a moisturising cream and has a thicker, creamier consistency.
There are cosmetic creams and cosmeceutical creams. Cosmetic creams have lesser medicinal properties and sit on your skin and not penetrate it. Cosmeceutical creams have additives and active ingredients in it that help in the penetration of the product and gives a long lasting result.
