You need to take care of your skin while harmattan lasts

Doyin Ojosipe

The weather is windy and dusty again, it’s cold at dusk and dawn, presenting with dry heat in the noon; such is the description of the Harmattan season. At this time, some health issues arise.

One of them is the excessive drying of the skin that could cause skin damage if care is not taken; however experts have listed a number of steps to follow to cater for the dry skin.

1. Increase your water intake to keep your skin properly hydrated as the ability of the skin to retain enough moisture will go a long way to help;

2. In addition, you could use good skin moisturizers to take care of the dryness on the skin surface; if you can, limit your use of soap base tablets as they could have drying effect, rather, make use of soap free body washes to minimize the loss of moisture in the skin.

3. The temptation to do a steaming hot bath is very high due to the overwhelming cold, but experts say, just a warm bath will do as hot water is reported to strip the skin of its natural oils meant to tighten and protect the skin, causing damaging effects to the skin.

4. Another good bet is the use of ointments and creams, olive and jojoba oil, Shea butter, petrolatum and mineral oil; these have proven to be good as they help to quickly lock in moisture in the skin immediately after shower.

5. For ladies who love to cleanse, this period is a no for complete use of products with much alcoholic ingredients, since it also has a drying effect, rather it is better to go with gentle fragrance free and gentle cleansers.

6. Consistent consumption of fruits such as avocado, carrots, kiwi fruit, tomatoes among others cum good intake of oily fish or fish with omega 3 fatty acids, soy products, rosemary leaf, among others are reported to help the skin in healing while nourishing the skin with the needed nutrients to keep it moisturized.