Not only does a guys skin ages more slowly than a woman’s (Good News), but a recent study showed that women's skin loses collagen at a faster rate than a man’s as well. A man’s skin is also a fraction of an inch thicker than a women’s. Given the rigors of shaving this is just as well. But this does not mean that you can ignore your skin. Especially during the winter months when the skin is exposed to dry, cold outdoor air and dry, indoor heated air. Add to this the heavy, bulky clothes worn during winter and the skin begins to generate less of its own natural moisturizers, all which can lead to flakiness and itching.
Your skin is the largest organ of the body and its not there just to make you look good. It protects you against heat, light, injury and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat and vitamin D. Without the sensory nerve cells in your skin, you couldn’t touch or feel warmth, cold, or other sensations. Most people are surprised to learn that the skin is among the most vital components of immunity. However, the most important function of skin is to prevent us from drying out. We are approximately 65 percent water and we are able to survive and function in dry environments because the skin forms a permeability barrier that prevents the loss of water.
It's the lack of water, not grease or oil, that causes dry skin.
The skin is made up of several layers of cells. The epidermis, the top layer of the skin, along with the oil glands, produces lipids (fatty substances). These lipids help keep the skin from losing moisture and make it soft and supple. But the moisture in the skin constantly evaporates, and washing the skin strips away these lipids, further drying the skin. (Remember, this is basically what moisturizers are: oils or oil-like ingredients that when put on the skin, hold the moisture in.) In humid conditions, the skin can replenish itself by soaking up moisture from the air. But when the humidity drops below 60% as it does in many places in the winter, your skin loses another opportunity to moisturize itself. Couple that with the low humidity of indoor heating, as well as hot showers and baths, and the skin is bound to become dry and irritated, feel itchy and flaky. While dry skin doesn’t wrinkle any faster than oily skin, dry skin does look more wrinkled because moist skin is plumper than dehydrated skin. Most of us will experience dry skin later in life. About 85% of older people develop winter itch due to dry, overheated indoor air. The loss of sweat and oil glands as we age can also worsen dry skin. Anything that further dries the skin (such as overuse of soaps, antiperspirants, perfumes, or hot baths,) will make the problem worse.
Without proper care, dry skin can become a chronic problem. Preventing dry skin is as important as treating it. Once it’s dry, it’s more subject to getting even drier. That’s because dry skin is rough and irregular and has more surface area to lose moisture from than healthy, compact skin. Also, because the skin is a crucial barrier against infection, once the skin becomes dry or cracked, infection can sneak in more easily.
"Soaking and sealing" is the best way to keep skin from drying out during the winter or any other time of the year. Soak skin in warm, not hot, water, whether taking a shower or a bath. Then immediately seal it with a moisturizer to keep skin soft. All moisturizers work the same way-they trap water that’s inside the skin, as opposed to adding moisture from the outside. If you're only going to do one thing after your daily bath or shower, it’s 'soak and seal’, "Put on a moisturizer from head to toe." The more oil a moisturizer has, the more occlusive the moisturizer (and the greater the ability) to trap water underneath it. So the greasier it is, the better job it will do at trapping moisture By the way if you are one of the lucky ones, A man with oily skin’ you have your own built-in moisturizer which helps the skin look smoother without the aid of a moisturizer. In many cases, a good moisturizer will begin to make your skin look softer and suppler within minutes. Once you begin to take care of your skin properly, the flakiness and itch of dry skin should improve within one or two weeks.
