Protect your skin this winter with soft water

When we think about winter, it often comes with cosy images – maybe a warm fireplace, a robin perched on a thin branch or a steaming mug of cocoa, but the cold weather also has its downsides. Alongside the low temperatues and short days, another annual visitor for many is dry skin! This can affect us at any time of the year, but it is often worse in the chillier months. Skin health is important to us here at PWP, as softening your water at home has a huge, positive impact on your skin (and hair).  

Cold weather affects our skin in a few ways. 

 

In warm weather, our skin produces more oil, helping it protect itself. This is because different type of glands work together to slow evaporation of sweat in hot weather. As we perspire in order to cool down, regular sweat glands produce watery sweat while sebaceous glands produce oil to help reduce the rate of evaporation. Skin often feels drier in cold weather and this is one of the main ways in which the elements can affect this! 

 

Cold air is also far less humid. This is due to warm air expanding and having more capacity to carry moisture. Cold air has that crisp dry feeling – for many this is an enjoyable sensation and it’s great to find something to enjoy about the weather at all times of year, but it also explains why the air itself is significantly more dry at winter. Cold winds also have a major part to play when it comes to our skin! 

 

Remember the lipid barrier (we talked about this in another blog)? This acts as a brick wall to protect your skin, and help it retain moisture. Cold winds can actually damage the lipid barrier, where the natural lipids act as a cement and specialised skin cells act as bricks, in a protective wall. But what about our clothes, don’t they protect us against the elements? 

 

Definitely, and you should always wrap up warm in these cold months! But our clothes can chafe and rub against our skin and when we’re out in the cold, we’re wearing more layers! This is especially bad if you’re washing clothes in hard water. Hard water can leave soap and detergent residue on our clothes just as it can on our skin, worsening the impact of chafing. 

The good news is, softened and purified water will help combat the effects of cold weather on your skin. Rehydrating and naturally conditioning your skin with softened water straight from your tap will help repair the damage caused by cold weather and leave your skin feeling moisturised and hydrated. Without the deposits caused by hardness ions on our skin and clothes, you skin is able to rehydrate properly. 

 

To find out how you can protect your skin this winter, get in touch with us!