Improving Skin Integrity

Fall and winter are notoriously dry in Calgary. You can often hear about how people are experiencing dry hands and eyes, eczema flares, and constantly needing to put lotion on. This is a thing we just accept living in Calgary. However, did you know that you could support your skin, so it doesn’t have to feel the dryness that comes every fall through winter?

There are some healthy oils, and vitamins you can be taking to support your body through the fall and winter to keep them nice and hydrated. I’m sure you’ve heard of fish oil by now, and yes, that is one of the healthy oils I’m talking about. Healthy oils are important for you to be taking regularly during this time (and maybe a month before) to maintain the integrity of your cellular membranes. Cellular membranes are made up of fats, these fat produce a boundary that keeps your organelles where they need to be (inside your cells). This boundary is fluid, and moves. If you eat saturated fats, the fluidity of your cell is disrupted, and it isn’t able to operate like it can when it is able to move as needed. This is where the healthy fats come in: fish oil, olive oil, evening primrose oil, GLA oil, etc. The one I generally recommend is fish oil, along with suggesting you use olive oil in your salad dressings.

So now you have a strong, fluid cell membrane. That’s great! But is it nice and plump and hydrated? This is where making sure you are well-hydrated comes into play. Being well-hydrated keeps your cells working optimally, and allows them to eliminate waste effectively. Imagine working in a cramped factory, where you can hardly move. That is similar to what it would be like working in your cell if you aren’t hydrated. So make sure you are drinking your water, especially during this time. You can check if you are well hydrated by looking at the colour of your urine - is it clear, pale yellow, or dark yellow? The goal is to have pale yellow urine. Note: If you are taking a B Complex, your urine will always be dark yellow.

Moisturizing as soon as you are finished with your shower is a quick and easy way to lock in the hydration. Otherwise, your skin will feel dry afterwards, because the water on your skin is evaporating, stripping your skin of moisture. You can either use a lotion or oil (I like to use olive oil with some lavender essential oil when my skin is really dry).

Lastly, a good B Complex can also help keep the integrity of your skin. The different vitamins do different things, but together, they work together to work on a number of things in your body (I also recommend this to patients for an energy boost). Vitamin B1 can be helpful for irritated, acne prone or dry skin, whereas vitamin B2 can help improve your skin tone (fun fact: this is the vitamin that causes your urine to be neon yellow). Vitamin B3 helps your skin retain moisture and prevent water loss. Vitamin B5 also helps to retain the moisture of your skin, as well as helps to heal wounds. Vitamin B7 (aka biotin) is known to be helpful for your hair, skin and nails. Vitamins B9 and 12 help your red blood cells, which are essential for delivering nutrients and oxygen to your whole body. Remember that B Complexes will turn your urine dark yellow, so if you are dehydrated, understand what your body feels like when it’s hydrated, then start to incorporate a B Complex.

This fall, see for yourself how these can help your skin feel much better and more hydrated. Share below if you have other things you do for yourself to keep your skin hydrated during the fall and winter.

~ Dr. Charmagne

Ways to Improve Dry Skin

Living in Calgary, you think my skin would get use to the dryness, but when winter hits, my skin still has to adjust. The winters are more dry than the summer, at last in the summer, you are drinking more water with the heat there to remind you to drink. The same isn't true for the winter. There is a tendency to drink warm drinks - most of which isn't water - and some of them make you more dehydrated. 

Here are my go to's when winter hits, and my skin needs most moisture:

Drink more water - There is a tendency to drink warmer beverages during the winter, whether it's coffee or hot chocolate. Holding a warm cup also helps you warm your hands - or defrost them from the outside. But they don't hydrate you, so I've been opting for hot water, or hot teas (matcha is my favourite) - these drinks help to hydrate your body throughout the day. Drinking water first thing in the morning can also help hydrate your body and get it ready for the day.

Fish oil - The cells of our bodies are made up of phospholipids, which are made up of lipids (aka fat) - this includes your skin. So the best way to help your cells is by eating healthy fats, so that your body can use that as a building block for your skin and organs. By doing this, the body's ability to retain moisture increases. Barcelos, et al found that omega 3 oils, found in fish oil was able to restore and improve the integrity of the skin.

Using oil as a moisturizer - Oils are fantastic moisturizers! Contrary to popular belief, oil does not clog the skin. Olive oil is able to penetrate the skin, and moisturize from there, but it doesn't provide a barrier. This leaves the top of your skin vulnerable to dryness. Coconut oil is also a fantastic moisturizing oil, but it tends to stay on the top of your skin, and not moisturize the deeper layers like olive oil - the same can be said for avocado oil. The best thing to do is combine your oils, so they can work synergistically to moisturize your all of the layers of your skin. You can also add a few drops of essential oils of your choice (I use lavender, and tea tree) to add some aromatherapy when you moisturize. Try a few oils, and see which ones your skin enjoys, there are a number of amazing oils that are often recommended for the face, you can add some of these oils to your combination as well, but I wouldn't make it the main oil, because it can get quite expensive. Sweet almond oil is also a good choice instead of olive oil. Savy Homemade has a few really nice recipes on making your own body oils.

Milk baths - Use milk with a high fat content, and warm it gently before adding your choice of essential oil(s) (6 drops all of oil all together). Run your bath to the temperature that you want, and pour the milk + essential oils into the tube. Soak for as long as you wish (or the water allows before turning cold), then rinse off in the shower, and apply your choice oil. Milk contains a number of different vitamins and minerals that help the skin heal externally, along with small amounts of lactic acid to gently exfoliate the skin, decrease hyperpigmentation, and decrease acne by balancing the acid mantle. The milk bath helps to hydrate your skin with the fats and proteins found in the milk.

~Dr. Charmagne