Especially in autumn and winter many people suffer from dry skin.
We’ll show you the best tips and tricks to prevent dry skin and get rid of it – explained for often affected athletes, and valid for everyone!
Winter Annoyance Dry Skin
As soon as the temperatures drop, the skin’s self-protection decreases.
It becomes brittle, heating air plus constant changes from warm indoors to cold outdoors dry it out. From minus eight degrees the sebaceous glands no longer produce fat. Therefore a must: creams with lots of fat and moisture and goodies like face masks.
Dry skin through perfect styling?
But it’s not just winter, cosmetic products are often responsible for dry or blemished skin as well, as illustrated by the following scenario: morning, ten o’clock, fitness studio.
All seats in the course are occupied, top-styled women sweat to driving beats. Their hair is made, light make-up adorns their faces. Only a few people can tell that they jumped out of bed into their sports clothes and only had a cat wash in them. Of course, the styled ones look better in comparison – but those with the out-of-bed style did a lot right.
Because FIT FOR FUN asked three skin experts how athletes should best care for their skin and how they can avoid typical problems.
Dry skin? Dosage your cosmetics!
Prof. Dr. Rolf Hoffmann, a dermatologist with a practice in Freiburg, first of all states very clearly: “I find cosmetics superfluous before sport. And he says that many sportswomen overprotect their skin.
Anyone who applies a day cream and make-up over it in the morning before their workout will easily get pimples. The skin sweats, is less able to breathe and reacts irritated.
“Layer upon layer is simply too much on the face,” says Hoffmann. In principle, too oily skin care alone leads to impurities and blocked pores in many women.
Our extra tip: Try it in the morning during sports completely without or apply a light BB cream. There is still time for styling after the shower. “Those who go straight from work to the gym in the evening should remove their make-up before the workout or at least rub their skin with a cosmetic cloth.”
Dry skin: Daily care with this!
The expert also recommends the basics for body care:
“Classics such as glycerine and urea are sufficient to moisturise the skin. These are available in every drugstore. High-end products that cost three times as much are not necessary.”
The skin often reacts sensitively to too many ingredients. “Sports and sweat make the skin barrier permeable for allergens and germs,” says Dr. Yael Adler, dermatologist specializing in sports dermatology in Berlin. “The less chemicals a product contains, the lower the risk of an allergic reaction.” Since fragrances and preservatives also cause irritation, she advises athletes with sensitive skin to take pharmacy cosmetics. Our extra tip: Even more important, however, is that the skin care product fits the skin type. Try out new care products, for example, first in the crook of your arm.
Clever showers against dry skin
Athletes shower more often than others and like to relax after a workout by letting the warm water splash on their bodies for a long time. This is a no-go for dry skin with low sebum production.
“In principle: Take a shower as cool, as short and as seldom as possible, never several times a day,” recommends FIT FOR FUN expert Prof. Dr. Michaela Axt-Gadermann. And:
“Foaming shower gels should only be used very sparingly in places where you have sweated a lot, water is perfectly sufficient for the rest of your body.”
A pH neutral shower gel or syndet that does not attack the skin’s natural protective acid mantle is particularly kind to the skin.
After the shower, rub the slightly moist skin with a moisturizing cream to bind the moisture in the skin.
Our extra tip: For removing make-up, use a mild cleansing milk instead of an alcoholic facial lotion to avoid irritating the face unnecessarily.
This helps against pimples
Clearly makes sport beautiful, but unfortunately sometimes with side effects. Some athletes suffer from “acne mechanica” where the skin is covered by protectors – such as a helmet – and the air cannot circulate. The combination of heat, pressure and friction leads to pimples and pustules, which should be treated with local antibiotics and skin peeling agents.
Our extra tip: It is essential to disinfect the equipment with a spray, otherwise the problem will return. Just as annoying are itchy sweat bubbles, which occur in a humid, warm environment when the sweat gland exits become blocked and narrow materials rub against the body.
Then it helps: “Wear loose clothing and do without fat care products”, explains Dr. Axt-Gadermann. “The zinc shaking mixture, such as Lotio alba from the pharmacy, dries out the vesicles.
The right cream for dry skin
During every cleansing, water removes moisture and fat from the skin. Dry skin reacts with typical symptoms such as redness, tension and wrinkles. For skin care, water-in-oil emulsions and oily ointments with a strong moisturising effect are suitable.
“Lighter oil-in-water creams save time because they absorb faster than more fatty products. However, the skin often feels dry again ten minutes later,” says Dr. Axt-Gadermann. She recommends intensively nourishing ingredients such as urea, glycerin, evening primrose oil or linoleic acid. Care products with almond, avocado or wheat germ oil provide a lot of fat, hyaluronic acid additionally binds moisture and makes the skin firm again.
Of course, athletes with dry skin do not have to do without swimming, other care rules simply apply to them: Because chlorine attacks the skin and can lead to acne, it makes sense to cream the body before swimming for protection and then shower thoroughly. Our extra tip: An alternative is swimming pools that disinfect the water with ozone instead of chlorine.
