For context, there’s a clear line where my skin is red and cracked on the back of my hand, but on the underside it feels like normal, not red. I want to know why my hands look like that. I would link a picture if I could.
Edit: clear line as in my back side is red and there’s a clear stop where it looks normal without fading
In: Biology
Your skin is the largest organ you have. Remember that.
To set this up, ‘bad weather’ I assume means either ‘a quick shift in weather’ or ‘it’s cold now’.
For the quick shit, this is a common cause of flare ups for people with skin problems such as eczema. Why? If you find out you win a Nobel prize.
For ‘it’s cold now’, it is because of lack of moisture in the air. Above 50% moisture in the air your skin actually can integrate the external water and incorporate it. Less than 30% and your body is putting moisture into the skin and having it sucked out constantly.
Skin ‘hydration’ is a huge deal here, and certain things make it worse, and certain things can alleviate it.
Make it worse:
* Dry air
* Washing
* Using over-drying products when washing
* Being dehydrated in general
Remember that when you sweat, your skin gets red. When you blush, your skin gets red. Why? Because blood is red and if you are white then your skin is translucent and any blood activity on the skin will make it red.
Inflammation is a cause of redness because of blood flow because when something is irritated your body sends blood to it. This is why you get swelling when you have an injury. This is also why dry skin gets inflamed and red.
How to alleviate?
There are three things which help dry/irritated skin:
1. Occlusives — this is the #1 most important thing. This is vaseline and mineral oil (baby oil without fragrance). This keeps moisture from leaving the skin due to exposure of moisture to dry atmosphere or washing. It also makes you feel ‘greasy’ and people don’t like that.
2. Humectants — these are things that add moisture to your skin. Number one used humectant is glycerin. Honey is also a humectant. These things are generally expensive and not all that great compared to occlusives and hard to preserve so they aren’t used a ton on leave-on products.
3. Emollients — these make your skin feel nice but don’t do a whole lot since the most effective ones cross over to occlusives as well (mineral oil). Hard to define.
So, what causes shitty red, itchy skin? Usually dryness and irritation.
How to fix it? Avoid harsh surfactants (mainly anything that foams — ingredients starting with sodium or coco and end with -ate). Avoid hot water when washing. Avoid over washing. Use a humidifier when humidity is low. Use occlusives as often as possible.
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