Caring for skin enhances your well-being in winter

Colorado holds special challenges for winter health and beauty, local experts say.

Dry skin probably is the biggest complaint.

"As soon as it gets cold, we turn on the heat and everything gets dehydrated - including us," says John Aquila, owner of the two Veda Salons in Colorado Springs.

He recommends everyone have a humidifier in the house and drink a lot of water.

His wife, Christina Aquila, a skin-care specialist, says exfoliation of dry skin is an important way to make us feel better, too.

"Especially in Colorado, moisture is essential to our well- being," she says.

She recommends skin care products that seal in the body's natural moisture and nurture our natural oils. Look for sodium hyaluronate (holds up to a thousand times its weight in moisture), jojoba oil or rose extract as ingredients, she says.

She also recommends facials in the winter to remove dead-skin cells and says most women can augment a professional treatment with masques and other skin-care products.

"A good skin-care specialist can teach you what to do for your skin - even how to do a home facial," she says.

Luba (who uses just her first name professionally), owner of European Skin Care in Colorado Springs, suggests a regimen that gives the skin a break at bedtime.

"Use moisturizers and whatever you need during the day, but wash it all off before you go to bed and let your skin breathe at night," she says.

She regards the skin as our "third lung" and says it's important to exfoliate with a loofah sponge or other product daily so it can absorb as much oxygen as possible while we sleep.

Exfoliation also keeps us looking young, she says. Men often have wrinkle-free faces in the areas where they shave because shaving is a form of exfoliation, she says.

Although many dermatologists recommend using plain petroleum jelly to combat lip and skin dryness when outdoors, Luba tells her clients to stay clear of products that use mineral oil or petroleum jelly.

Although they do provide a barrier against wind and cold, our skin can't absorb them and they actually exacerbate dryness, she believes. Instead, she recommends using products based on Vitamin E or A.

Jeanna Reverts at the Veda Salon agrees.

"We tell our clients to stay away from anything with mineral oil in it and to be careful of using anything with synthetic coloring or scent. A lot of people's skin reacts poorly to them."

And if drinking water doesn't appeal to your winter palate, Luba suggests drinking decaffeinated green tea instead.

"It has lots of antioxidants and it's good for your whole body."

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