Finally, we can get a little chilly thanks to the oncoming autumn. The hottest days of the year are far behind us (though it still gets pretty hot even now) so you don’t have to worry as much about all that sweat and much you build up from just poking your head outside. You can now walk out in peace and enjoy yourself (even though, again, it’s still pretty hot).
Last time we talked about how to take care of yourself during the summer, a whole six months ago, how to do skin maintenance and care during the spring, we even spoke extensively about how to take care of your body under lockdown and how to ensure that skin stays healthy all throughout these unsure times.
We’ve covered a lot in the first half of this year, but when it comes to living healthy, you can never let yourself go, since the second that you do, you can be sure that you’ll lose all the progress you’ve made up to that point. Let’s not ruin your great track record and figure out the things you can do to keep your skin and body healthy during the upcoming cloudy and rainy days of fall.
Can You Stand the Rain?
Whether you like the rain or not, you have to understand that it can actually be quite harmful to your skin. Fall, in many places around the world, means heavy storms and showers on a regular basis. In fact, some parts of the world may have rain pretty much all year round.
Now, we all like a little drizzle from time to time, as it can be quite comforting. It’s a nice change of pace from constant sunny weather and having a little moisture in the air is very pleasant. But depending on where you live, rain can be very different.
The showers you get in a rainforest or jungle are going to be quite clean, since obviously, they come from natural forms of precipitation and because the air in that part of the world is so clean, so is the rainwater. On the other hand, if you live in a big, urban area like NYC, where there is constant pollution and all those fumes travel up into the air, you can deduce that the water droplets during rain will also be rather dirty.
This doesn’t mean that you’re in any serious danger if you get caught under the rain, since it’s still just water with a few dirty particles inside of it and your skin is very resilient. The problem isn’t so much the exposure to rain, as opposed to how long the water stays on your body.
By leaving your skin wet under the rain for long periods of time, you’re leaving it exposed to all the dirt and chemicals in the rainwater, which can seep into your skin and cause some damage over time. Again, it’s not like one drizzle is going to melt right through your skin, but think how dirty the city air is. Would you want a concentration of all that grime and dirt on your skin? Probably not.
Never Underestimate the Cold
We’re at that point in the year when it’s still sort of hot, but it’s also getting a little chilly on the side. It’s hard to predict what kind of weather to expect and how to properly dress for it. However, don’t underestimate the cold weather during fall.
It’s easy to think that just because the Sun is shining outside or because there is no rain that the weather is warm. But the warmth could go away rather quick and if you’re underdressed, you’re leaving your skin exposed to very cold fall winds. Now, you may be more tolerant of the cold, thanks to a thicker layer of skin or perhaps you live in an area where it’s cold most of the year, so you don’t exactly mind it.
But cold temperatures, regardless of how strong you are against the cold, can negatively impact your skin. You may be surprised to know, but cold temperatures can cause just as much skin dryness as warm, even more in some cases. The more skin you expose to the cold air, the more you’re drying it up.
And dry skin is a lot more than just unpleasant to touch: it also weakens the skin itself. All those flakes you pull off when your skin is dry are the weakened or outright dead skin cells, caused by dryness as a result of the cold.
To prevent this from happening, you can cover as much skin as you can in cold temperatures and remember to use moisturizing cream. Soft skin isn’t just for the sake of it feeling good when you touch it; it’s also a way to keep your skin cells strong and healthy so that they can protect your body out in the cold.
Don’t Overdo With the Warmth Either
Just because the cold can be bad for your skin, doesn’t mean you should outright avoid it. You also need to give your skin enough open air so that it can breathe. Aside from moisture, it’s also air that keeps it strong and healthy.
By constantly cranking up the heater at home, you’re not giving your skin any freedom to breathe a little bit and air out. Give it some exposure to the cold, so that not only does it get a little air from once in a while, but so that it also gets used to the cold and becomes more resilient.
High temperatures inside can also be rather dangerous if you’re leaving to go outside. By exposing your body to extreme warmth, only to immediately step out into the cold, your body temperature could drop super quick and you’ll end up getting seriously ill.
So, try not to overdo with the warmth and try getting used to a little cold once in a while.