Winter is the driest season and harshest on your skin, causing severe dry, cracked skin especially people who are prone to dry skin and conditions like eczema and psoriasis. A good tip in the winter is to actually decrease the number of times you shower in a day, avoid long hot showers, and over exposure to water like frequent hand-washing or excessive soaking. Think of what happens to your skin after sitting in a hottub for a few hours. Your skin becomes “pruney” and all of the water from your skin is drawn away leaving your skin dry and cracked.
The importance of moisturizing your skin during winter months
It is important to combat this overdrying with frequent moisturization using thick emmolients. It is also important to remember to decrease shower time and shower temperature. If excessive itching due to dry cracked skin becomes a problem, you may need prescription creams or oral antibiotics if cracks in the skin cause a bacterial skin infection.