Also humidity may play a role. You may not notice that you have dry skin if you live in a place like Florida or Louisiana. However, if you live in the Northeast, especially in the wintertime, you'll experience dry skin, especially if you have a predisposition. It can become even worse if you use harsh cleansers or washing frequently, which removes the protective barrier and increases water loss through your skin. For your average person, taking more than one quick shower a day in the wintertime would probably dry you out.
How can people distinguish between regular dry skin and a skin disorder?
Basically, with one thing: your comfort level. If you're starting to feel uncomfortable and itchy, or you're noticing redness, you may have a skin disorder. For example, eczema is a type of inherited dry skin condition. It can start in childhood, and usually affects the face and the areas where your body bends.
Psoriasis is another defined condition with strong genetic and environmental components. People with psoriasis usually have red plaques with a very thick white scale on top of them. Initially, these are on the scalp, elbows, knees, but they can spread. There are also nail changes, and you can have arthritis with psoriasis.
Why is dry skin more of a problem in the winter?
Certainly, in the Northeast, the humidity drops in the winter, so there's less moisture in the air. So through evaporative processes, you're losing moisture through your skin.
