okay so I finally watched that dermatologist video a bunch of people here kept mentioning, the one about skin changes when the season shifts.
basic idea was that the barrier gets thinner right when humidity drops, like clockwork, every single year around the same time. and most people don’t do anything until it’s already flaking and red, so they’re just doing damage control by the time they react.
I’ve been in maintenance mode for almost a year now, skin’s fine most months, but every September it dips for like 2-3 weeks and I never really questioned why. just accepted it as the seasonal thing, I guess.
so this time I tried switching to a heavier moisturizer about 2 weeks before I’d normally start feeling it, based on when it hit last year. instead of waiting for the itching to actually start first.
it’s only been 10 days so I can’t really say for sure yet… but the usual post-shower tightness hasn’t shown up so far. normally by now I’d already be reaching for steroid cream but not yet this time.
she also mentioned shower temperature matters more than people think, even a couple degrees can mess with the barrier apparently. been trying to keep it lukewarm instead of hot, which is honestly the hardest part haha. I really love hot showers.
not saying this is some fix-all thing, everyone’s skin reacts differently. but if you guys also get that seasonal dip every year, might be worth checking out the same video, the barrier explanation part especially made a lot of sense to me.
curious if anyone else tries to get ahead of it early like this, or if it’s better to just wait and see. still early days for me so I honestly don’t know if it’s actually helping or if I just got lucky with timing this year