Your skin feels as rough and dry as sandpaper. If your skin is chapped, cracked, and inflamed during the coldest months of the year, take heart.
Relief is a simple matter of water conservation.
The basic problem is lack of moisture. Anything that steals moisture from the skin will result in dryness and chapping. The drier the air, the more rapidly moisture evaporates. Also, soap and excessive bathing or showering strips the skin of its natural oils, compounding the problem. Add it up, and the dehydrated cells begin to shrink and separate like caked mud in a dry lake bed, and a network of painful cracks appear on your skin.