Then came winter and I’m here in Regina, Saskatchewan. Our winter temperatures here sometimes hit -40 °C. During these times, cars wouldn’t start so you would need to heat up your car for usually about two hours before you drive.

    I was really excited when winter came, when the first snow fell. It was my first winter. I felt like a little child who wanted to play in the snow, making snowballs and throwing them. As the days went by, I would peek out of the window and still watched with awe at the landscape covered with snow. This time, there is some degree of reluctance in me whenever we go out. I love winter and I think I love the cold, too. It’s just that my body has a mind of its own that I cannot force it to automatically adjust to extreme temperatures, much as I wanted to. My nose bleeds when the atmosphere is dry. My skin is starting to have all kinds of problems I have never encountered before. I already have bad skin since I have an idiopathic condition that requires me to take loads of antihistamines for as long as it takes. Here, it just got worse.

    Then I started reading about how to care for the skin during winter.  I searched the internet for products with good consumer reviews and are good for problem skin like mine. I now apply moisturizers  within five minutes after every bath while my skin is still damp. This way the moisturizer locks in the moisture left in my skin after bath. Vaseline petroleum jelly is my friend now, since it is the only product I could use to moisturize my lips. I also wear sweaters even at home whenever I feel cold. Less exposure means protection from dryness. Lastly, investing on a good name brand of humidifier was a good decision.  It adds moisture to the air so my skin does not feel very itchy from dryness anymore. No more nosebleeds too.