In the winter, the role your environment plays on your skin is obvious. The combination of cold temps outside and warm air inside often creates dry, itchy, irritated skin. Let’s go beyond climate and season, though, and expand to all external factors that can affect your skin. These include: public spaces, chemicals, or minerals in household products, and even your pets. Here are four common environmental factors to be aware of and how to monitor them for skin health: Stay away from sensitizing ingredients, which include fragrances, parabens, and dyes. I urge you avoid these not only in skin-care products, but also in makeup, hair care, and laundry detergent. Once you remove sensitive ingredients from your environment, you might find you don’t have sensitive skin, but rather sensitized skin from external factors. It’s likely you touch public hand rails and door knobs, or maybe you have a pet that goes inside and outside ...
