TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — After the blast of icy wind shot through Cherokee County yesterday, many area residents found themselves cranking up thermostats and stoking fires.

Skin – the largest organ in the human body – takes a beating during the winter months, regardless of whether its owner is exposed to the elements. November is National Skin Care Month, so it’s a good time to consider additional protection.

Cherokee County Health Department Administrator Linda Axley is all to familiar with dry, chapped skin.

“In the winter, I have to continually put lotion on my hands as I wash them very, very frequently, trying to keep from getting Mr. Flu Bug or some other nasty germ,” said Axley. “I have friends who make fun of me for how much I wash my hands!”

To compensate, Axley keeps any number of lotions and creams around, along with a moisturizer with sunscreen.

“I have lotions and creams at every desk where I travel, between home and three county offices and every sink in my home, and in my purse, and in my car,” she said. “And my cuticles and skin still get dry and cracked!”

Susan Faulkner, spa director and medical technician at Reflections Medical Spa, has product recommendations for the most finicky skin.

“We have a prescription brand – LaRoche-Posay – and they have a really good dry skin line,” said Faulkner. “Our Hydrophase line helps restore lipids in skin, and we have products for not just the face, but the entire body.”

Although some people pack away the sunscreen in the beach bag for the winter, Faulkner says it’s important to use it year-round.

“Some people call me the sunscreen Nazi,” Faulkner said, laughing. “But it’s important! Those rays are always there, even when it’s cloudy.”

Faulkner said Reflections carries LaRoche-Posay Anthelios SX, the first moisturizer with sunscreen to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 18 years.

“It’s a broad-spectrum sunscreen, which means it blocks both UVA and UVB rays,” said Faulkner. “By using a protective sunscreen, it helps prevent pigmentation [age spots] and the breakdown of collagen.”

In addition to dipping temperatures and cruel, cold winds outside, many heat sources take moisture out of the indoor air, robbing skin of its most valuable resource: water.

“I recommend using a humidifier in the winter to help put moisture back in the air,” said Faulkner. “Exfoliation – removing dead skin cells – is also important.”

Monthly facials are helpful to add moisture to dry skin, according to Faulkner, along with micro peels.

“Micro peels help exfoliate the skin, as well as helping with fine lines, wrinkles and pigmentation,” said Faulkner. “Facials are good for people of all ages or gender. We’ve had 8-year-olds in here for facials, and see a lot more men these days.”

Free consultations are available by appointment, and medical forms are required, as the spa is a medical facility.

Constant travel can also be hard on a person’s skin, and airline restrictions on what size and amount of cosmetics can be carried can make adhering to a strict daily skin regimen difficult.

Denise Deason-Toyne, a local attorney, has done her fair share of traveling and has learned some skin care tricks along the way.

“You can purchase travel-size bottles and tubes of moisturizer to pack and tuck a couple in the carry-on baggie, and you’re probably good for a week or two,” she said. “Lack of humidity can be a problem for skin, so getting some ‘steam action’ from the lavatory sink or soaking a facecloth in hot – but not scalding – water, then apply to skin, works for some.”

Deason-Toyne believes the best cure for really dry, rough skin is to prevent it from happening altogether by exfoliating and moisturizing.

“But if your skin, and feet, knees, hands, and elbows are often the worst, I have found that Gold Bond softener cream is wonderful,” she said. “Just put it on overnight and it makes a huge difference on dry areas.”

She also has a word of advice for women who wear makeup.

“Purchase quality makeup foundations,” she said. “Be sure you get the appropriate type for your skin type – for instance, non-oil based if you have oily skin.”