Understanding the Importance of Moisturizing Senior Skin

By James Hughes | July 23, 2024 |

Home care offers needed hygiene support and care to aging seniors.

Maintaining general well-being depends on keeping senior skin healthy. While this might not seem like that big of a deal, the truth is that skin changes with age: it gets thinner, less elastic, and drier. These changes increase its vulnerability to various problems, infections, and harm. The good news is that there are tips to help seniors maintain the moisture of their skin, and home care providers can help them achieve this goal.

Why Does Moisturizing Matter?

Moisturizing helps keep skin smooth, moisturized, and less prone to breaking. Itching brought on by dry skin can result in scratching and potential skin sores. These sores might provide access for bacteria, which could cause illnesses. This is particularly dangerous for seniors who might have a weakened immune system.

Good moisturizers help to preserve the skin barrier, strengthening it and reducing its vulnerability to sores.

How Often Should Seniors Shower or Bathe?

Knowing that the skin changes with age, it’s important for seniors to understand when they should and should not shower or bathe. For instance, daily showers or bathing might not be required and could even aggravate dry skin.

With this in mind, seniors should focus on showering or bathing two to three times a week. This frequency maintains hygiene without depriving the skin of its natural oils.

Also, home care providers should encourage seniors to use lukewarm rather than hot water for bathing. Finally, seniors should use mild, fragrance-free cleansers.

Advice for Optimal Moisturizing

In addition to reducing the number of times seniors should bathe or shower a week, there are other tips they and home care providers can add to their routine that help them increase the moisture in their skin. Those tips include the following:

Apply Moisturizer Often: Seniors should apply a moisturizing lotion at least once a day, particularly after bathing while the skin is still somewhat damp, to ensure the moisture gets locked in.
Choose the Right Products: Home care can help seniors search for moisturizers intended especially for sensitive or dry skin. Some ingredients to look for include glycerin, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid.
Maintain Hydration: Aging also decreases a senior’s ability to maintain hydration. For this reason, seniors should be encouraged to increase their water consumption during the day. If seniors struggle to drink throughout the day, home care might suggest certain foods that have a high water content.
Use a Humidifier: Using a humidifier, especially in drier environments or during the winter, will help the air retain moisture, which can also prevent dry skin.
Protect the Skin Against the Elements: To guard their skin from sun and wind damage, seniors should apply sunscreen when outside and dress for the temperature.

Senior skin care calls for a careful strategy that balances hygienic needs with the need to preserve the natural moisture of the skin. With home care services by their side, seniors can have healthier skin by including these techniques in their everyday routines. However, if seniors continue to struggle with dry skin even after adding some of the above strategies, they should talk with their medical team.

If you or someone you know needs Home Care in Fairhope, AL, please contact the friendly caregivers at  Hughes Home Care. We provide quality and affordable care for your elderly loved ones in our community. Serving Mobile & Baldwin County. Call us today at (251) 517-9901

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James Hughes

Owner at Hughes Home Care

James Hughes is a graduate of The University of Alabama (Health Care Administration), the University Of Alabama, Birmingham (Physical Therapy) and is a Navy veteran.

He has three teenage children and are actively involved in their church and community – James coach’s youth football, basketball and baseball and serves at 3 Circle Church. He is a member of the Fairhope Youth Football Board and the Rock Creek POA Board.

It is his passion and commitment to providing quality and responsive service that has made their company the fastest growing home care agency in South Alabama.

He believes that being an independently owned and operated company gives him the flexibility to manage his business in a way that better serves their clients.

He understands that you have a choice of care providers and he will do his utmost to earn your trust.