Diabetes can have a serious effect on your skin health, particularly when it comes to hydration. A post-shower skin care routine can help you keep your skin healthy.

A lesser-known side effect of diabetes — and sometimes even a symptom — is dry, cracked skin. While dry skin is typically just a minor discomfort for many people, dry skin from diabetes can lead to serious health effects, including ulcers, nerve damage, and decreased blood flow.

A good skin and body care routine can help prevent potential skin health effects, and a great time to care for your skin is right after showering.

We spoke with Paulette Harrison, who received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2021, about her post-shower skin care routine and shared tips for keeping skin moisturized and healthy.

Over time, especially if your diabetes is difficult to manage, high glucose levels can lead to damaged blood vessels, slowed wound healing, and a lack of moisture that can make your skin feel dehydrated.

For some, dehydration can appear rapidly. Harrison said she noticed a significant change in her skin after her diabetes diagnosis 3 years ago. “My hair’s dry, my scalp, my skin, my feet, everything was super dry.”

If you have diabetes, consider focusing your skin care routine on moisturization and hydration.

Keeping skin moisturized when you have diabetes starts in the shower and with your lifestyle choices. It’s vital to moisturize every day to avoid cracked, dehydrated skin and potentially an infection.

Harrison said that she makes sure to avoid taking hot showers, and when she does, she takes a cool one afterward. She also drinks a lot of water to help with skin hydration.

The American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends a thick cream or ointment for long lasting skin hydration. A thicker product can moisturize and nourish your skin better than a regular lotion. Some manufacturers formulate products for skin affected by diabetes. They include ingredients that provide intense moisturization.

Focusing on your feet is also particularly essential since nerve damage and low blood flow can make infections harder to spot and treat. People with diabetes may often have severely cracked heels that can be painful. Use a thick cream on your feet and gently scrub them with a pumice stone or foot file every week to prevent dead skin from building up and hardening on your heels.

Harrison’s post-shower skin care routine involves the following steps to keep her skin healthy:

  1. Air-dry: After getting out of the shower, Harrison gently pats her skin dry with a towel and lets it air-dry the rest of the way.
  1. Apply moisturizer: Harrison uses lotion formulated for skin affected by diabetes or Vaseline — and sometimes both. She may even add coconut oil for moisturization when she feels her skin is extremely dry.
  1. Apply lotion to your hands: “I constantly put lotion on my hands. Constantly. Probably about four or five times a day. Then, once a week, I’ll put Vaseline on my hands and then put on a glove about 2 hours before I go to bed, then I’ll take the gloves off.”
  1. Don’t forget your feet: “For foot care, I just use Vaseline. And I always use a scrub, and I get pedicures every other week.”
  1. Finish with lip care: Harrison regularly uses a lip balm stick to prevent dry lips.

Here are a few common skin care mistakes to avoid when caring for dry skin affected by diabetes:

  • Applying moisturizer to damp skin: Air-drying helps your skin retain moisture, but ensure all your skin areas are dry before applying moisturizer. Take your towel or a soft cloth and gently dry the skin between your toes, armpit folds, and back. This tip will prevent water or moisture from getting trapped, which can lead to infection.
  • Choosing products with drying ingredients: Harrison said the soap you use in the shower can affect hydration levels. “You have to be very careful because some of these shower gels are very drying.” She pointed out that some soaps can make you feel itchy. She said you’ll probably also know when you’ve found the right soap for your skin. “Because there’s less buildup on your skin from the soap scum and all of that, it just rinses off much cleaner.”
  • Doing everything alone: Feeling overwhelmed by regular foot care? A podiatrist can help. Harrison regularly takes her mother, who also lives with diabetes, to the podiatrist for maintenance foot care. “I don’t want to cut her nails myself and accidentally cut her, so I take her to the podiatrist once a month for her to have her nails trimmed,” she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), skin changes like diabetic dermopathy (shin spots) and diabetic blisters usually resolve on their own. But bacterial and fungal infections can require a visit to a healthcare professional for antibiotics and monitoring.

When living with a diabetes diagnosis, taking care of your skin is crucial to staying healthy and feeling comfortable. While a thorough post-shower skin care routine can be time consuming, staying consistent can make a significant difference in how your skin looks and feels and prevent severe complications from affecting your quality of life.