Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

In addition to a 2006 Extreme Ironing calendar (no kidding) that came courtesy of my old friends at Rowenta, I also received some valuable info in the mail today about staying warm during the winter.

It seems that taking hotter, longer showers will not keep you warmer. According to Dr. Stephen Webster, Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, the shower may make you feel warm, but not for very long. More importantly, as soon as you step out of the shower, your skin begins to lose moisture because hot water removes natural oil from the skin, making it dry and itchy. You're supposed to bathe in lukewarm — not hot — water, and limit the shower to five or 10 minutes. Now you know. And as G.I. Joe used to say, "Knowing is half the battle."

That info was much more valuable than the anti-fungal liquid, medicated foot cream, and hand balm it came with. For all of that, I thank the kind folks at Flexitol.