I'm no dermatologist, but I've been working with skin for over 3 decades now and have gathered some info over the years.
In the Pacific Northwest, most of us occasionally, and understandably, enjoy a hot shower to help fight off some of that winter chill. When we do this, however, we open our skin up and lose a great deal of moisture, even if you apply lotions or balms immediately after drying.
The best way to keep this minimal and help your skin in myriad ways, is to finish your shower with a cold rinse (as well as not taking really hot showers...). The water doesn't have to be freezing, but just like with washing your face, the colder water and temperature change, cause your skin to close back up, retaining all of that precious moisture our skin needs to stay healthy.
It can definitely be shocking at first, but I actually look forward to that part of the shower now. It really helps vitalize and wake the skin up all over. After sharing this with many clients who suffer from eczema, or generally dry skin, they've been thrilled to tell me later how much happier their skin had been.
Hope this helps! =]
Leif
