The weather outside is frightful, and while that fire may be delightful, it’s also probably drying out your skin. With the stress of the holidays, the drop in the mercury, and the exhaustion of modern life, winter provides us with a whole new set of skincare challenges. FUN! With the cold weather and central heating joining forces, it’s only a matter of time before your skin feels the effects. Cue irritation, dry and flaky patches in odd places, and that uncomfortable, tight feeling to pinpoint just a few gripes. Here is a rundown of some skin care hacks to try in the winter months ahead.
First, apply your most hydrating products to damp skin. In the winter, humidity is low, requiring as much moisture as you can get to protect your skin barrier. When you apply products on top of damp skin, you add moisture from the water and trap it in with your skincare. This goes for both face and body. The simple hack here is to keep a moisturizer in the bathroom and lather up after you’ve showered.
This technique is even more beneficial if your moisturizer contains a humectant. This ingredient locks in moisture like hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, or glycerin, which are found in most products. Olay and CeraVe are common brands that boast such ingredients.
Next, and this one pains me a bit, avoid excessive fragrance. If you already use perfume or a body spray, having skincare products with scent can be aggravating during the winter. You may usually tolerate smelly skincare products; however, the dry air of January, February, and March can create more skin sensitivity and cause irritation. Even a fragrance in a cleanser, something you wash off, can cause inflammation. Instead, stick to bland skincare products like Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream or Bare Mineral’s Ageless Phyto-Retinol Night Concentrate cream.
If, like me, you enjoy wearing fragrance, you can still sport your signature scent in winter. Instead of spraying on your skin, spritz it through your hair and clothes. During cold weather, we tend to wear more occlusive or less breathable clothing like turtlenecks and chunky sweaters. If you apply scent to your skin and then cover up that skin, it can cause irritation. So, instead of your neck, spray your scarf.
Of course, scented or not, use your skincare products judiciously. You may think you have to stop using active ingredients like retinol and exfoliating acids in winter. But in fact, you can keep using products with these ingredients, just not as often. Use retinol one evening, then an exfoliate the next night, and then take two nights “off” to give your skin a break. Also, consider scaling down the percentage of active ingredients during the winter to maintain the benefit but reduce the irritation. If you’re coming to the end of your 5-7% glycolic acid toner, look at trying a lower percentage product for winter. Same goes for retinol, which can exacerbate dry, irritated skin in the cold. It’s also important to wear sunscreen daily, even with an overcast sky, especially when using active ingredients, as they can make skin sensitive to sunlight.
If you suffer from dry skin, it may be tempting to pile on a thicker moisturizer. However, overdoing it could result in more harm than good, especially if said moisturizer contains pore-clogging ingredients like paraffin oil, petrolatum, lanolin, and mineral oils. Not all dry winter skin is a result of too cold outside and too hot inside. It can also be caused by inflammation from over-moisturizing. Instead, layer products from thinnest to thickest to give your skin a chance to absorb thin layers rather than blasting it with something thick and sticky.
Lastly, avoid cleansing mistakes. Foaming cleansers are great for oily and acne-prone skin, but they can be drying in the wintertime. If you’re using a foamy wash and it works for you, great, but for dry skin, a creamier cleanser, like Burt’s Bees Sensitive Solutions Gentle Cream Cleanser, may be better suited for winter. Also, be sure to rub in your cleansers for at least one minute and clean it all the way off with 10-12 good splashes of water.
Hopefully, some of these tricks and product suggestions will help you avoid the dreaded dry skin of winter, and that the new year finds you merry and bright! And well-moisturized.
