Winter skin but make it glow
Prep your skin for the cooler months ahead and keep it feeling as hydrated, bright, and resilient as ever.
As the temperature drops and the heaters are cranked to ‘high’, you might notice your skin starts to feel dry and tight. Thankfully there are plenty of things we can proactively do now to hydrate our skin and repair its natural barrier in the face of blistering winds and cool changes.
Cold snap, skin hacks
When the mercury drops, the humidity falls along with it, which means the air around us is suddenly dryer. This leads to more moisture being pulled from the skin, which then accelerates the trans epidermal water loss so many of us experience. This can weaken the skin barrier and lead to flaking, redness, and increased sensitivity. What makes this even harder is that as we age, our moisture levels are already naturally decreasing. As our collagen levels decline, and our cell turnover slows – this can make our winter skin concerns even more pronounced. You may notice deeper lines, rougher textures, and increased vulnerability to those new environmental stressors surrounding us. But don’t worry – there’s a solution.
Finding your winter-skin ally
Taking a proactive and tailored approach to winter skincare may help to make a meaningful difference to your skin. This can include introducing or increasing red-light therapy to stimulate your skin’s natural healing processes. Not only can this assist in increasing collagen production and reducing inflammation, it’s particularly well-suited for managing winter skin stress as strengthens the skin barrier function, making skin more resilient to environmental changes.
Evolve your routine
As the seasons change, so should our rituals and routines. Skincare is no different. Try to focus on hydration and gentle care. This might look like a cleanser that doesn’t strip the skin, a hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid or niacinamide, and a thicker moisturiser containing ingredients like peptides and ceramides. Importantly, keep up the SPF. While we might not be seeing the sun as much, it’s important to keep applying your sunscreen daily, even when it’s grey and cold outside. UV rays might not be as obvious during this time but they’re still there.
Boost what’s on the outside by focusing on the inside
It’s as true as it ever was – our skin reflects what’s happening internally in our bodies. Thankfully there are some lifestyle tweaks that may help more than you realise. This starts with increasing your water consumption. To keep your hydration up, try to drink as much water as possible, including warming herbal teas or broths. When it comes to diet, prioritising omega-3 rich foods like salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds, can help you seamlessly maintain your skin barrier’s function while you go about your day. If you spend a lot of time at home, you might also consider purchasing a humidifier, which can help to maintain indoor moisture levels. Finally, switch your focus from work at the end of each day to reducing stress and upping sleep. Together, both can help to support long-term skin health whether it’s winter, summer, or anywhere in between.
Keep it simple
Even if your skin is feeling rough and reacting to winter in a big way, it’s still important to embrace a less is more approach. It can be tempting to introduce new products or experiment with new techniques but oftentimes this can do more harm than good. Over-treating skin, especially during the colder months, can compromise the outermost layer of the skin, allowing moisture to escape and irritants to come in. Because your skin barrier is your body’s first line of defence against environmental stressors, harsh scrubs, high-strength acids and retinoids applied too often can disrupt the balance. Instead of jumping into fix-it mode, try to adopt a more minimalist approach by cutting back on exfoliation where you can and introducing one change at a time.
